Tag: Malaysia

Years of Tradition present more to this transit town than gas stations.

In part 3 of our Sedap Food Trail series, we wander into a sleepy village in Batang Kali, a town in Selangor often used as a transit point to Genting Highlands. It is quiet, to say the least. We were eager to pick up packets of Oh Swee Len’s famed sesame candy, a traditional staple at weddings that have been in business since 1923. After directions from kind neighbours, we finally end up in the kitchen of Leonard Oh’s home.

To say that the candy is a labour of love is an understatement. The kitchen is no ordinary kitchen, having been where Oh’s grandfather first started making the candy. The seven-day method of preparation, which produces around 100 kg of sweets, hasn’t changed too. After soaking, pressing, steaming and drying, large sheets of glutinous flour mixture are transformed magically into bite-sized rectangles, which are then fried in low heat. The finishing touches include soaking them in maltose sugar and rolling the candy with sesame or rice puffs.

Oh, who took over the family business after a career in financial consulting, says it is the nostalgic memory of his grandfather that inspired him to trade his fancy suits for sweaty t-shirts. “It is very important that we do not lose traditional skills like this. Automating can help us with things like cutting, but you still need to feel, to actually cook, to maintain a certain standard and connection.”

 

Sentiments like these are what keep eateries like Restaurant Ken Kee alive. I starred intently at the claypot of yam and ribs noodles with dark sauce as lady boss Avelyn Fong, explained how her parents would cook this dish for her when she was a studying for her exams. “It tastes of home,” she says. Indeed. Generous chunks of soft yam are simmered in a broth of pork ribs and dark sauce together with homemade noodles for 20 minutes before served in a steaming hot inviting mess. “We cook it portion by portion,” she adds with pride.

Other dishes worth tasting are the vegetable broth noodles, salted egg fried chicken, butter egg tofu and Nyonya hotplate fish, which features a mess of assam sambal vegetables (13 ingredients, according to Fong) on top of a deep fried Tilapia fish.

H DIRECTORY

Swee Len Food Industries
36, Jalan Kelah 2, Taman Perniagaan Kelah, 44300 Batang Kali, Selangor
Tel + 6017 366 2698
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm, daily; Closed Mon.

Restaurant Ken Kee
1 Jalan Jati Utama 3, Bandar Batang Kali,
44300 Batang Kali, Selangor (Near Batang Kali KTMB Station)
Tel +6016 311 2762
Opening hours: 9am to 4pm (Mon to Sat); 9.30am to 4pm (Sun)

In search for Malaysia’s best unearthed food expedition…

Part 1 of our Sedap Food Trail sees us going around to the lesser-known “brother” of the famous Penang island.

Butterworth

30 minutes/ 22km from Georgetown

Often looked over by tourists who favour Georgetown’s colonial atmosphere, Butterworth is an industrial town located across the channel earmarked as an important transportation hub.

Serving some of the freshest and cheapest seafood in Penang, Ong Cheng Huat Seafood is an underrated gem for families and big groups. There are only seven items on its menu, which translates to a focused, speedy kitchen team, consistent standard and affordable prices. We arrive for an early lunch to crowds of diners under a metal shack. Within 10 minutes of placing our orders, a plate of blanched octopus drizzled with deep-fried garlic along with a peanut-chilli sauce is served.

The generous portion of fried bee hoon, not too oily with an aromatic wok hei is the staple as the restaurant doesn’t serve white rice, though diners are allowed to bring their own.

Be sure to order the signature crispy prawn fritters wrapped with popiah skin, crispy spring chicken and sambal belacan (fresh chilli with toasted shrimp paste) for a pleasant spread. The star though, was the steamed fresh red snapper, delivered fresh from Phuket daily. Steamed in a Teochew style for some 10 minutes with freshly chopped garlic, ginger, pickled vegetables and chili, the taste of chunks of fish that fell off the bone, doused in tangy soup with a hint of spiciness was unbeatable.

Ong Cheng Huat Seafood
6093, Kampung Pokok Keras, 13400 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang
Tel +604 331 4782
Opening hours: 11am to 5.30pm, daily. Closed Mon.

Ong Cheng Huat Seafood serves some of the freshest and cheapest seafood in Penang.

An open kitchen focused only seven items on its menu translates to a consistent standard and affordable prices.

A plate of blanched octopus is drizzled with deep fried garlic and served with a peanut-chilli sauce.

