Restaurant Tar Kuow, Padang Serai – Taste Like Grandma’s Cooking

It has always been my interest to search for exotic and uncovered places for food as those food are more delectable and reasonable in pricing. However the drawback of getting such place is difficulty in giving direction as most of them are not located along the main road or near to any attraction points.

The place that I am going to introduce today is an eatery shop that located some distance away from urban area. It operates under a small humble hut and yet it is always full of people during lunch time.

There were only one main chef and one assistant with 2 stoves. Nevertheless the waiting time for the food to be served was not long at all even the whole shop was swamped with crowd.

If you are heading to Kulim from Butterworth via BKE (Butterworth Kulim Express), turn left on exit 129. Once at the junction take the exit right to 119. Keep driving for another 5KM until you see the exit of 118 which is Jalan Lunas. Turn right and drive for another 1KM, until you see the cross junction in front and you need to turn left. Follow the winding road until you come to another cross junction, turn left again. This time follow the road of 136 for 8KM , half way through you will see Sekolah Kebangsaan Tok Dik on your left hand side. This mean you are at the correct direction. Keep driving until you reach exit left to K112, then turn into that direction. Keep driving for another 200meters and you will see your destination on your right.

The dishes served are very down-to-earth local homestyle cooking. It really reminded me of my grandma when I was young.

Deep Fried Black Pomfret with Soy Sauce – RM25, The black pomfret was first deep fried and it was then covered with some soy sauce and oil. It was then sprinkled with some chopped bird eye chili for some flavoring. The texture of the fish was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The aroma of fresh fish could be felt the moment you peeled the meat. The preparation of this dish was very simple, yet the taste was so nice.

Buah Petai “Stink Bean” cooked with Sourish Curry – RM15, the buah petai is also known as the stink bean. The reason being was that after you had this bean your breath and also your pass gas will stink. The beans were pan fried with prawns and sourish curry, and topped with some onions. The taste was simply delicious.

Pan Fried Marinated Dark Sauce Pork Slices – RM12. This was one of the signature dishes here. The pork slices were marinated with dark sauce, pepper, Chinese wine and some other seasonings. The meat was then pan fried to perfection. The dish was completed with some slices of tomato, chili sauce, capsicum and spring onions. The meat just melted in your mouth and it was full of flavors. This is one of my favourites.

Stir Fried Firm Bean curd with Mix Veggie – RM10, the firm bean curds were cut into cubes, then stir fried with cabbage, capsicums, roast pork, onion slices and mushroom slices. The gravy of the dish was nice, it had full of Chinese wine flavor. Also the overall of this dish was full of pan fried aroma.

Stir Fried Eggplant – RM5, the egg plant was cut into slices, then cooked with soft bean curd and some minced meat. The savor of the eggplant was to reduce the stink effect of buah petai during the digestion process. Although I am not a very big fan of eggplant, the way the chef prepared this dish was acceptable and great for me.

Overall, this place served very nice and delicious food, it reminded me of the food that my grandma used to cook and the price of the dishes here were also very reasonable. The drawback was this place was not easy to be located and it could be very hot during noon.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 12:00noon – 5:00pm (Friday off)
Contact: 012-557 4388
Address: M.T.S.P No 1 & 2, Jalan Bagan, 09400 Padang Serai, Kedah.
GPS: 5° 51′ 32.48″ N, 100° 55′ 28.98″ E