eatshowandtell » Malaysia

Malaysia Mondays, Phuket, Thailand

Minh — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:35:04 +0000

It’s been a crazy week and a half, but we’re taking a break from our eating holiday in Malaysia and hopping it over for the beautiful blue oceans of Thailand, Phuket. The most torturous part our Malaysia holiday is all the planning and waiting for it to finally begin, I’ve become more than a little obsessed with finally making it to back to Thailand – massages, seafood and beaches? Bring it on!

It’s a hectic journey from Malaysia to Thailand, a 5 hour drive from Penang to Kuala Lumpur before running off to the Airport to make it in time for our flight. It’s our last day with Brian, who has decided to head up to the northern border of Malaysia and is staying in the country to meet up with family, and a reunion with The Pom who has been exploring the Philippines and is eager to show off his naughty purchases. It’s a late flight into Thailand, and by the time we check into our rooms we simply collapse after a long day of commuting.

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Malaysia Mondays – Penang, Part 2

Minh — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:00:24 +0000

It’s day 2 in Penang, and coincidentally our last full day in Malaysia before heading over for the sunny shores of Phuket. Despite the sheer variety of food available to us here our trip isn’t all about the food (shockingly), we’ve got a packed day ahead of us with temples, more temples, durian, snacking, food courts and the occasional naps we manage to squeeze in between.

Day 8 – Where things are hot hot hot but durian is not not not

We’re in Little India this morning, perhaps spurred by our early night the day before we’re up and out of the hotel by 8. Like most of Asia, Little India isn’t truly awake until at least 10am and the famed colourful stores are all closed as we wander down the streets.

Breakfast – Kassim Mustafa

Kassim Mustafa is one of the few open restaurants, there are a few locals scattered about the various tables but it’s mostly empty as we take our seats. It’s surprising, but we haven’t had Indian food on this trip since our visit to the Cameron Highlands, I find myself craving some roti and strangely enough – Ayam on this fine morning.

Tea Tarik

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Malaysia Mondays – Penang, Part 1

Minh — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:35:18 +0000

We’re back on the road again on this epic trip to Malaysia, After tackling Kuala Lumpur, Meleka, Cameron Highland and Ipoh the only logical place to go next is Penang! We’ve scheduled two days for the eating Capitol of Malaysia, It may seem crazy but I’m actually starting to get a little tired of the endless searching for food and decide it’s time to lay back a little and play the tourist.

Day 7 – Where I learn we haven’t even begun to experience heat yet

The drive between Ipoh and Penang is thankfully short, after a quick breakfast stop at Old Town, a chain of cafes throughout Malaysia, we’re on our way to Penang. I’ve been looking forward to Penang, knowing that it’s closer to the ocean I’ve foolishly assumed that the weather will be cooler. I’ve never been more wrong in my life. The humidity is almost punishingly heavy and I’m sweating within seconds of leaving the car, my hand-held fan my only salvation.

Of course, none of this is going to stop me from enjoying my hot noodle soup!

Lunch – Pasar Air Itam

After experiencing Assam Laksa bliss in Cameron Highlands it’s hard to believe that Penang will deliver anything better. We’re at Pasar Air Itam for their infamous laksa, it’s quintessentially Asian with plastic tables and chairs, all scattered along a dusty road with our food arriving in moments. The stand is obviously popular with the tourists, the remaining tables are filled only moments after our arrival but I’ve forgotten about the crowds the moment our noodles arrive.

Assam Laksa 2.70MYR

The Assam Laksa is deliciously thick and hearty with Udon style noodles, I’m sweating within seconds of starting but the broth is everything as thick and flavourful as I would have hoped with the small exception, Uncle Chow’s rendition has spoilt me and I’ve been expecting a mouthful of tartly sour soup and the Laksa isn’t the same without that sour kick. Despite this, it’s easily the best Assam we’ve had since Cameron, but not quite the best overall…

That’s right I said it, Cameron Highlands Assam Laksa was better than Penang’s!

Left: Soy Milk, Right, Assam Laksa, Bottom: Pasar Air Itam stand

The A/C in the car gives me a false idea of what the temperature is like outside and somehow every time I get out I think that the heat really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Minutes after stepping out I’m sweating and our soupy lunch really isn’t helping matters. My solution is simple, Soy Milk at each and every single stop we make! The milky sweetness and generous servings of ice are perfect for the weather and the spicy food we’re eating.

