review: restaurant soon hock

address: jalan desa aman 13, sungai buloh, selangor

tel: 03-6140 3510, 012-210 2533

 Thank god for the wonder of highways! Sure, they're a pain when they're being constructed - causing traffic snarls which make us all curse in the car over the songs (and ads) on the radio, but once they're up - it makes travelling to food so much faster!

That's one of the reason why we manage to get to Soon Hock for lunch. That, and because I have friends who drive like maniacs! But its worth it - lunch here is fast, good and cheap!

This is one of the dishes we always order: sang cheong with dried prawns. This is actually the sow's fallopian tubes - not the intestines, as some people think. The texture is very different from intestines, as it is almost crunchy/chewy and it doesn't have the funky tastes of some offal. At Soon Hock, it is stir-fried with dried prawns, onion and chilli padi.

At Soon Hock, every table always has a fish. This time we had it steamed, and it is served with tau fu pok in the sauce, which helps to soak up the gravy. The fish here is always really fresh and not muddy tasting, so it is worthwhile ordering since it's not easy to steam fish well at home since you  need to do it over a very hot fire to generate the amount of steam required.

This is a favorite with everyone who comes here! Deep fried pork slices, lightly battered and fried in really hot oil with a sweet coating. You might think that this would be overly sweet and cloying, but they have added dried sotong strips which gives its a savory note. Kids (and big kids) will love this!

Salted egg bittergourd - yummy enough to convert even bittergourd haters! Here it is sliced thinly and fried with salted egg, which takes the bitter edge away from the veggie. I would love this as a bar snack, if only I could figure out how to make it!

Oh yeah, I should also add that lunch here is always under RM30, even when we ordered two fishes and staggered out with tummies so full that we all felt sleepy in the bright, mid-afternoon drive back. Do you need any more reason to make the trip?

address: jalan  desa aman 13, sungai buloh, selangor

tel: 03-6140 3510, 012-210 2533