Archive for Food
August 1, 2008 at 4:01 am · Filed under Food, Thailand
Guest Post by Marianne (The Chef)
Along the streets of Thailand (notably Nakhon Pathom), you’ll see stalls with curious stacks of bamboo on them. Look behind and you’ll find a machete-wielding man!
He shouts,
Dtrai Nèung Roi Baht!
Then after sensing we’re not locals…
3 for 100 Baht, Sticky Rice, Velli Nice … you want?
These bundles of bamboo are Nakhon Pathom’s famous Khao Lam (trans: ข้าวหลาม, Thai for glutinous rice cooked in bamboo).
The rice is soaked for several hours than mixed with coconut milk and sugar. Then this mixture is stuffed into bamboo trunks that are sealed on both ends with banana leaves and steamed.
Variations include using dark or white glutinous rice, adding black beans or egg custard. Like many traditional recipes, every vendor claims their version is the best.
We ordered three of mixed variety. The vendor whips out her machete and swiftly splits them in a blink. Raffia string is then tied for easy transport. Mimicking locals, we stood at the bus stop clawing away with our fingers.
Unfortunately, I personally did not like khao lam but the boys seemed to enjoy it. The ones we had were too sweet for my taste and the glutinous rice just does not do it for me. However, I have to say the the rice (having been cooked in bamboo) absorbed a woody flavour and produced a very unique aroma.
I can see why the locals make this dish their staple; you can easily cycle home or get on the bus with khao lam slinged over your shoulders. It tastes good eaten hot or cold, is very filling and relatively cheap.
Be careful not to eat too much! According to Thai tradition, sticky rice puts you fast asleep if more than a couple of handfuls are eaten.
March 12, 2008 at 11:42 pm · Filed under Culture, Food, Thailand, Unusual
When night falls in Nakhon Pathom, a night market emerges underneath the twilight shadow of a great chedi. A lone man appears with his stall, unassuming at first but his unshakable aura of confidence – soon follows.
Reaching his usual spot at the market, he picks up his ice cream scoop. He looks around, searching and suddenly, makes eye contact with you. A wave of energy rushes forth from him and he SNAPS into his starting position!!
He looks you in the eye and bellows,
SATU, DUA, TIGAAAAAA – AN YOUNG HA SAY OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! (안녕하세요 – Thanks Sae Hoon)
Whips out a red fan from nowhere – splays it above, below and next to him. Fan disappears. And in a split second – a blur of movements ensues, like a drunken martial arts master he assumes one contorted pose after another.
The master finishes his moves, final stance. Then slowly tilts his head up.
A PIECE OF ICE CREAM HAS BEEN LAUNCHED, IT’S FLYING IN THE AIR!!!
Time slows down, the silence became deafening, it sails across the air in a curve, slowing spinning along its trajectory … and it lands!
Perfectly in the cup held by his accomplice from the audience, 20 metres away!
The crowd erupts in applause!!! The master bows! Our minds, blown away!
And before you know it, another unmistakable wave of energy …
SATU, DUA, TIGAAAAAA – AN YOUNG HA SAY OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 5, 2007 at 5:47 pm · Filed under Food, Thailand
I had the great pleasure of experiencing Thai hospitality first hand from Marianne’s Le Cordon Bleu classmate, Aummy (pronounced: Oo-Mee).
And this is her warm family – Aummy’s Mummy & Daddy …
Aummy and her Dad can speak English very well, but her mum can only speak Thai. Even so, language is hardly a factor in their generosity. The whole time I was stucked indoors (because of the allergy), her mum kept offering food all day to me with sign language !!
Speaking of food, the moment we arrived in Bangkok we were treated to an excellent authentic Thai dinner outside (we were surviving on street food, just to provide you contrast). Our stomachs were packed to the brim and just as when we thought it was over, we arrived at her home to see TONS of Thai desserts. It was like Hansel & Gretel’s “Exotic Asian” Gingerbread House.
These were the plates that could fit on the small coffee table. There were many more tubs of Thai pastries, cookies, “Khanom Bu Yong” and et cetera below the table.
Sticky Rice Mangoes
“Foi Thong” family of desserts – christened by its namesake, the noodle-looking ones. Round ones are Thong Yot. Cupcake ones are Thong Yip. They are all made of egg yolks and sugar, apparently a Portugese influence.
Umi if you are reading this, I told you I will try my best to remember the names !
I think at this point Julius suffered photographic overloaded and stopped snapping the other goodies.