Durian Stand

It’s not a meal without some kind of dessert end it all with. There’s a Durian Stand just across from our lunch stand and Helen and Billy just look at each other before heading towards it. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest fan, neither are Simon or Brian but I’m keen to try it fresh knowing that the stuff in Australia we get can’t really compare.

It’s the first time I’ve tried different types of Durian, along with the usual sweet variety, Billy encourages us to try a more bitter variety which I enjoy the initial tastes of, but by the end the bitterness is a little overwhelming and I admit defeat.

Pit Stop – Kek Lok Si

Temple time! We’re driving up a mountain road so narrow and windy I have to put away my book and phone for fear of car sickness, it’s a nauseating drive but the results are worth it as we find ourselves up at Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist temple in South East Asia. Rather than a single temple it’s more like an entire mountain complex of temples, including a giant pagoda and 30m bronze statue.

Kek Lok Si

I’d noticed the same thing in the Ipoh, but it’s really in Penang that I take notice of the sheer amount of colour and light present in the temples. All of the temples seem to celebrate in using bright orange and gold in their decorations, combined with gorgeous stone carvings on the columns and walls it makes for a striking sight. We’ve all headed directly into the temples in an attempt to escape the heat, there’s a momentary hush as we huddle in front of the fans followed by a slow turn as look up and around at the sheer intricacy of the decorations.

It actually takes us two separate drives to actually cover the entire complex, the bronze statue of Kuan Lin is situated higher up on the mountain and height treats you to a full view of the Penang landscape, whereas the lower half of the complex is a maze of monasteries and temples, all in the shadow of the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas.

A small entry fee gets us entry into the Pagoda, what initially seems like a good idea quickly becomes a task of sheer stamina as we wind our way up the 7 floors to the top of the pagoda. It’s probably telling that we’re the only ones even trying to reach the top, and luckily so as the stairs are precariously narrow, barely wide enough for two people to squeeze past one another. The view at the top is impressive, offering a 360 birds eye view of the entire complex.

Pit Stop – Penang Road Famou Teochew Chendul

With our stomachs still full from breakfast and legs tired from temple climbing, the only other thing to do was to sit down with some icy cold Chendol and enjoy! A quick bit of research finds us at Penang Road Famouse Teochew Chendul, joining the busy queue of tourist and locals.

Chendol 2MYR

Service is quick at the stand, with the new staff members quickly taking orders and scooping out bowls of milky Chendol. As soon as our order is on the bench top we quickly pick up our bowls and retreat to the side of the street to eat quickly, seats are a luxury here, with most of us juggling cameras and bowls as we stand along the sides of the road. The chendol strands are silkily smooth and are deceptively plentiful under the milky coconut surface.

I notice that as we go on, our Chendol helpings seem to become milkier and milkier, the ice in this Chendol is practically non-existent. I’m not sure if this is simply the preferred style, or if it’s simply due to difficulties of keeping and shaving that much ice at a road side stand, but the Chendol is barely chilled through and I’m resisting the urge to order a second at the end.

Dinner – New World Park

We’re keeping things simple for dinner tonight, we’re staying at the Tune Hotel chain in Penang and luckily just next door to our hotel is New World Park, a shopping center complete with open air food court. Walking into the shopping center, we’re greeted with the bizarre sight of a public aerobic exercise class being held in the main courtyard, with what seems like every staff member participating. I’ve no idea why I have no photos of this event, my only excuse is that I was hypnotised by the synchronised movement of it all!

Top left: Curry Mee, Top right: Assam Laksa, Bottom Left: Seafood Noodles, Bottom Right: Curry Mee

I’m not sure if it’s the location or the impending thunderstorm keeping away people, but the food court is easily one of the emptiest venue’s we’ve eaten in our entire holiday. Despite the relatively early hour of 8.30pm, the stalls are on the verge of closing and there are barely 20 people present in the entire food court.

