Dong Bei Restaurant 东北菜 @ Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah

Take a stroll around the street in Pudu area, you can find quite a few Chinese Restaurants lining up such as Hong La Qiao, Jin Shan Cheng and Dong Bei Restaurant. Dong Bei Restaurant has been around Pudu for more than 10 years, and managed by a family from Dong Bei, the Nothest East part in China. Here, you can taste the most authentic Dong Bei delicacies, and some of the must try are their made-from-scratch cold dishes, not forgetting the boiled fish.

Bean Curd Dong Bei Style 風味干豆腐絲 (RM18.00)
Sliced long, thin strips homemade tofu, corriander, julienned cucumbers, garlic tossed with chilli oil. While we thought that tofu would be soft and melt in the mouth, it was the other way round- Chewy texture and dry body with a hint of oily spiciness.

Dong Bei Da La Pi Sheet with Cucumber Salad 東北大拉皮 (RM14.00)
Famous, classic cold dish in Dong Bei, and according to the owner, they couldn’t find the raw Da La Pi in anywhere in Malaysia, so they made their own Da La Pi sheets using mungbean. The Da La pi promoted a chewy, slippery, jelly-like texture, rather interesting but not our cup of tea.

 
Stir Fried Wood Ear Fungus，Lotus Root, and Prawns 田園小炒 (RM28.00)
very simple stir fried vegetables that turned out to be surprisingly delicious, full of wok hei, better than those we had in Dai Chao stalls, just a tad too oily. The wood fungus, imported all the way from China, was darker in colour, crunchier in texture. Thumbs up.

 

Sweet & Sour Pork 鍋包肉 (RM18.00)
Deep fried marinated pork loin stir fried with vinegar based sauce.  As much as we loved the crispy outside juicy inside pork fillet, We liked the concept of pairing the deep fried pork loin with zesty sauce too, as it helped to tone down the greasiness. So delicious

Crisp Potato 香辣土豆片 (RM18)
We put it under the category of- Snack. It was so addictive, crunchy with a touch spiciness. Oiliness was the downside. Ideal to go with a pint of beer.

Fish with Sour Cabbage and Spicy Soup 酸菜魚 (RM32.00)
The favourite dish among all for that night. We had been hearing so much about this dish and this was the first time we tried on it. Dried chillies, fish, sour cabbage, soup stock and some herbs and spices- violaa, the end results was amazing. The fish was meltingly soft while the soup was spicy, sourish. Very unique dish that we couldn’t get enough of, especially the soup. Highly recommended.

Ma Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐 (RM12.00)
Smooth tofu circling with a layer of bright coloured, glossy chilli oil. Flavourful but didn’t meet the spiciness we expected to have.

Sauerkraut 東北酸菜粉 (RM18.00)
Glass noodles, salted vegetables and meat slices made up the main ingredients in this dish. very clean, refreshing and appetizing flavours, but again, was a taste that locals not used to.

 Dong Bei Style Stewed Pot 東北大亂燉 (RM25.00)

A wonderful stew, slowly cooked to get all the flavours of eggplant, peas, potato, carrots, sweet corn and meat developed. A pot of rich, comforting, full flavoured dish. The gravy gathered all the goodness of vegetable and meat, worth scooping some onto your rice.

 Hot & Spicy Seafood麻辣香鍋 (RM28.00)

Big prawns, the first thing that came in sight when this arrived. Other than that would be the dried chillies amount that made you wondered how spicy it would be, and what was hidden beneath. Spoon aside the bed of dried chillies revealling eggplant and mushroom, packed in flavour but with substantial oiliness. And it wasn’t as spicy as it looks.

Dumplings 餃子 (RM8/ 10 pieces)

The dumpling skin was rather thick but the juicy meaty filling saved the marks, very homemade flavour. Through out the whole dinner session, the staffs were seen non-stop making trays and trays of dumplings, so we guessed dumpling was one of the best seller in Dong Bei.

Potstickers 鍋貼 (RM10/ 10 pieces)

Over the steamed and deep fried, we preferred the later one for its crunchy bottom layer that paired beautifully with the juicy fillings.

In this restaurant, simplicity tangling around obviously: Decorations are simple, staffs in casual attires and sit quietly wrapping dumplings, owners are humble and shy, but very friendly in answering our questions. Comparing to some famous Chinese Restaurants which are having good business but with arrogant staffs, Dong Bei in the other hand, promoting all the good manners. We strongly recommend this place, and thanks to them, those who don’t get the chance to travel far can have a taste of aunthentic Dong Bei specialities, and travellers from China who stays here can get a taste of home in Malaysia.

Photographer: Summer

Writer: YLing

Address:

Dong Bei Restaurant280, Changkat Thambi Dollah,