November 13, 2007 at 7:03 am · Filed under Food, Thailand, Unusual
For those not in the know, I’ve been reminding myself to be game enough to try “bugs” during this romp through Southeast Asia. Thinking it’ll most likely happen later in the trip, the Great Cosmic Interference has decided to bring the Bug Hawker to me during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. How convenient, but really …. this is too soon!!
Agh !!! I could still remember the smell of it looking at the photo. There are four species here – caterpillars, silkworms, grasshoppers and crickets – or at least that’s what I think they are.
After a few bites, Ben and Marianne timed out. Julius and I pressed on, Piece by Piece … Bug by Bug !!! But even with half a bag finished in 5 minutes, it was too slow …. our gagging reflex was fast catching up with us – trying to knock some sense into us. There’s only one way to solve this ….. a BUG BINGEEEEEEEE !!
*BUrP*
In hindsight, it kind of tasted like really really crunchy deep fried prawn crackers in curry powder. But the thought of a cricket leg stuck in between my teeth … mmmm …
November 9, 2007 at 8:13 pm · Filed under Food, Thailand
The Vegetarian Festival now practiced wherever there’s Chinese in Thailand are started by the Hokkiens in Phuket a little more than a hundred years ago (or something like that). Phuket Town does look remarkably like an inland version of Georgetown except the vegetarian food is not really that appetizing.
The few Hokkiens I bump into cannot muster more than a few words of Hokkien, relegating Hokkien as their parents’ language, not theirs. In a strange twist, many Thais are happily adopted the Vegetarian Festival as their own custom. Things here are not as clear cut as Malaysia, which shows that people DO get along well if they want it to.
We went to Bang Niew Shrine to see the raising of the Lantern Pole, which was quite an thrilling experience. Everyone was staring at this massive pole (carved from a single tree!) occasionally slip a few times over a large crowd of people. More like hair-raising.
An aural experience as well, if you can mix in your head the sound of firecrackers, lion dance music, and 10 people trying to give orders to 5 other people.
November 9, 2007 at 8:08 pm · Filed under Food, Thailand
I know this doesn’t count as food but it’s definitely a gastronomical post. I saw these little buckets stacked with tiny bottles of spirits, which I thought was Thailand’s weird way of tagging liquor prices. Then we saw a bunch of people sipping from some strangely familiar buckets, hmm.
After some shopping around, we decide to settle for the 400 Baht – Ballantine’s Whiskey + Red Bull + Coca Cola combo!!
Looks awesome, huh. We were kinda of sipping it slowly until someone came up with the idea of a drinking game using Koo Chi Par (For you Singaporeans, Chi Par Koo) !!! Finished it in less than 5 minutes … brutal.
November 4, 2007 at 6:32 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
My personal rating of Must Try in this order …
- Char Kway Teow
- Loh Bak
- Hokkien Prawn Mee
- Assam Laksa
Bon appetit!
November 4, 2007 at 6:30 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
It’s fitting to end our Hawker Trek with another family favorite (specifically my mum’s), Penang Assam Laksa. Assam is the Malay word for tamarind. Like rojak, responses can range from being an acquired taste to loving it in the first try.
I guess what catches most people off guard is the word “laksa” because it’ altogether a very different dish from your typical bowl of laksa. Real authentic assam laksa uses small kampung fish as opposed to mackerel with a hard-to-find type of glass noodles.
We tried our bowl at the entrance to Kek Lok Si temple and it was brilliant. I think it’s good enough to convert skeptics but I think you’ll still need to approach it without any preconceptions.
Highly recommended !!
October 31, 2007 at 2:32 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
Imagine my surprise when I discovered Hokkien Mee in Penang means Prawn Mee! Having mentioned my parents’ favorite dishes, you are looking at a Prawn Mee connoisseur.
Penang Prawn Mee is well known throughout Malaysia and Singapore, so to be the best in Penang is really something. Everyone seems to agree that the stall you see above (in a food court off Swatow Lane) serves the best Hokkien Mee and it really shows in their attitude to customers. We showed up at 11:00am and it’s already sold out (!!), asking us to come back tomorrow.
The following day we went at 9:00am and they still had the balls to say they’ve sold out !!! Personally, I think he’s giving preference to regulars which is a bit frustrating. Anyway Marianne made some noise and he said that if we really want to try, we’ll have to wait for an hour. And We Did !
I really wanted to hate them (so there’s no need for me to return) but unfortunately the Prawn Mee is really the best I have ever eaten. Whether it’s worth an hour’s wait really depends on your love for this dish. Perhaps I need to earn my penance by waiting an hour every morning for a week, and earn Regular status.
