vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged Muar food
Hainan Chicken Curry Rice @ Lu San Coffee Shop, Muar
Sep 20th
The most memorable food I had in Muar was the Hainan Chicken Curry Rice at Lu San Coffee Shop. Hainan cuisine is definitely not alien to us. There’s Hainan chicken rice, Hainan coffee, Hainan bread, Hainan chicken chop and the list goes on. But Hainan curry is quite rare if you ask me.
To the casual eye, this would appear like a normal plate of ‘zhap fan’ but in fact this is already a serving of Hainan curry rice – it cost only RM3.50. So what makes up the traditional Hainan curry rice? Well for starters, it must have three main ingredients: curry (咖哩, typically chicken curry), braised sauce (滷汁) and braised meat and eggs (滷味).
Whether you mix them all up or serve the dishes separately, it’s totally up to individual preference and may vary from stall to stall. So who would have guessed that a simple mix of curry gravy and braised sauce could be so addictively delicious? The Hainanese sure did. But of course, this does not mean that by mixing any curry and soy-based sauce could produce the same flavor, there must be a proven recipe to begin with.
The main reason Lu San’s Hainan curry rice tastes better than the rest is frankly, quite simple – because the dishes are warm. When you are here, look around the humble stall and you will notice the pots of chicken curry and braised meats constantly being heated to preserve their warmth and taste. Cold food = bad food, simple as that. It is also worth mentioning that Lu San’s chicken curry is cooked using old hen (老母鸡) Since old hen has a longer life (obviously) than the average chicken, its flesh tastes sweeter naturally.
Ah Peng Wantan Mee @ Jalan Sisi, Muar
Sep 11th
Muar is not short of good food but you will need a reliable local to guide you to the best ones. Even though I know a few, I did not have a Muarian with me during my recent trip to Muar so I could only rely on Google for most of the time. From my research, one of the popular places for Muarian to have supper is at Restoran Zero Five (佳佳咖啡店) Since it is just a stone throw’s away from our hotel (Classic Hotel) it would not make any sense not to try it!
Wantan Mee is famous here and the stall only opens at night. If you are here during the day you would find beef noodles instead.
The smallest plate costs only RM3 which is very reasonable priced considering its relatively large portion. Eating in Muar feels like you got your money’s worth because the hawker food usually has generous serving. Here, the smallest portion would equate to between medium and large in KL yet you pay a quarter less.
