Enak lunch at Restaurant Teochew Lao Er on 16 May 2024 was attended by 30 Enakers who managed to register within 12 hours after the announcement, which was an Enak record of some sort. It was regretful that several members could not attend due to the full capacity. With this overwhelming support of Enakers, the team may consider having another Teochew Lao Er lunch Part 2, sometime in the future.
Teochew cuisine has a distinctive style and taste and is recognized as one of Guangzhou’s famous Chinese culinary styles. Restaurant Lao Er has a 40-year history and has come a long way from its humble beginning as a street stall to its current listing in the Michelin Guide for excellent restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. It all started in 1984 when the original menu offered inexpensive Teochew cuisine in a street stall in Pudu. In 2011, the restaurant was moved to its current location by the third-generation owner.
There was a wide spread of different types of Teochew cuisine including handmade Kueh as starters followed by signature dishes such as Braised Eight Treasure Duck, Lao Er Special Platter, Red stewed platter, Braised Halibut among others, with three different kinds of desserts such as Orh Ni (yam paste), white fungus soup and tong yuan in ginger soup. Following the Teochew tradition, all these dishes were eaten with sweet potato congee.
Among the many positive feedback are the following comments:
“the food was amazing, like Corinne says, a CNY feast,” says Santhi Nair-Moine
“It was a wonderful meal organized by Pat, Christine, Eileen, and Julie at Lao Er Restaurant this afternoon! The menu was interesting and very delicious. Glad to have had Pat explain the cuisine and people” says Nisha Dobberstein.
A bonus event, a lucky draw, generated much excitement and laughter. The prizes included a hat and four tissue holders, generously donated by Lam Lai Meng, and two RM50 vouchers for dining at any Oriental Restaurants donated by Christine Siew. There is a saying that if a thing is yours, it will be yours. Having drawn the prize for one dining voucher, Santhi graciously declined to let others have a chance. However, the next draw went to Santhi’s husband Paul, who finally had to accept the voucher due to the crowd’s insistence.
The lunch ended with several Enakers buying the Teochew kueh and even takeaways from the generous helpings for lunch. It was indeed a wonderful celebration of Enak’s camaraderie and a satisfactory foodie outing.
Review written by Dato’ Pat Chia