Bukit Mertajam

30 minutes/ 27km from Georgetown

Excited by the prospects of journeying for ‘untainted’, heartland food, we move on to BM Cup Rice, a humble roadside stall with all of four tables helmed by Mdm Chow Yuen Chew.

A family business born in 1978, the stall has weathered the years with its traditional recipe of roasted chicken and pork rice. The sound of a heavy cleaver on the chopping board entices, as engines flare from motorists eagerly awaiting their takeaways.

One bite and we didn’t have to wonder why. Mdm Chow drizzles two servings of thick gravy on a generous serving of golden brown siew bak (roast pork), char siew (bbq pork), roast chicken and plain rice, which was steamed in a small aluminium bowl. It is crunchy to the right degree with a kick from a potent green chili and garlic oil concoction, washed down perfectly with a bowl of preserved vegetable soup.

BM Cup Rice
74 Street Stall Jalan Danby,
14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Tel +6016 557 3508
Opening hours: 6am to 9pm, daily. Closed on Weds.

A family business born in 1978, BM Cup Rice is a humble roadside stall with all of four tables selling roasted chicken and pork rice.

A family business born in 1978, BM Cup Rice is a humble roadside stall with all of four tables selling roasted chicken and pork rice.

Perai

20 minutes / 17 km from Georgetown

For locals who drive the distance from Penang’s mainland in search of food, a well-loved classic is yam rice accompanied by pork innards and preserved vegetable (kiam chye) soup.

We try out Kedai Kopi Chip Heng Yam Rice, an airy and breezy kopitiam decked with lilac pastel walls and packed with tables of hungry office workers at noon. The aroma is promising. The unassuming Mr Png Lai Heng, 48, who has been running the business with the help of his family members for the last 21 years, says: “The ingredients have to be fresh, it’s that simple.”

Our mouths water as we tuck into the bowl of yam rice in front of us. Yam rice relies heavily on the quality of yam and is cooked with rice, dried shrimps and dark sauce. The texture was comforting—soft yet powdery with cubes of yam and tasted of home. It is served with a variety of soups from bittergourd to yong tau foo (stuffed bean curd with fish paste), but it is the kiam chye soup with pork meatballs and innards which takes the cake.

Mrs Png mans the soup with much precision as the fresh scent of parsley leaves and mild sour taste kept me going back for more. A highlight was the chilli padi and dark sauce that gave the dish an extra kick. The braised pork (tau you bak) with pieces of soft tau kwa (bean curd), was a surprise and added another dimension to the experience.

Kedai Kopi Chip Heng Yam Rice
45 Lebuh Kurau Satu, Taman Chai Leng, Perai,
13700 Seberang Perai Tengah, Pulau Pinang
Tel +604 390 0136
Opening hours: 9.30am to 4pm, daily. Closed on Mons & Thurs.

Yam rice is cooked with yam, rice, dried shrimps and dark sauce. It is served with kiam chye soup with pork meatballs and innards.

Kedai Kopi Chip Heng Yam Rice is an airy and breezy kopitiam packed with tables of hungry offi ce workers at noon.

Our tastebuds awoken, we take a short drive towards Beng Huat Asam Fish Chicken Rice, another eatery adored by the community for its chicken rice with assam fish soup. We arrive to the hustle-bustle of owner Li Beng Huat, 40 and his crew of five busy chopping and frying away. With his white beard, Mr Li cuts quite a character (his face is used as the shop’s logo).

The kitchen is stationed at the shopfront and one cannot help but get sucked into the scene of fried chicken drizzled with soya sauce, dark sauce and sesame oil, bean sprouts dished by the heap and a bubbling pot of dark orange assam gravy simmering in the corner. We share a portion of mackerel fish swimming in assam gravy rich and savory. Around us, empty bowls and plates are a sign of appreciation.

Beng Huat Asam Fish Chicken Rice
215 Jalan Gan Chai Leng, Taman Chai Leng,
13700 Perai, Pulau Pinang
Tel +604 398 3127
Opening hours: 10am to 4.30pm, daily.

Beng Huat Asam Fish Chicken Rice is popular for its chicken rice with assam fish soup.

Where generations of hawkers leave their mark.

In this second part of our Sedap Food Trail series, we bring you to Ipoh. Famed for their local delights and white coffee, it was a journey of happiness in our bellies as we devoured these culinary delights.

