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REQUISITES FOR CHINESE WEDDING FROM LEONG CHEE KEE

Posted by crizlai On April - 28 - 2009

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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)

SWEET TREATS AT BLOGGERS CAFÉ

Posted by crizlai On April - 25 - 2009

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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)

MALAYSIAN PANCAKE FOR TEA

Posted by crizlai On March - 17 - 2009

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You would be amazed by how many times a Malaysian would eat a day, especially those Penangites with so many options available from breakfast right up to supper. You have so many choices at each and every corner of every district such as Adam’s Karipap Ayam (chicken curry puff – RM1.50 each) in Pulau Tikus Market along Jalan Pasar, Te Chang You Tiao Wang (the longest Chinese cruller at 14” length – RM1 each) along Jalan Paya Terubong, 8o varieties of kuih-muih (local finger snacks – 40sen each) at Mat Relax Corner along Jalan Jones or even some authentic Cantonese snacks at Guangzhou Cake House along Lebuh Carnarvon. Who could resist such temptation even at odd hours of the day?

Another great snack would be the Malaysian Pancake, commonly known as Apom Balik by the Malays and Ban Chang Koay by the Chinese community. Where could you get such great snack then? One prominent place would be right in town itself. With a continuous flow of buyers from all races, En. Noor Azam has been selling his Apom Balik right in front of the General Post Office (Pos Besar Pulau Pinang) along Downing Street (Lebuh Downing) for more than a decade.

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What made his Apom Balik (60sen each) so demanding compare to many other sellers in town? His Apom Balik has the right texture, thickness, sweetness, buttery taste, freshness of the pounded peanuts and most importantly the crunchiness on the crust at all time. There are actually two types available at his roadside stall. One would be a thinner version with crunchy crust. You could opt for plain or with cream corns.

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Another version would be the thicker type being slowly cooked in a large pan. This version would be more fluffy and soft in the center.

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If you are at that area, do try his Apom Balik out. I had not stopped patronizing his stall each time I’m around that area as I find his skills in preparing this wonderful snack had maintained its consistency throughout all the years. It’s a great snack for tea.

Finding the stall would not be hard if you frequent Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street) often for your banking transactions as this is the road where all the major banks are located. Just drive along Lebuh Pantai until you have reached Hongkong Bank. The road next to the bank is Lebuh Downing. Drive right until the end and you would see the General Post Office at the junction of Lebuh Downing and Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay). The stall is just in front of the GPO, next to a Chinese iced drink seller. Do try out the corn drink here too as it’s one of the good ones around.

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Name: NOOR AZAM APOM BALIK
Address: Lebuh Downing, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon-6.00pm
GPS: 5.417557, 100.344192

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

UNCLE BOB TAIWAN STYLED SNACKS

Posted by crizlai On February - 23 - 2009

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When you mention about Uncle Bob’s Taiwan Styled Fried Chicken (RM5), most frequent night market (pasar malam) goers would surely heard about them. Being the first to bring in this Taiwanese snack concept to Malaysia, Uncle Bob has been operating this business since 2002, spreading its mobile snack vans all over peninsular and east Malaysia. Well, being a successful pioneer in this food industry has always a drawback. More and more competitors have mushroomed all over the country plagiarizing this successful story. In fact, I had noticed that some competitors even offered more flavors than the existing original and spicy recipes Uncle Bob has.

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What made Uncle Bob so successful in this business? All you can see is just a piece of chicken breast meat or boneless drumstick coated with some bread crumbs, deep fried and sprinkle with some flavoring. That’s nothing special right? What many did not notice is that those chicken meat pieces have their skins and fat removed prior to the frying process. This is a healthier version? Maybe not but at least the consumption of fat would be lesser than most of the existing fried chicken stalls around. Uncle Bob has just two flavors to their bite sized crunchy chicken cutlets, namely original and spicy. The spicy ones were the most sought after.

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On top of the smooth selling product stated above, Uncle Bob has its Research & Development (R&D) group based in Taiwan to find out more products that would the local market. One of the products that launched not long ago was the Sweet Batter Coated Cheese Hot Dog Stick (RM2). It has a jumbo sized cheese filled sausage coated with a specially formulated batter and deep fried to golden brown. The end product has a sweet tasting crispy crust that tasted a bit sweeter than our local pancake (ban chang kuih) base.

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The combination of the sweet and salty taste of the product complimented each other well. The best part would be squirting out some existing juice from the sausages as well as some melted cheese oozing out of your mouth. This is such a cool to snack while exploring more bargains in the night markets!

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As the vans would be on the move each day, I could not provide a specific location map or GPS reading for you to track them down. Maybe a detailed venue of the night markets each day (Penang Island and Mainland) would ease you more in your food hunting expedition. Gook Luck!

