CRIZ BON APPETITE

Do you realize that what we consume today has evolved into something that even if our ancestors were still alive, they would no longer recognize those traditionally prepared products anymore? Well, time has changed. So have the needs and tastes of the modern generations. Here’s just a little project that I did in introducing Traditional Moon Cakes versus Fusion Moon Cakes based on my findings on 4 companies, namely Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Manufacturer (HLS), Tho Yuen Restaurant (TYR), The Baker’s Cottage (TBC) and Yan Wo Wang (YWW). So which one would you choose? Would you still choose Traditional Moon Cakes over Fusion Moon Cakes, vice versa?

Let’s start by introducing the basic cookies that you would get on top of the mooncakes. We call them the Moon Biscuits/Cookies (Mid Autumn Cookies/Gong Zai Peng/Ang Kong Na Pia/公仔餅). Traditionally, these biscuits would come with plain flour mixed with some golden syrup, bicarbonate soda, corn oil, alkaline water and so on before being baked until golden brown. Today, the method has evolved with many manufacturers having them with nuts and fillings. There are 7 versions I found at HLS (see photo below – top left clockwise) namely Melon Seed Moon Biscuit (RM7.00/500gms), Plain Moon Biscuit (RM5.00/500gms), Black Sesame with Pumpkin Seeds Moon Biscuits (RM5.00/pack), Red Bean Paste Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs), Lotus Seed Paste Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs), Durian Paste Moon Biscuit (RM5.00/10pcs) and Coconut Silk Moon Biscuit (RM4.00/10pcs).

Basically, some of these biscuits come without any surface designs but you can always find some around with designs such as the ones Steven’s mum baked – fish and minis. You would have to ask him if his mum sells those. You can even find some mini ones at HLS at RM4.00 for a pack of fours.

As for moon cakes, the traditionally prepared ones would be either with plain pastry skins or snow skins (glutinous rice flour). Sorry to say, you won’t get the snow skin versions from HLS as they are solely into biscuit manufacturing but I had made the effort to get one from TYR just for the photo shot. (Clockwise from top left) You can see the Single Yolk Red Bean Paste Snow Skin Moon Cake (RM7.70 – TYR), Lotus Seed Paste Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS), Single Yolk Coconut Silk Moon Cake (RM5.00 – HLS), Mixed Nuts Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS) and Durian Moon Cake (RM6.50 – HLS). You can visit them for more flavors (RM7.00/RM8.00) such as the Red Dates, Pandan Lotus Seed, Green Tea and Mixed Nuts with Ham.

Hock Lok Siew Biscuit Manufacturing: 120 Lebuh Noordin, 10300 Penang. Tel: 604-262 2162
Tho Yuen Restaurant: 92 Lebuh Campbell, 10100 Penang. Tel: 604-261 4672

Isn’t the spread of moon cakes stated above great? Yes it is but it did not stop there with the creativity of mankind. Thus, came in companies such as TBC with other fusion flavors. (Clockwise from top left) You can see the latest product from them namely the Precious Black (RM11.90 – pure charcoal powder butter pastry skin/white lotus seed paste with chunky dried longan meat and wolfberry lotus seed paste “yolk”), Rich Chocolate Peanut Praline (RM11.90 – pure chocolate butter pastry skin/dark chocolate lotus seed paste and peanut praline “yolk”), Pearl of Prosperity (RM11.80 – pandan lotus paste/yellow mung bean paste and egg yolk), Chestnut Japanese Jingsa (RM11.90 – chestnut lotus seed paste and Japanese Jingsa with seaweed flake “yolk”) and Blueberry Blackcurrant Cheese (RM11.90 – fruity blueberry lotus seed paste with dried blackcurrant chunks and cheesy “yolk”). Do check out some of the TBC counters at shopping malls for some discounts. For more information, visit the TBC website.

Well, that’s not all the moon cake you would find. There’s the Single Yolk Shanghai Moon Cake (RM11 – TYR). The filling would normally be lotus seed paste but you might find some with red bean paste as well. The differences lie within the skin pastry. This version has a flaky skin.