Hmm, definitely conceivable for someone like me.
October 31, 2007 at 2:22 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
Loh Bak stands for Seasoned Meat but it is also served with other deep-fried goodies. At this point of time, the names of new foods have stopped sticking in my brain so I can’t remember what I ate in addition to Loh Bak.
We sampled the one on Penang Road. The dipping sauce has a slightly starchier consistency than normally found elsewhere in Malaysia but the flavour is smacked on the sweet spot. The sweetness, saltiness and umami (trans: Japanese for the fifth taste, savouriness) perfectly balanced.
It’s close to Sri Kayu Nasi Kandar. Do try it because it was very close to mindblowing. He’s also the person who gets invited and flown to Singapore to cook Loh Bak for the Penang Food Fest once a year.
October 31, 2007 at 2:13 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
I was blindly following the guidebook for this one, just to find out what it is. But upon arriving I realised it’s what the Cantonese call Loh Bak Gou (trans: Carrot Cake).
We bought some anyway since I’m a completist. It’s nothing super incredibly outstanding but I’ve never seen carrot cake fried so violently. He was banging the wok louder than a drum kit.
October 31, 2007 at 2:10 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
While Georgetown is a predominantly Chinese town, Malays and Indians do make up a sizeable portion of the population. Nasi Kandar (trans: nasi – rice, kandar – carry a load at each end of a pole on your shoulder) comes from the once common tradition of the wandering Malay street hawkers carrying dishes on baskets at the end of poles where you pick two or three curries to complement a plate of rice. Nowadays, you eat Nasi Kandar in restaurants. We decide to sample Sri Kayu on Penang Road.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting much but what really killed it for me was the price. Starting off over RM 4, adding a few bite size chunks of fried fish eggs and chicken bumped the price up to an astronomical RM 10 - for something which I’m confident I can cook better myself.
Well, they seemed amazed when they found out that their shop was featured in our Hawker Trekking bible. I guess they weren’t that confident of their cooking to begin with.
October 26, 2007 at 10:05 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
If my father is crazy about Char Kway Teow, my mother is crazy about finding good rojak. It’s actually quite a bizarre eclectic mix of raw fruits, green mango, cucumber, cuttlefish and various things I still don’t recognise – topped with Heh Koh (trans: Prawn Paste) and crushed peanuts. Acquired taste for some, addictive on the first try for others.
We sampled the Majesty rojak close to Swatow lane. According to Marianne, they are missing some common ingredients (intentionally?) but they make up for it by a mile with their Heh Koh. I concur, the Heh Koh is really something – it’s thick like caramel and undiluted but not overpowering at all.
If the camera could capture the magma-like consistency of the peanuts in the sauce, you might have an idea of how well made it is.
October 26, 2007 at 10:05 am · Filed under Food, Malaysia
In the same shop as the Macalister’s Road Sisters Char Kway Teow is the town’s famous Or Kuih. It’s incredibly pricey, RM 3 for something slightly smaller than two Maggi mee noodles stacked atop another.
Not sure if it’s good enough to keep you awake at night, but I did find myself unhesitantly stealing a scoop or two to complement my Char Kway Teow. Marianne is distracted by it enough to vouch for its quality.
By the way, I found this sign (in the shop) very entertaining …
October 24, 2007 at 11:37 pm · Filed under Food, Malaysia
The elusive Penang Char Kway Teow (trans: Fried Rice Noodles) has legions of die hard fans who spend their whole lives looking for the ultimate version. My father is one of those, and the difficulty of this dish is outlined by the most common reaction I see – that of disappointment.
From the dilemma of adding cockles and chinese sausage or not, to witnessing incredibly passionate debates over which stall cooks the best Char Kway Teow, I’ve never came across another dish this controversial in Malaysian cuisine.
The Macalister Road’s Sisters (Jie Mei) Char Kway Teow not only has plenty who swear by its goodness, but also plenty who swear against it. If time is on our side, we would have done a Char Kway Teow tasting special but we have to make do with just this one.
While I’m not even close to the Char Kway Teow connoisseur my father is, this version is definitely top class - with just the right amount of chilli, soy sauce, bean sprouts and a whiff of wok hei (trans: Wok Smell – hard to describe).
Singaporeans might find this light soy sauce version not as sweet. And from what Marianne could taste before the chilli overwhelmed her after the third spoonful, it is still outstanding.
Must try!
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