Fu Kua Restaurant @ Taman S.E.A, Petaling Jaya

Growing up, I was never a fan of bitter gourd, or anything bitter for that matter. Being more of a spicy and savoury person, I usually left any dishes involving bitter gourd untouched. Recently, however, I have started to adapt my taste buds to bitter gourd, also known as ‘fu kua’ in Cantonese. Bitter gourd, celery and green apple blended juice was my first attempt at liking the green fruit. Then, it was bitter gourd noodles in soup. And finally, last week, I managed to graduate thanks to a certain restaurant that names itself after the fruit – Restoran Fu Kua.

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Fu Kua Restaurant
No. 19, Jalan SS 23/15,
Taman S.E.A.,
47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Contact No.: +6016-219 1548/ +6016-243 4233
GPS Coordinates: N3 06.971 E101 36.736
Business Hours : 11am – 3pm & 5.30pm – 11pm

Situated in a rather quiet row of shop lots (at night), this restaurant occupies all of 2 shop houses on the ground floor, with one of them air-conditioned. Parking was aplenty since there were not many other shops opened at night.

Interior of Restoran Fu Kua

Do you like bitter gourd?

Once we’re comfortably seated, we were shown a very yellow menu filled with words! It was rather overwhelming especially when the waitress stood next to you, tapping her pen on her order pad impatiently. We took one good look at the menu and decided to ask for recommendations instead.

Bird’s eye chilli

Marmite Pork Ribs (RM20)

Our first order was Marmite Pork Ribs, to replace the Bamboo pork that wasn’t available that night. The ribs were deep fried and coated with a gooey, sweet and savoury layer of marmite, making them very flavourful as the starter. The meat within the crispy surface was surprisingly tender as opposed to tough, which is common for most deep-fried items. This was a very nice alternative to the common Sweet and sour pork that I usually order.

Black Bean Chicken and Bitter Gourd (RM21)

Of course, when we’re at the restaurant that names itself after a certain green fruit, it was only sensible to order dishes cooked with that fruit. The Black Bean Chicken and Bitter Gourd was one of those dishes. Ten years ago, when this dish was ordered, I wouldn’t have touched it. But now, under strong recommendations from fellow foodies, I took a bite of the bitter gourd and it was amazingly not bitter! I almost couldn’t believe it and took a second and a third bite, only to confirm that yes, bitter gourd can be pleasant. It must have been the black bean sauce that was able to mask the bitterness really well, for I found myself having more and more helpings of this, together with the tender village chicken mixed in this dish. At this point, I was starting to be a convert.

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