Archive for Food
October 26, 2007 at 10:05 am · Filed under Penang, Malaysia, Food
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 Penang, Malaysia, Food
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 Penang, Malaysia, Food
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!
October 24, 2007 at 11:17 pm · Filed under Penang, Malaysia, Food
Otak Otak is a nyonya dish which means brains in Malay but the ingredients are (thankfully!) a lot more conventional. The base is a fish paste, onto which spices such as chilli, lemon grass, tumeric, coconut milk are added into it. Wrapped into a banana leaf, it’s then grilled over the fire, preferably charcoal.
Compared to the famous ones from Muar, this ones are wrapped into prisms so they’re effectively bigger (edit: this shape seems to be the norm in Thailand, and it’s steamed rather than grilled). Flavours are milder but with a more tangy aftertaste, and the texture is closer to crumbly beancurd than springy fishballs.
I think there’s going to be a lot of split opinions on this one. I’m settling for the Penang version because it’s balanced closer to a mini meal rather than a slightly overpowering side dish.
October 21, 2007 at 6:55 am · Filed under Penang, Malaysia, Food
Penang Oh Chien is a Hokkien dish imported directly from China that has remained largely unchanged, for a good reason. Somehow both the texture and taste of oysters and eggs melded in searing oil plays a short but beautiful symphony on your tongue, and your cholestrol levels.
Our book pointed us to Bee San coffeeshop at Ayer Hitam, corner of Jalan Padang Tembak and Jalan Ayer Hitam. He had to heat his wok for about 5 minutes, after which he took less than a minute to deliver his gold nuggets.
Look at his grin when he realised we were food pilgrims!
Aside common mistakes such as unfresh oysters, the difficulty lies in cooking with intense heat to seal in the flavours quickly but still avoid overcooking the oysters. A bit too oily for my comfort, but the taste was truly outstanding!
October 21, 2007 at 6:54 am · Filed under Penang, Malaysia, Food
This is it, the gastronomical capital of Malaysia. The Greatest Hits album of Malaysian cuisine, even if you can know exactly where to go and eat all day, you’ll still barely cover a third of every culinary choice Penang has to offer.
Some people get disappointed from the hype, but like any Greatest Hits album you should still expect a few duds, not to mention contingencies of personal taste.
What I appreciate most about this place is the extremely vibrant hawker scene where the hawker (may be rude) are not complacent and constantly strive to be the best.
But … what do you do in the face of overwhelming choices? We have two days and the need to try the best. So we bought ourselves the spanking newly published Penang Street Food Guide (approved by a local friend) and set off … HAWKER TREKKING !
October 19, 2007 at 1:14 am · Filed under Ipoh, Malaysia, Food
When I was very young, I remember rationing myself with Heong Peng (trans: Fragrant Pastry) because this yummy treat was only available whenever my auntie personally brought over a bag to Sabah.
It’s hard to describe what’s so great about it. Imagine a delicate bubble of crunchy matte flaky crust outside - which oozes a sweet, flavoursome chewy filling the moment you bite into one.
It’s only until recently that you can find them in supermarkets. I’ve tried one but, because they’re factory-made, I find the taste severely compromised.
So it’s with great pleasure that we got to visit the one last place (well, that I know of) where they still make it by hand. This family still operates from their semi detached home at No. 177, Persiaran Gunung Rapat 6, 31350 Ipoh.
The biscuits get their distinctive teardrop shape from being stuck to the side of the oven. Still “powered by” charcoal, the heat is still intense and I can feel it from a metre away.
Just to show how good the biscuits are, Julius in his wisdom did not take any closeup shots of this crazily addictive stuff before they were finished. Yummy!
October 19, 2007 at 1:09 am · Filed under Ipoh, Malaysia, Food
What you see below is the real Ipoh Ho Fun, from the soup to noodles to garnish.
Note how thick the stock is (not diluted “salty water” trying to pass off as soup), and together with the special silky bouncy noodles makes for a very appetizing meal. Definitely much better than anything in Singapore or Sydney.
Just to get into the mood for authenticity, we all ordered a cup of Ipoh White Coffee each. I heard it’s white because they fry the coffee powder with butter but I didn’t find the drink particularly oily.
October 16, 2007 at 12:44 pm · Filed under Ipoh, Malaysia, Food
Since it wasn’t holiday season and most young Ipoh girls are probably in school or working in KL, I couldn’t test the water theory.
BUT I must say that the water here is doing something magical to the chicken, bean sprouts and Ho Fun (trans: flat rice noodles).
Sidenote - Say hello to my auntie and uncle on the left.
Ipoh’s water is very hard, saturated with minerals after filtering through many layers of limestone. Boiling chickens in this water is apparently what gives them their super smooth and springy texture. I can personally vouch for the Ho Fun, they are exceptionally smooth and springy too.
Look closely at the size and shape of those super healthy Ipoh bean sprouts ! They’re like tiny white carrots !!!
October 13, 2007 at 10:09 pm · Filed under Malaysia, Melaka, Food
The locals seemed inclined to only mention Pineapple Tart when asked where to get the best nyonya kuih. I tried it, it’s good. But where are the rest of the nyonya kuihs ???
Chendol however, is really legendary. Stays solid enough in the sultry weather but still melts in your mouth, just sweet enough to actually quench your thirst instead making you order more water.
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