You thought the creativity of the bakers stopped there? No, it did not. Let’s looked at what YWW had come out with – the fruity snow skin version. My best recommendation would be the Snow Skin Strawberry Moon Cake (RM13.90 – YWW). It has the fruity strawberry paste minus the extreme sweetness compared to other moon cakes and it has a fresh strawberry as the “yolk”. I would think it’s a bit pricey but it’s one product that would suit the taste buds of different generations. Don’t you think this would be the ideal “courting” product for this season? LOL!

Check out the flyer below for more flavors:

YWW is also the producer of Crystal Moon Cake. This is actually the jelly version but YWW has moved one step ahead of others by inserting pure bird nest since they are also one of the bird nest distributors in Malaysia. Let’s look at some of the moon cakes they have to offer – Mango Crystal Moon Cake (RM12.90 – pure mango jelly skin, mango milk jelly and carrot “yolk”), Red Bean Bird Nest Crystal Moon Cake (RM16.90 – soy bean skin, bird nest, red bean jelly and carrot “yolk”) and Honey Dew Bird Nest Crystal Moon Cake (RM16.90 – plain skin, bird nest, honey dew milk jelly and carrot “yolk”).

There are also many other flavors such as cappuccino, dragon fruit, mixed fruit, kiwi available and they come in a beautifully design box of 2’s and 6’s.

Check out the flyer below for more flavors and also visit some of their counters at Gurney Plaza basement, Pacific Megamall basement, Sunway Carnival Mall basement or I Mum Mum Restaurant, the Pan Mee Specialist at Lebuh Macallum.

Overall, this is just an informative post to enlighten my readers on what to expect out there during this Mid Autumn Festival celebration (3 October 2009). I would like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a Happy Mid Autumn Festival 2009. Happy reunion with your loved ones! To my Muslim readers who would be celebrating the Hari Raya this coming Monday – Salam Aidil Fitri!

For the younger generations of Chinese, some of the traditions and customs during pre-wedding day and wedding day may have been forgotten or replaced by the modern way of simplicity. As for some older generations who would like to upkeep and preserve the tradition, they may somehow face difficulties in sourcing items for the two family’s gift exchange custom as most of these items would have been long gone through modernization. On top of the normal “lai see” (利是-red enveloped gifts in form of money or jewelries) and/or a roasted pig, a few other items would include certain type of biscuits and cakes. Not many bakery and confectionary shops in Penang, Malaysian, would produce them today.

Luckily, the newer generation of Penang’s traditional biscuits maker, Leong Chee Kee Biscuits, had decided to carry on with the tradition with the production of the traditional wedding biscuits and cakes. Mr. Leong How Keng (梁考京先生), 53 years old, has been learning from his deceased father, Leong Chee Kee as early as 7 years old, mastering the skills and techniques to make great tasting products. He had even improvised on certain of his products to suit the taste bud of today’s generation.

Two of the uncommonly produced items (unless there are orders for a wedding) would be the Yellow Bridal Biscuits (黃綾蓮蓉酥) with lotus seed paste filling and the Red Bridal Biscuits (紅綾黑豆沙酥) with red bean paste filling. Both would have the Twin Happiness Chinese character “囍” printed on them. Each biscuit would cost RM2.20. Normally, 5 pieces of each color would be packed in a box with the Twin Happiness Chinese character printed on it.

Another one of the gift exchange biscuits would be the Chinese Wedding Cookies (合桃酥-RM2.20). It looked like a rock biscuit but the taste of a buttery shortbread cookie. There are many variants to this cookie all over the world. Some may use almonds, walnuts, pine nuts with or without topping. Leong Chee Kee Biscuits only produced the plain ones with the use of flour, sugar and butter. You would expect to get a 5 pieces pack from them.

The next and last of the wedding requisite would be the Egg Cake (特大瓜子雞蛋糕-RM2.20). The Egg Cake would come in a floral shape with lots of pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top. This would also come in a pack of 5 pieces.