I’ve kept things easy tonight, after having Assam Laksa for lunch I decide to go for Prawn Mee tonight, another one of Penang’s famous dishes – the chilli oil and prawn based stock create a bright orange colour not dissimilar to the milky laksa’s I’m accustomed to back home. Helen’s on a mission and once again has ordered the Assam Laksa, the broth and noodles are satisfyingly thick but once again missing that final tamarind kick.

It’s a rather sedate and somewhat disappointing dinner, and so we make plans for supper at Gurney Drive Food Court, the largest and probably best known food court in Penang. Despite getting to Gurney after the rain has stopped, it looks like the weather has driven away all but the most determined and the majority of the stores have closed up due to the lack of customers. It’s an anticlimactic ending to a promising day, but it just means we’re twice as determined to make it back here tomorrow!

Check out the rest of the Malaysia Monday’s series here!

Pasar Air Itam
Pasar Road (Beside the Air Itam Market)
11500 Air Itam, Penang

Penang Road Famous Chendul
21, Keng Kwee Street (Off Penang Road)
10000 Penang

New World Park
Chinatown, Georgetown,
Penang

Malaysia Mondays – Ipoh, Part 2

Minh — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:07:18 +0000

Day 6 – Where Billy tells us a chilling urban myth

It’s hard to believe we’ve been traveling for barely been a week on our Food Blogger Trip and we’ve somehow managed to hit Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and the Cameron Highlands on the way to Ipoh. It’s the first time on our trip we’ve had the luxury of staying in the same city for two nights running, we’ve been doing day trips mostly but we’ve put aside 4 days for Ipoh and Penang knowing there’s a hell of a lot of food out there to eat.

Things are feeling more relaxed this morning, it’s as though things are staring to settle into a stride. We’re off in search of breakfast again and Billy taken us to Ipoh Old Town in search of a famous coffee-house. Sadly enough the coffee-house is closed so we simply default to the coffee-house next door.

Breakfast – Thean Chun Coffee Shop

The restaurant is quintessentially Asian. The tables and chairs are all plastic, orders are shouted out across the table and despite the full tables surrounding us our food is on the table in moments. Breakfast in Ipoh is simple, bowls of noodle soup for everyone and a healthy number of sides to munch on!

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Malaysia Mondays – Ipoh, Part 1

Minh — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:46:03 +0000

Day 5 – Where we have REAL Rojak

We’re in Billy’s hometown and he’s full of advice on what to eat. According to him, Ipoh is famous for their:

Rice Noodles
Bean Sprouts
Rojak
3 in 1 coffee

The list is endless and exhaustive but you know what, in the end he’s right (just don’t tell him that!).

Once again we’re tackling the winding roads from the Cameron Highlands down towards Ipoh, it’s a place close to Billy’s heart, he’s lived here for most of his life and a lot of his family is still in the area.

Pit stop – Perak Tong Cave Temple

It’s a bit early in the day for eating (pretend I didn’t just write that) but it doesn’t stop the heat from beating down on us. Having being up in the mountains has made me utterly forget how punishing the heat is, especially for those fool enough to wander around in the middle of the day. Billy’s a little nonplussed when we ask him what there is to do in Ipoh and decides to take us to Perak Tong Cave Temple.

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Malaysia Mondays – Cameron Highlands

Minh — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 14:01:29 +0000

Day 4 – When reading and being in a car on a windy road = Sickness

It’s a somewhat quiet morning, we’re starting on the first major part of our road trip, heading up to Cameron Highlands. Stomachs are obviously still suffering from the abuse the previous day and our breakfast plates are noticeably smaller lol. After a bit of Tetris action with all our luggage in the boot we’re off!

Despite the chaos of driving in the cities, Malaysian highways are amazingly smooth and their Touch and Go system makes paying road tolls a breeze. We’re testing the limits of our van on the highways and have confirmed that any faster than 140km/hr the van threatens to shake itself apart. Billy settles into the steady speed of 130km/hr, drive safe boys and girls!

Things are going fine on the roads until we start to climb the mountains that will lead us up towards the Cameron Highlands. Poor Helen is stuck in the back seat and each swerve of the car threatens to send a stack of suitcases stumbling down onto her, in the end she ends up bracing against them in fear for her life. I’ve been reading books and playing bookworm to pass the time, but each subsequent turn starts curdling my stomach and it’s with a massive sigh of relief that our Hotel suddenly comes into sight on top of the hill.