Rich, sweet with a hint of bitter and absolutely aromatic, there was no other way to start our hunt for Ipoh’s best cuisine than at Sin Yoon Loong Original White Coffee. A preferred place for breakfast by locals since it opened in 1937, the coffee shop looked like a scene straight out of a Wong Kar Wai movie with its gentle light, tables of chatty elderly bantering in Cantonese and busy servers whisking cups of coffee, toasts with kaya (coconut jam) and curry chee cheong fun (rice rolls).

We move on eagerly to Ipoh’s famous Dim Sum street, helmed by big guns such as Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum and Foh San Dim Sum. Staying away from the throngs of people, we decide on the smaller Chang Keong Dim Sum restaurant, lured partially by its display of steaming baskets.

Cheery duo chef Chang Keong, who has had more than 30 years of experience across various Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore, has been running the stall with his wife Sakura since 2002. He said: “Dim Sum is a way of living for the locals. We keep our food simple and close to their hearts.” A stream of people line up for their takeaways as we wolf down our hot big buns, har kow (prawn dumplings), fish skin dumplings, glutinous rice, bean curd skin rolls and carrot cake, which was stir-fried with generous helpings of chives, eggs and bean sprouts. Of course, there is always room for dessert.

We make a quick dash for a bowl of soybean curd at Funny Mountain Soya Bean. Established in 1952, Brothers Ben and Cliff Tan, who took over the stall from their father, dish out bowl after bowl to customers sitting in their cars under the blazing heat. What a drive-through experience! The tau fu fah, as locals call it, is smooth and served steaming hot with pandan syrup. A spoonful of bean curd slide down my throat. The desert is also served mixed with cincau (herbal jelly) or soymilk.

Sin Yoon Loong Original White Coff ee is a well-loved place by locals for breakfast since it opened in 1937.

A steady stream of locals come by for their breakfast takeaways including fi sh skin dumplings, glutinous rice and bean curd skin rolls

Funny Mountain Soya Bean was established in 1952 and serves one of Ipoh’s best Tau Fu Fah, a smooth sweet desert served steaming hot with pandan syrup.

A stone’s throw away along the famous tourist street Jalan Yau Tet Shin is the Wan Li Xiang Salt Baked Chicken and Duck. Having been on the market for over 30 years, boss Cheng Koi Sow, 46, runs a family business of chicken and duck farming. His signature salt-baked chicken is flavorful with the aroma and taste of medicinal herbs bursting with each bite. It comes in eight treasures, ginseng, black pepper and dang gui (angelica) flavours.

Stomachs satisfied and ready to do some shopping, we take a drive out of Ipoh town to Tambun, a small town in the Perak state. On the way, we stop by Ching Han Guan Biscuit Manufacturer to pick up a box of freshly made meat floss lotus paste biscuits. Mr Edison Cheng, 32, whose grandfather started the business in 1949, shares that everything is still made from scratch within the shop’s premises. “It’s very meaningful to continue a traditional craft left by my grandfather,” he says.

Tambun is well known for its majestic limestone cliffs, but more so for its pomelos at Kebun Limau Bali (Tambun) Chin. Limau Tambun (Citrus of Tambun as the locals call it, are juicy, fragrant and thrive in an area of calcium-rich natural fertilizer throughout the year. Sweet pomelos are pale or cream in color, while the sour ones have a bright pink flesh. Other tropical delights like star fruits and guava are also available.

A stone’s throw away along the famous tourist street Jalan Yau Tet Shin is the Wan Li Xiang Salt Baked Chicken and Duck, popular with tourists for its signature salt baked chicken.

Tambun is well known for its majestic limestone cliffs, but more so for its pomelos at Kebun Limau Bali (Tambun) Chin

Ching Han Guan Biscuit Manufacturer is a household name for its freshly made meat floss lotus paste biscuits.

We drive across Ipoh to Buntong, a cosy Indian and Chinese residential community. Away from tourist traps in the new town, locals swear by Cheong Kee Wanton Noodles and Restoran Ayam Tauke as top of their leagues for staples of noodles and bean sprout chicken.

Over a boiling pot of soup, it is poetry in motion watching Mrs Chen Lai Kuen, 46, whose father started the business from a rickshaw in 1969, repeat actions of tossing and flipping noodles between pots of hot soup and cold water. The actions are deliberate and intuitive; the process quiet and neat. Since the age of 11 years old, she has spent most of her free time wrapping dumplings.

A white-haired couple at the next table, whose weekly routine include driving here for a bowl of wanton noodles, is full of praise for the family’s business. “What we do with our hands is precious,” she shares. From pork to dumpling and flour to noodle, every aspect of the process is kept within the family, within home. “I eat a bowl every night after we close,” she adds. “People are sentimental and have feelings for food they love so we need to put our hearts into whatever we do.”

