IPOH, Nov 13 — When Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned eating wantan mee in Bidor as a child at a lunch yesterday with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, many wondered if he was referring to Pun Chun Restaurant.
After all, that Bidor restaurant was — and still is — probably the most famous pit stop for generations of travellers.
Khong Sook Fun, 56, who currently manages the 81-year-old restaurant, said she was amazed that Lee still remembers the wantan mee he ate there decades ago.
“It is a proud moment for us. For him to mention about our noodles is definitely an honour,” she told Malay Mail when contacted.
“I cannot remember exactly when Lee and his family visited our restaurant… but I believe it was at night. Even my mother cannot remember the year. It was a long time ago,” she added.
Lee remembered that his family would stop over in Bidor while on the way to Cameron Highlands.
Khong, who is the granddaughter of the restaurant’s founder Khong Yun, is the third generation of the family running the restaurant.
“We make our own wantan noodles. It does not contain any preservatives; we use whole chicken eggs with flour and we do not add water to it. That is the reason why our noodles have a unique taste,” she said.
Khong hopes Lee will visit their restaurant again to enjoy the wantan noodles the next time he comes to Malaysia.
“We would be very happy to host him again,” she added.
Apart from the wantan noodles, Pun Chun is also famous for its duck leg noodles and fragrant chicken biscuits.
“Our roasted duck meat with thick herbal soup is the signature dish. People come from all over the country to eat it,” she said.
