De Maw Restaurant has been on my Chinese food radar for quite some time but based on some reviews I read on Google, I was under the impression that they only accept groups of 4 pax onwards. So I waited for an occasion to plan a visit – my father in-law’s birthday.
Located in Pudu Ulu (near the PGRM building), De Maw Restaurant is apparently known for its fish and seafood dishes, with the cuisine being predominantly Teochew. I made a special order of Golden Mayonnaise Prawns (RM40 per prawn, min 4 prawns), Teochew Crab Meat Tofu, Steamed Lumpfish (they call it sea cucumber fish in Chinese), Teochew Kailan and De Maw’s Signature Pork Ribs.
De Maw Restaurant’s interior
Portions are huge, so it’s understandable why they require a larger group to dine. From the menu, I didn’t see any one-person dish so it’s probably wise to round up your food-loving friends or family if you’re planning to visit De Maw.
Golden Mayonnaise Prawns
The Golden Mayonnaise Prawns were delicious. Prawns were expectedly huge given the price I paid and it was cooked just right. I’ve had plenty of overcooked large prawns from reputable Chinese restaurants and I’m glad De Maw isn’t one of them. The house-special mayonnaise sauce is really rich so I suggest you go easy on it since the prawn on its own is already rich in flavour.
Teochew Crab Meat Tofu
I rather enjoyed the Teochew Crab Meat Tofu, which eggy, thick and flavourful. I liked how generous they were with the ingredients and inside the gravy, one would find crispy bits of pork lard – probably why this dish was so tasty.
Steamed Lumpfish
It was our first time trying lumpfish and when I called ahead to order, the lady proprietor said it’s a kind of fish with a skin texture similar to sea cucumber. She was right; the skin was thick and lightly chewy, just like what you’d expect from sea cucumber. The fish itself was smooth and sweet, with plenty of collagen from the skin. My father in-law enjoyed this a lot.
The skin has a texture of sea cucumber. Quite interesting and delicious!
Fragrant Pork Ribs
Both Jien and I aren’t big on steamed fish or fish dishes in general (you’d probably notice we hardly order fish at Chinese restaurants) so we got ourselves a plate of De Maw’s “Fragrant Pork Ribs”. This came highly recommended by the lady proprietor and it was delicious.
Beautiful caramelisation and very moreish
Crispy and juicy pork ribs coated in the restaurant’s signature sauce, I liken it to be a cross between Marmite and plum sauce. Beautiful caramelisation and very moreish – our little ones enjoyed this too. Portion is huge so it’s wise to share this with more people. We struggled to finish this and had to takeaway half the plate.
Teochew Kailan
The Teochew kailan arrived brimming with pork lard on top. It packed plenty of wok hei and the pork lard added crunch and richness to the overall dish. Not your typical stir-fried vegetables and one I highly recommend you try.
Portions are huge so it’s best to dine in a larger group.
Our bill was close to RM500 for all the above. Fairly reasonable considering we had large prawns (RM40 per prawn x 5) and a whole fish (RM158). Also the birthday boy seemed happy with his meal so to me, that’s money well spent.
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Ambiance: 6.5/10
Price: 6.5/10
Food: 8/10 (non-halal)
Verdict: One of the better Chinese restaurants I’ve tried so far. Skilled cooking and hearty dishes.
De Maw Restaurant
18, Jalan Pudu Ulu,
Taman Pertama, 55300 Cheras,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-9285 7833
Business hours: 11.30am till 2.30pm, 5.30pm till 9.30pm
(closed Monday)