vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
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Brother Yat Restaurant @ Subang Jaya
Sep 2nd
If this pot looks familiar, it’s either you have read my old post about Sauna Prawns, or you have seen and tasted it before personally.
For those uninitiated, Sauna Prawns is a dish where a glass of Carlsberg beer is poured into a pot with heated sauna stones underneath, then immediately followed by a bowl of live grass prawns on top of the steamer lid.
As soon as the beer touches the rocks, steam is generated which will cook the prawns alive. At this time, the dining table would be filled with a faint beer and seafood aroma, enticing each and every diner. Just imagine the pot as a sauna room and the prawns as people, except they won’t get out alive. Oh, so poor prawns.
The prawns’ freshness is very important in dish so only live prawns are used. And I don’t think you could get any fresher prawns than live ones. 500g of prawns for this dish cost RM41, inclusive of the table-side show, uniquely available here only.
Seafood Char Koay Kak @ Batu Lanchang Market Food Court
Aug 31st
Frying skill aside, two of the main differences betweeen a good and normal Char Koay Kak are the cooking oil and soy sauce used. In the old days, Char Koay Kak stalls used only lard to bring out the most of the aroma and flavor. As time goes by, people get increasingly health conscious leading the hawkers to substitute the usage of lard with vegetable cooking oil.
Chan Kok Ming‘s Char Koay Kak at Batu Lanchang‘s market food complex is one of the hawkers who have heeded the call. He has since changed to use a mix of lard and Neptune cooking oil instead of some cheap sub-standard ones.
The Char Koay Kak here can be ordered either plain (without egg and seafood) or with seafood, with the latter priced at RM3.20 a plate. Three kinds of seafood included are prawns, fish ball and crab filament sticks (not really a real seafood but yeah…)
‘Keh Liao’ Penang Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee) @ Old Green House, Burma Road
Aug 29th
Old Green House restaurant (老青屋) is a popular place among Penangites to have Hokkien Mee (or Prawn Noodle in other Malaysian states) either as dinner or supper. Although the noodle is also available in the morning at another ‘day shift’ stall, most of the working people only have the opportunity to savor it after working hours in the evenings. There is also a saying that they are actually catering to the group of late night goers, who crave for a bowl of hot noodle after partying into the night.
Besides being tasty, another reason it is popular is because you can ‘keh liao’ (request extra toppings) like roast pork, meat balls, braised egg, Chinese sausage, chicken feet, shrimps and etc. For those who are game enough to try, even pork intestines and pork skin are available too.
Clay Pot Apom Manis @ Swee Kong Coffee Shop, Pulau Tikus
Aug 19th
Apom Manis is a common food in Penang originating from India that resembles crepes, popular for breakfast or just snacking. One of the oldest apom manis stall in Penang that is still operating can be found at Solok Moulmein in Pulau Tikus. It all started back in 1920 and the family-run business has been operating at Swee Kong Coffee Shop every morning faitfully for the past 80 years.
The current owner, Mr.Ravi inherited the trade from his father and currently, he is assisted by his cousin (in pic) and brother since. And do you know that their apom manis is so delicious that the Sultan of Pahang actually flies them into his Majesty’s palace once a month? Doing what else other than becoming his Majesty’s personal apom manis cook!
Besides the apom manis’ tastiness, one of the reasons to visit this stall is to witness the preparation process. The apom manis here are still made according to centuries-old tradition, using charcoal stove and clay pots instead of gas heated steel pots. You simply won’t see this sight anywhere else in Penang, or even Malaysia.
And although sturdy looking, these custom made to order clay pots could only last at most for 6 months when the moisture in the clay expands so much it ultimately cracks the pot.
Maria’s Cafe & Restaurant Western Food @ Damansara Perdana, PJ
Aug 17th
Ever since I tried Maria’s excellent Western food and cakes, I have not been able to find another restaurant that serve such high quality food at a good value they are offering. Being a family business also means that they are personally involved in choosing the best ingredients as well as the cooking.
Like for example, the Fresh Pumpkin Soup @ RM7.50. The cook at Maria’s goes to the market to pick only the freshest pumpkin to prepare this hearty soup. It is flavorful with a thick but smooth consistency, a nice alternative to the mushroom soup served almost everywhere.
The Caesar Salad @ RM12.50 has beef bacon, walnuts and crunchy croutons dressed with parmesan cheese slices and Maria’s very own secret dressing. We loved the creamy dressing and the perfectly fresh Romaine lettuce, which had a enjoyable crisp texture.
For non beef eaters, or for those looking for a more substantial topping you could choose to have smoked salmon @ RM16.50 or and chicken (deep fried or roasted) RM15.50.
Our main dish of the meal has got to be the grilled Japanese Kobe Steak, priced at an eye-popping RM175/100gm. This highly prized meat has a fantastic flavor, tenderness, contains more fat compared to the Australian Wagyu. Its well-marbled texture is one of the reasons this delicacy is so popular, it literally melts in your mouth. To describe Maria’s grilled Kobe Steak would be “so, so good it’s heavenly delicious, fit for a king”.
Sate Zainah Ismail Best Satay In Town @ Jalan Keramat, KL
Aug 14th
As you might already know I am desperately looking for a satay in Klang Valley that could rival, and perhaps even better than those that I had in Singapore which I hate to admit is still the best I ever had to date. So when two of my fellow readers recommended Sate Zainah Ismail at Kampung Datuk Keramat, I immediately went looking for it.
For a first time visitor, Dato Keramat could be confusing to navigate but thanks to my GPS device we found the restaurant with relative ease. Zainah Ismail could be easily identified by the smoke and satay fragrance constantly oozing out of one of the wooden restaurant.
Five satay grills are used here and the satays are actually grilled by stages. The satays do not stay on one grill from raw to cooked. Instead, they are transferred to the next grill once a particular ‘doneness’ is achieved.
The innermost grill you see manned by an elderly uncle is where the raw, marinated skewers are barbecued first then made sure fully cooked at the foremost grill. There are only two types of satay here: beef and chicken priced at RM0.70 each.