Of course, only it’s a matter of minutes for us to recover and we’re soon on the search for lunch.

Lunch – Restoran Sri Brinchang

I’m struck by how quiet Cameron Highland seems, we’ve passed hillside after hillside of covered farms and roadside markets on our way into town, so it’s a little bit of a shock to be passing Starbucks and numerous tourist stores. I’ve no shame in admitting that the proximity of Starbucks may have influenced my restaurant choice for lunch (all Starbucks in Malaysia come equipped with free Wi-Fi!), it’s also the first time on the trip we’ve had a chance to eat something other than Chinese Malaysian style food.

Clockwise from top left: Chicken Thali 7MYR (2.50AU), Paper Dosai 2MYR (0.73AU), Chicken Tikka 7MYR (2.50AU), Roti Canai 1MYR (0.73AU)

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Malaysia Mondays – Road Tripping to Batu Caves and Melaka

Minh — Sun, 30 May 2010 15:25:07 +0000

Anyone who has been to Malaysia will know that while Kuala Lumpur is shiny, apart from shopping and eating there’s not a hell of a lot to do there. We decided early on in our planning to hire a van to drive us around Malaysia, road trip style!

Day 2 – Where I remember how much I dislike monkeys

Our first stop of the day is the Mega Valley Mall (mega indeed), we’re here to pick up our car for the week. Knowing how many people we had in the group and how long we’d be driving we decide to go with a van for our travels. I remember arguing with Billy when trying to choose a car for the trip, often his primary argument was something along the lines of, “Bigger Minh, bigger!“. After a bit of a wait our van finally pulled up and looked like…

This...

…um. Noticing the obvious dismay on our faces the staff are quick to assure us this isn’t our car, moments later a much shinier van pulled up and we are off! Driving in Malaysia is somewhat hair-raising, the white lines on the roads seem to be there primarily as a suggestion and red lights only deter drivers if they can’t see anyone coming in the opposite direction. Billy pulls the car to a stop at a set of lights having just missed the yellow, only to see the cars on either side of him zoom through the red. “I’ve gotten soft!” he proclaims, much to my amusement.

Our first stop of the day is the Batu Caves, but of course first – lunch.

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Malaysia Mondays – Kuala Lumpur Part 1

Minh — Sun, 23 May 2010 16:13:55 +0000

Welcome to the first of my Malaysia Mondays posts! Rather than subject everyone to a barrage of Malaysian posts I’ve decided to space them out a little and post weekly updates. Be warned the posts are heavy with text, an inappropriate amount of rambling and yes, a truly ridiculous amount of food.

A few months ago Billy proposed the idea of a blogger style holiday, I’m always keen for a holiday and quickly agreed with no idea of what I was getting myself into! An Airasia sale later we were booked for a two and a half week Malaysia/Thailand holiday scheduled for the middle of monsoon season.

Our itinerary was a little insane: Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, Penang then a pit stop over in Thailand, Penang before one last run at Kuala Lumpur.

Day 1 – Kuala Lumpur: In which we learn that you really do have to keep an eye on your luggage.

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Madam Kwan’s, KL

linda — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:49:23 +0000

During our 4 days of extensive shopping in KL, there was one particular thing that we noticed. Each shopping centre had a Madam Kwan’s- Truly Malaysian Cuisine franchise, which was always packed despite the time of day. So when we were exploring the Pavilion shopping centre, we spotted a Madam Kwan’s, which was actually quite empty, so we quickly bolted through the door.

As a Nasi Lemak addict, I thought it was only right that I ordered Madam Kwan’s signature Nasi Lemak. Howard on the other hand wanted something “different”, so instead opted for Nasi Bojari. As accompaniments to our meal, we also had their fresh mango juice, which disappointingly tasted like bottled juice.

Nasi lemak ~ $5.50

After waiting at our table for less than 10 minutes, an arrogant waiter trudged towards our table and handed us our dishes. As we were starving at the time, the huge serving was a big plus. However, right from the start of the first fork, I knew that we had made the wrong decision. The chicken curry was too soft while the assam prawns were overpowered by onion.