In olden China, most of the Chinese community (except the Hokkien and Teochew) would purchase at least two out of the four items stated above for the inter-family gift exchange. The quantity given from the groom’s family to the bride’s family can vary depending on the financial stability of the groom’s family. It may also be based on the requirement of the bride’s family for the purpose of religious praying on the altars or as gifts to their relatives and friends. The quantity may range from a minimum of 50 pieces each of the items to as many as a few hundreds.

Here are the processes of producing the plain and pumpkin seed egg cakes that might interest you. Both of the eggs cakes were made from the same ingredients (flour, eggs & sugar) except they were baked in different shaped moulds with the options of adding in pumpkin seeds.

Other than being famous for the wedding biscuits and cakes stated above, Leong Chee Kee Biscuits is also famous for its Coconut Tarts (椰餅-RM1 each). With Mr. Leong as the sole baker, the shop would only produce 300 pieces of the tart daily. To avoid disappointment of not having to try out the delicious coconut tarts for the day, booking has to be made in person as early as 9.00am as telephone orders would not be entertained.

The Coconut Tart was indeed delicious as the sugared grated coconut filling has the fresh and natural fragrance. Moreover, the base has the layered texture and the twirl effect of the tart surface required hours of preparation. Each set of the coconut tarts has to be baked twice for that extra taste. The coconut tarts would be great takeaway gifts for friends and family. There’s a secret to maintain the freshness and crunchiness of the tarts… They have to be kept in the chiller prior to eating. As there were no added preservatives, a tart would stay fresh for 5 days or more.

There are also many other types of biscuits and cookies available for you to takeaway. Some of them are as shown in the animated photos below. The more established one would be the Pepper Biscuits (胡椒餅).

Most people especially those from outstation would get lost trying to locate the shop. I will provide some easy to spot landmarks to direct you to the shop. Firstly, try to drive into Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong and you will see a divider with two arrows (MAP A -straight to Weld Quay and right to Komtar/Prangin Mall). Watch out for the red telecommunication shop on your left and turn into the road (Jalan Sungai Ujong). Drive straight until you have reached a junction (MAP B – Jalan Sungai Ujong/Jalan Kimberley). Drive across Jalan Kimberly into Lebuh Cintra. Watch out for the tall building with the word Wisma Cintra (MAP C). Slow down and keep a watch out for a small lane on your right before Kedai Nasi Ayam Wen Chang (MAP D). Turn right into the lane and you would see a light blue Rukun Tetangga building on your right (MAP E) and People’s Court Association straight ahead (MAP F). Park your car here and you will see a small shrine on your left (MAP G). Walk up to the shrine and towards the end of the row of shop houses and you would see the Leong Chee Kee Biscuits shop (梁池記餅家).

Another great place for traditional biscuits, cookies and cakes would be a shop handled by some elderly folks along Lebuh Carnarvon by the name of Guangzhou Cake House.

Name: LEONG CHEE KEE BISCUITS
8-C, People’s Court, Lebuh Campbell, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 10.00am-6.00pm (Closed Sunday)
Contact: 604-263 9487, 016-401 9211 (Mr. Leong How Keng)
GPS: 5.417408, 100.333939

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

NOTE: This kiosk has ceased its operation at Prangin Mall, Penang.

You have heard about the term “Blogger”, a person who archives all his/her thoughts online through the mean of a weblog (weBLOG). Sometimes you might even come across people using the term “Flogger” which represents a Food Blogger but this is the first time I have known that someone had decided to name his café as Bloggers Café. Well, that would be a brilliant idea to gather bloggers under one roof. Presently, the management had decided to launch the Bloggers Café kiosk in Prangin Mall, Penang today prior to the official opening of their main headquarter in Maju Utama, Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

You might be asking what would they serve in their menu since it will be a café? Basically, to catch up with the trends of franchise companies such as J.Co Donuts, Big Apple Donuts and the newly open Krispy Kreme in Malaysia, they have decided to go into the donut business concept of producing sweet treats to the public. Since this is just a kiosk, you might not get the experience of seeing them making those donuts, buns and muffin. Instead, you will only get to watch the process of decorating the imported pastry (from HQ in BM of course). At the moment, they have 5 flavors such as rainbow colored rice candies, strawberries, blueberry, orange and lemon.