Locals swear by Cheong Kee Wanton Noodles as one of the best choices for homemade noodles and dumplings

Over at Restoran Ayam Tauke on Jalan Guntong, tables of hungry families slurp up plates of poached chicken, hor fun (flat rice noodles) and bean sprouts, often touted as the holy trinity of a decent bean sprout chicken (nga choy kai) meal in Ipoh. Unlike anywhere else, Ipoh’s bean sprouts are short and fat. Locals believe that mineral-rich water from the surrounding limestone hills have resulted in extra delicious and crunchy bean sprouts, seasoned with pepper, light soya sauce and oil.

The eatery is a hidden gem and popular among the Buntong community. In fact, the entire set up is located in the front porch of someone’s house. A sure way of discovering Ipoh’s hospitality at its finest.

H Directory

Sin Yoon Loong Original White Coffee
15A Jalan Bandar Timah, 30450 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +605 241 4601
Opening hours: 6am to 2.30pm

Chang Keong Dim Sum
34 Jalan Raja Ekram (Cowan Street), 30450 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +6012 467 7841
Opening hours: 5am to 2pm

Funny Mountain Soya Bean
50 Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +6012 516 1607
Opening hours: 10.30am to 7.30pm, daily. Closed Tues.

Wan Li Xiang Salted Chicken and Duck
47 Jln Yau Tet Shin, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +6016 591 9374
Opening hours: 9.30am to 8pm, daily.

Ching Han Guan Biscuit Manufacturing Company
145 Jalan Sultan Iskandar (Hugh Low Street), 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +605 254 5126
Opening hours: 9.30am to 6.30pm, daily

Kebun Limau Bali (Tambun) Chin
158258A Jalan Ampang, Tambun, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +605 549 7309
Opening hours: 9am to 6pm, daily

Cheong Kee Wantan Mee 
542 Jalan Sekolah, Buntong 30100 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +605 255 0789
Opening hours: 4.30pm to 10.30pm, daily. Closed Sun.

Restoran Ayam Tauke
849 Jalan Guntong, Buntong, 30100 Ipoh, Perak
Tel +605 255 7469
Opening hours: 5pm to 9pm, daily. Closed on Tues

Include, along with the listed ingredients, your patience, and you are not far from making your own delicious savoury dumplings.

Preparation 1:

Marinate, for 15 mins, 600 g of bite-sized pork belly with:

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp white pepper powder

Method

1. 50 dried bamboo leaves, soak 2 to 3 days and simmer for 15 mins before use.
2. 850 g white glutinous rice, wash and soak overnight.
3. 25 dried shiitake mushrooms,25 chestnuts and 60 g green beans, wash and soak overnight separately, simmer for 15 mins before use.

 

Preparation 2:

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• ¼ tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• ½ tsp salt

Ingredients

• 150 g cooking oil
• 70 g shallots, peeled and coarsely pounded
• 20 g garlic, peeled and coarsely pounded
• 100 g dried shrimps, soaked and rinsed

Method

1. Drain the rice and mix in the seasonings. Heat cooking oil to sauté shallots and garlic.
2. Add dried shrimps, followed by rice and stir-fry till heated through.
3. Transfer to a bowl.

 

Preparation 3:

Ingredients

• 90 g cooking oil
• 30 g shallots, peeled and coarsely pounded
• 10 g garlic, peeled and coarsely pounded
• 13 salted duck egg yolks, halved
• A dash of rose wine

Method

1. Heat cooking oil to sauté shallots and garlic. Add marinated pork belly and stir-fry till lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Use the same oil to stir-fry the mushrooms and chestnuts till heated through. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Stir-fry the beans till heated through and put it aside. Add 2 tbsp of cooking oil to the frying pan and stir fry the egg yolks for 1 min. Add rose wine for better flavour. Transfer to a bowl.

 

 

Preparation 4:

To wrap the dumplings:

Drain the bamboo leaves and pat them dry with a cloth. Take two and line the tail end of one with the top end of another. Fold into a cone. The two tail ends should align. Press 1 tbsp of rice into the bottom of the cone, followed by 1 tsp of beans, half a yolk, a mushroom, 1 or 2 pieces of pork and a chestnut. Top with more rice and press it down with the back of a spoon, leaving a 0.5 cm gap from the brim. Close with the remaining end of the leaves and secure with kitchen twine.