Nasi Bojari ~ $7.00

The dish consisted of: red and yellow rice, fried with “garlic, chicken and dried prawns,” which was actually undetectable; fried but moist chicken thigh, with a hint of spices; assam prawns; soft, melt in your mouth beef rendang; and a hard boiled egg. As I was so impressed with Howard’s dish, we decided to swap.

To be honest, I feel that we were only paying for the beautifully decorated interior which was clean and air-conditioned. For the price that we paid for our meals, I found it to be too expensive and over-rated. The ~$2.00 Nasi Lemak at KLCC food court was much better.

Madam Kwan’s @ Gourmet Emporium
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours; 10:00am – 10:00pm

http://www.pavilion-kl.com/content/home.php

Sakae Sushi, KL

linda — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:53:34 +0000

While in Malaysia, what does one do, but shop and eat. After basically visiting all the shopping centres/malls in central KL, Howard and I decided we wanted to go somewhere different, somewhere not too mainstream, The Curve shopping mall.

As we wanted to experience the public transport system of Malaysia, we caught the train and bus. We had no problems at all with the train, however the bus system confused us, so it took us approximately an hour and a half to get to Mutiara Damansara from KL Sentral. Once we got there, we realised it was a waste of our time in terms of shopping. Despite the lack of quality shopping, we were fortunate enough to try, Sakae Sushi restaurant.

Wasabiko Suhshi ~ $2.00

When this dish was presented to us, I was a little apprehensive as I’ve never had wasabi infused tobiko before. However, I soon found out that the tiny salty pearls go well with the sweet/sour sushi rice, although disappointed that the wasabi did not pack the punch that I was expecting.

Soft shell crab Agemono ~ $3.00

Whenever I go to any restaurants which has soft shell crab on the menu, I can’t help myself but order the dish. This soft shell crab was dipped in a light batter then deep fried. However, unlike many other deep fried shell crabs I’ve had in Sydney, this one was not too dry, salty and dripping oil. The thin coating of the batter ensured that we were able to taste the actual sweet flavour of the crab.

Fried rice

A fried rice dish consisting of omelette, corn and crispy fried shrimps. The dish was quite simple, however the fact that the rice was light and fluffy, with the right amount of seasoning made this surprisingly a star on its own.

Agedashi Tofu ~ $4.00

This is arguably one of the best agedashi tofu that I’ve had in a while. The dish was served at the right temperature, the tofu was not too oily, immersed in a perfect tentsuyu broth, sprinkled with grated daikon, spring onion and seaweed.

Tori Karaagi Agemono~ $2.50

After quickly chowing down the first 4 dishes, I was beginning to feel full, so the sight of fried chicken nuggets was making me queezy. I took one bite of the piece and immediately passed it on to Howard. There wasn’t anything wrong with the garlic/ginger/soy flavoured chicken, but I knew that there were more dishes to come.

Stir fried bean shoots, shitake mushrooms and beansprouts

The vegetables were stir fried in a manner which retains the crispness of the bean shoot and beansprouts. Simple seasoning consisting of garlic and light soy sauce ensured that the flavours of the mushroom was still detectable.

Pan fried garlic squid

The most over-rated dish of the meal. The squid was stir fried for too long, with an overwhelming garlic seasoning. It felt like eating garlic coated rubber.

Teriyaki Chicken

The fact that at this stage I was bursting at the brim may have contributed to my dissatisfaction of this dish. I found the sauce to be slightly sweeter than what I was used to and the chicken to be overcooked.

Overall, our first Japanese meal in Malaysia was enjoyable. The most intriguing aspect of the experience to Howard was the way we ordered the food. The entire menu was displayed on a computer screen which positioned on the side of the table, the patrons are asked to scroll down the menu and order the dishes that they want. Once the order is processed, the dishes were quickly presented in the sequence that it was ordered.

Sakae Sushi, The Curve

G45, Ground Floor,
The Curve Shopping Mall,
No. 6, Jalan PJU 7/3,
Mutiara Damansara, 47800 PJ,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Tel: 603-77251172

http://www.sakae-sushi.com/

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Post tags: poultry, Seafood, Selangor Darul Ehsan, sushi, tofu