On top of those donuts, they have sweet and savory buns. Since it’s a pork-free establishment, it has chicken floss, chocolate crème, custard chocolate chips, canned pear slices and many more. They do serve muffin as well.

The packaging for the food items looked professionally designed but you have to take note that they do not provide you with plastic bags in case you have decided to purchase many boxes just like I did (Every single items in four large boxes :P). Well, who can resist promotions? For the first 2 days of their opening (25 & 26 April 2009), every items would be sold at only RM1 instead of the regular RM1.70 per item.

Here is the menu for the beverages and fruit juices as well.

I’m sure most of you would like to know my verdict towards the products since I’m more of a food critic, right? Firstly, I must admit I’m not a sweet tooth and sweet to me means overused of sugar for the product. To me, except for the chicken floss bun, every single item was extremely sweet. Moreover, the donut pastry was not fluffy and light at all. The donuts have heavier texture and compound. Thus, they would be suitable for those who would want something to fill up their stomach. Two were my maximum intake as I was full by then. There was nothing special about the buns either. They were of a different shape of dinner rolls, rough and dry. They did not combine well with any of the toppings/fillings. I would have expected the usage of more fine textured buns instead. The muffin tasted quite good except that I felt that it was a bit too moist if anyone were to store it for the next day’s consumption. Let alone what might happen if the muffin were to be left unrefrigerated in a hot and humid weather.

The kiosk is located at level one of Prangin Mall Atrium A (where Bread History, Secret Recipe, Starbucks, 7-ELEVEN, etc are). Use the main bubble lift to level 1. As you walk out of the lift, make two left turns and you will see the kiosk in between Pappa Roti and the police’s summons payment counter.

Name: BLOGGERS CAFE
Prangin Mall Kiosk:
Lot A1/K07A, 1st Floor, Atrium A, Prangin Mall,
33, Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 11.00am-9.00pm
Contact: 016-256 6336 (Mr. Jimmy Siew)
GPS: 5.414701, 100.3318971

Headquarters:
Bloggers Café Sdn. Bhd. (launching soon)
No.11 Lorong Maju Utama 1, Pusat Perniagaan Maju Utama,
14000 Bukit Mertajam.
Contact: 604-538 2525

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6.5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 6/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

As people are getting more educated on healthy living, more and more health food outlets such as organic food stores, restaurants and bakeries have boomed all over town. Of the many, the most notable one would be the Rainforest Bakery & Pastry with their internationally patronized shop located along Jalan Chulia in Georgetown, Penang. You would just need to walk into the bakery and you can feel the coziness and atmosphere of a traditional cottage-like bread house. The whole place has the nice aroma of freshly baked breads and the arrangement of the bread loaves, rolls and cakes of many shapes and size were indeed the work of an artisan bread maker. The best news is that all the breads here are freshly handmade daily from quality and healthy ingredients. They suggest that unclutterer has the best bread makers to help you enjoy your own bread right at home. That’s the reason the breads here are heavier and have different tastes, textures and shapes.

Managed by a pair of identical twins Jerry and Jesse Tan, this bakery is indeed a heaven for those healthy and organic bread lovers. With Jesse who had gone for a bread hunting trail throughout Europe, France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic and absorbing hands on experience in each of the country, this little cottage like bakery do indeed produced one of the finest breads in the country. With Germany having the most types of bread (more than 300 types to be precise) and the world’s number one bread consumers, how would they not be the best in this region?

You would surely be spoiled by the wide array of choices these two bakers can produce. To name some here, they are Poppy or Sesame Bagel (RM1.50), Chelsea Bun aka Cinnamon Roll (RM1.70), English Scone (RM5/pack of 5pcs), Foccacia (RM3.70), English Muffin (RM4.50/pack of 4pcs), French Baguette (RM3.90), Grainy Baguette (RM4.80), Ciabatta (RM6.30), English Bloomer (RM4.20), Poppy Seed Bloomer (RM5.20), Rustic Onions (RM6.30/RM3.50), Volkron Brot (RM8.80 – also known as Pumpernickel Bread) and many more.