 

To cook:

Fill 2/3 of a deep pot with water. Add 3 tbsp of salt. Bring water to a boil. Lower the dumplings into the water and cover with a lid. Turn down the fire and simmer for 2.5 hours. Flip the dumplings at half time to cook evenly. Once cooked, allow them to drip dry and cool slightly. Unwrap to eat.

Perut Rumah Nyonya Cuisine

17 Jalan Kelawei
Open 11am to 3pm & 6pm to 10pm, daily. Closed on Tuesdyas

Penang, or Northern, Peranakan cuisine is characterised by its sour-spicy flavours with Siamese leanings rather than the santan (coconut milk)-rich dishes in Melaka and Singapore Peranakan cuisine. The restaurant owner, Giannick Lee, wanted to indulge in his passion—cooking and nyonya food—and started this restaurant in this unique bungalow. “The owner is also Peranakan,” he shares. He opened the restaurant in 2008 and uses recipes he learnt from both his paternal and maternal grandmothers. Highlights here include the dry but flavourful jiu hu char (turnip fried with cuttlefish), ikan tumis (sour fish curry), nasi ulam (steamed rice mixed with herbs, dried prawns and salted fish), pork cincaluk (pork slices marinated in fermented shrimp paste) and kiam chai ark (soup of duck with preserved vegetables).

 

Tai Tong Restoran

45 Lebuh Cintra, 10100 Penang
Tel +604 263 6625
Open 6.30am to 1.30pm and 5.30pm to 9.30pm. Closed on Mondays.

Pushcarts piled high with metal steamers of classics like siew mai (open-topped pork dumpling), har gow (prawn dumpling) and feng zao (braised chicken feet), weave in and out of the tables in this big and airy coffee shop. Tai Tong is the place locals will bring you to if you ask for dim sum in Georgetown, and you don’t leave until you’ve tried their lo mai gai. A small amount of glutinous rice wraps around a ridiculous variety of savoury meats—chicken, roasted pork and Cantonese dried sausage—and everything is coated in a sweet sauce. Each bite is an essay on richness. Besides dim sum, the e-fu noodles (crispy egg noodles drenched in seafood or meat sauce), available after 11.30am, is highly recommended.

 

 

A fascinating fusion of the East and West, Penang embraces modernity while retaining its traditions and old world charm. Apart from indulging in Penang’s local hawker fare, we recommend some of these places that serve up a fusion of scrumptious cuisine.

KOTA—When Francis Meets Rempah

Fort Cornwallis, Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah,
10200 Georgetown, Penang
Tel +604 371 4929
10.30am to 10pm (Daily)
www.facebook.com/kotadineandcoffee

Fort Cornwallis, in Bahasa Melayu, Kota Cornwallis is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. In early 2015, the heritage site welcomes a new addition —a restaurant. The place serves Fusion dishes with a touch of Local-Nyonya flavors. Since the restaurant is located in the fort, guests are required to pay an entrance fee of RM10, however, the fee is claimable with a minimum spend of RM20 at the restaurant. Get ready for an (almost) fine-dine experience while you’re here and be spoiled by the authentic taste of the Nyonya desserts.

Moody Cow Café Penang

170, Transfer Road, 10050, Georgetown, Penang.
Tel +604 226 2646
11am to 12am (Daily)
www.facebook.com/moodycowpenang

Calling all dessert lovers to Moody Cow Café Penang. The café specializes in their home-made desserts, especially cakes and cookies. One very special feature of their desserts is that they are gigantic in portion therefore sharing is recommended. Besides desserts, the café also serves main courses like pasta. Among the best-sellers are “Cempedak” Cheesecake and Century Egg Cheesecake. This cozy cafe has limited seats and advance reservation is recommended if you are going in a big group.

Métisser Pâtisserie & Tea Room

[Permanently Closed]

140 & 142, Ropewalk Piazza, Jalan Pintal Tali, 10100,
Georgetown, Penang
Tel +604 251 9739
2pm to 11pm (Daily except Wed)
www.facebook.com/metissermalaysia

Perfect for those who can’t have coffee, Metisser Patisserie, unlike many other cafes serves premium quality tea and everything you come to expect from French sweet treats. This place is very much suitable for a quiet high-tea session, with their relatively dainty homemade desserts served in porcelain wares. Those who love a quiet afternoon or evening, they would pretty much find this place heaven. Besides the wide array of premium teas, their freshly baked scones are not to be missed.