At night, the same space transforms into Restoran De Rasa Sayang, which is just the sort of typical local dai chow found in neighbourhoods like this all across the Klang Valley.
The menu features very simple Malaysian Chinese fare, feeding the community at an accessible price point, with one standout: sang har mee.
A friend, who can be described as a serial restaurateur, pointed me in the direction of De Rasa Sayang, saying that it was their go-to sang har mee place.
This side of PJ is a bit of a trip for them, so I simply had to investigate. The row of shops was predictably quiet on a weeknight, and most of the diners came from the neighbourhood.
Parking is not an issue, though there is a pasar malam on Wednesdays that might pose a hurdle or two.
While some casual eateries and stalls serve sang har mee, it's more often associated with higher-end restaurants.
It is a communal, celebratory dish - rarely eaten alone unless one is very, very hungry (or wealthy).
Deep-fried egg noodles and a rich sauce bursting with prawn flavour make for a deeply satisfying combination, and when done well, sang har mee is a real treat to eat.
I’m happy to report that this is the case at De Rasa Sayang, where the sang har mee is priced at RM20 per 100g. Expect to pay quite a bit more at a restaurant.
We forked out RM100 for a large specimen, which proved just about enough for three - though we also ordered a few other dishes, which were nothing to shout about.
The sang har mee arrived in a wide, surprisingly deep bowl-plate hybrid, the prawn splayed open on a crispy bed of noodles.
The flesh was fresh and firm, coming cleanly off the shell. The brittle noodles shattered, as they should, under very little force from our spoon.
Beneath it, lay a thick, velvety pool of sauce that had been thoroughly enriched by the flavour of the prawn. Sweet, rich and best of all, it delivered in the texture department.
We slathered it over the super crunchy noodles for the perfect contrast of crisp and saucy, which held up even after twenty-odd minutes. All of this was only enhanced by the tang of pickled green chillies.
As we lingered, chatting and unwinding — what the Spanish call sobremesa — I noticed that most of the other tables had also stuck largely to the sang har mee and little else, save for a few fried snacks and the occasional vegetable dish to balance the former out.
I’d recommend doing the same; it’s the sang har mee that’s worth the calories, not much else.
Restoran De Rasa Sayang
12, Jalan SS 4C/5, Taman Rasa Sayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Open daily, 4.30-10pm. Closed one day a month.
Tel: ?011-6565 6831
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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