On top of that, they do have some quality cakes, cookies and muffins to make you drool for more. Their Chewy Nut Trail Cookie (RM3.80) is indeed my favorite as each cookie was filled with a generous amount of nuts and raisins. Moreover, it was mildly sweetened with natural honey. It’s great for those who are not so much of a sweet tooth. Even their Plum Muffin (RM2.70), Raisin Muffin (RM2.10) and Tropical Banana Cake (RM3/slice) were all made from fresh fruits. You should check out on their homemade Kaya (RM3 – Coconut Jam), Garlic Butter (RM7) and their 100% natural Fruit Smoothie (RM8 – Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Lychee and Mango).

The list would go on and on as these two brothers would always try to experiment other different types of bread to cater to their needs of some expatriates and their guests from all over the world. You can have a look at the part menu list of what you could expect from the bakery. Please remember that it’s best to drop by their bakery to have a look at their complete products. Please click below to enlarge the flyer.

Another reason why I like to visit such healthy bakery is to source for some healthy bread for my family. When you have a household of diabetics, you might be wondering what would be the best bread for consumption. For sure any types made from solely white flour would be the ones to avoid. The ideal type would be Ezekiel Bread which is organic, flourless and rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and natural fiber with no added fat, as inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9., “Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it…” . It’s quite hard to find such bread mass produced locally. Maybe I should produce my own from the recipe I have… if only I have the time. LOL! The next best alternatives as suggested by Jerry were their Sourdough Bread and French Farmhouse Bread.

Sourdough Bread (RM7/loaf) has a distinctively tangy or sour taste and that’s how it got its name. It took Jerry four days of leavening process just to produce a few loaves of the Sourdough Bread for the day as this type of bread does not go through the normal process of using cultured yeasts but with the reserved dough as starter. Consuming Sourdough Bread especially during the most important meal of the day, breakfast, would eventually lower the blood sugar level of a consumer. I would think that the fermentation process would have changed the nature of the starches in the bread making and it would be an ideal choice for diabetics.

Although Sourdough Bread would be good, not everyone could get accustomed to its slightly sour taste. Alternatively, French Farmhouse Bread (RM6.30/loaf) will be the next choice. The bread consists of different ingredients and it’s also fat and sugar free as the Sourdough Bread. It’s a traditional hand kneaded recipe where white flour, yeast, linseed (flax), sunflower seeds and millets would be used. That’s the reason you would hardly see the bread being of a standard size. Linseed or common flax seed has been widely used as a precautious measure for certain major diseases as well as stabilizing the blood-sugar levels of a diabetic. Moreover, the seeds have high fiber content.

Do you want to know what are the cereals and grains that you have in or on your bread? Here are the items that they have been using.

The best way to reach the shop would be by using Jalan Penang and turn left into Lebuh Chulia. Drive straight ahead and you would pass by Jalan Masjid (Sun Hotel) on your left and then Lorong Love (7-11). Slow down after Lorong Love and you would see the bakery just a few shop houses away on you left with a black signboard. It’s also located just opposite the famous night Curry Mee stall along Lebuh Chulia.

Name: RAINFOREST BAKERY & PASTRY
Address: 300 Lebuh Chulia, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-261 4641, 012-405 6276 (Mr. Jesse Tan)
Opening Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm (Closed Sunday)
GPS: 5.418328, 100.336631

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Name: JENNI HOMADE CAKES & BAKERY
Pulau Tikus Branch:
Address: 33-A Jalan Cantoment, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-226 8596
GPS: 5.430942, 100.311205

Bayan Baru Branch:
Address: 34 Jalan Mayang Pasir, 11950 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-646 7191
Opening Hours: 9.00am – 9.00pm
GPS: 5.324577, 100.287666

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 9/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Name: BAKERI ROTI RAYA
Address: 23 Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-6561144
GPS: 3.145232, 101.698133

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)