Name: UNCLE BOB TAIWAN STYLED SNACKS
Penang Area Contact: 013-4316868 (Mr. David Yong)
Penang Mobile Van Whereabouts: 016-459 4433 (Nee), 016-481 6963 (Wei)

PENANG – ISLAND (NIGHT MARKETS)
Monday– McCallum Street (Opposite Li Tek School entrance)
Tuesday -Tanjung Bungah Market (Next to Bus Station/Market)
Wednesday– Farlim Padang, Air Itam
Thursday-Paya Terubong, Air Itam & McCallum Street (opposite market)
Friday-Taman Kheng Tian (off Van Pragh Road/Hamilton Road)
Saturday-Sungai Dua (opposite Tesco Extra)

PENANG – MAINLAND (NIGHT MARKETS)
Wednesday-Kampung Juru
Thursday-Kampung Valdor
Friday-Taman Permata
Saturday-Mega Mall Food Court (Pacific Shopping Centre) & Kuan Nam Coffee Shop (Chai Leng Park)

OTHER STATES IN PENINSULAR & EAST MALAYSIA
Please check out here for the whereabouts of the mobile vans for each state in Malaysia.

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

CHOO CHOO HENG BBQ MEAT

Posted by Criz Lai On January - 5 - 2009

Note: For 2014, please check the price of the meat as stated below.

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Chinese New Year (26-27 January 2009) is just around the corner and many Chinese are already busy preparing some gifts for their family, relatives, friends and clients prior to the celebration. Some would buy hampers filled with canned and dry stuff whereas some would still go for the traditional way of giving away some BBQ meat (Bak Kua/Rougan), a Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky. There are actually two variants, one with minced meat slices and the other with slices of meat straight from the solid meat blocks. It could either be made out of pork or chicken.

Have you ever wonder how these juicy dried meat slices were made? Let me share with you what I have learned through my recent visit to a BBQ meat maker in Georgetown who has been making this delicacy from her home for over a decade. The preparation is actually quite simple but the process of making the dried meat could be real time consuming. Pieces of choice meat (80% lean and 20% fat) would be minced and then mixed with some seasonings such as soy sauce, salt, sugar (some would use honey), 5-spice powder, pepper and rose wine. The mixture would be left to marinate for awhile before proceeding to the next process.

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The mixture would then be spread evenly but thinly onto customized large aluminum trays. Some makers, especially those older ones would still use bamboo trays to spread the mixture.

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These trays would then be placed inside a slightly heated oven to dry the meat. Traditionally, these would be left out in the sun to dry but the modern generations of people had shy away from purchasing food using this method as the food might be contaminated with dust particles and bugs. Thus, through this hygienic process, the food would be safe for consumption.

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After leaving those trays in the oven for some time, this would be the result. You will get huge slices of dried meat but this is not the end of the process. There would be the final preparation.

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These huge meat slices would then be trimmed into smaller slices and BBQ to perfection. The maker has two ways of barbequing the meat slices. She would either use a metal net over some burning charcoals or by using an electrical BBQ machine when the orders get too many.

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The other variant which I had mentioned earlier would be the dried chicken. The preparation would be the same except that they would use a customized mould with holes on it to make them round.

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They do also produce the Red Dried Pork which is of a lesser quality and flavors compared to the ones mentioned above. These are normally used by our local hawkers to prepare Roti Bak Kua (Dried Meat Buns).

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Over the years, Bak Kua has evolved into something different. They are now being produced in strips form that made eating easier. These yummy and juicy strips are called the Gold Bars (金條). Unlike the step of spreading the seasoned meat thinly, they are rolled into long bars and followed the same drying process as above. These would then be fried instead of being BBQ, leaving the inner layer to be moist with rich flavors. These have been my all time favorite. Sad to say, they only produce them once a year, just a month before the Chinese New Year. Even my friends and relatives had not stopped reminding me to order them yearly. I had tried from many sellers but theirs had been the best so far.

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Another fried version would be the Gold Nuggets (金錢肉乾) which have thinly spread meat as the base and a small amount of minced meat on the middle. These again have been the much sought after dried meat after the Gold Bar. I could not get enough of these either.

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You should also not miss out their Pork Floss too. The floss was always fresh, well flavored and crunchy. I’m still trying to remember how many slices of bread, spread with butter and sandwiched with the yummy pork floss I had last evening. LOL!

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The price of the items (2014):
Dried Pork (Bak Kua) – RM33 per 600gms/kati
Dried Chicken (Kay Bak Kua) – NOT AVAILABLE (2014)
Pork Floss (Bak Hu) – RM33 per 600gms/kati
Gold Bars (Kim Teow) – RM34 per 600gms/kati
Gold Nuggets (Kim Chee) – RM34 per 600gms/kati

Since the festive season is near and stock could be quite limited, MAKE SURE YOU CALL UP to book your order prior to visiting them. They do not have a counter (remember? It’s a house) to sell you the delicious dried meat if you did not make any reservations. The house is strategically located along a small lane off Lebuh Carnarvon. If you are coming from Jalan Dr. Lim Chwee Leong, turn left into Lebuh Carnarvon. Drive on until you see a police station (on your left), turn into the first right turning back into the other side of Lebuh Carnarvon. You will see a mamak store on your left. Drive on until you have reached the second left junction (Lorong Carnarvon). The house is on the left somewhere almost towards the end of the lane with a small red sign with gold wordings stating (處處香肉乾)Choo Choo Heng Dried Pork.

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Name: CHOO CHOO HENG BBQ MEAT
Address: 51 Lorong Carnarvon, 10100 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12.00noon – 7.00pm
Contact: 604-261 4223 (Ms Loh)
GPS: 5.414097, 100.335645

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (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)

 

PULAU TIKUS MARKET SUSHI CORNER

Posted by Criz Lai On December - 29 - 2008

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Suddenly I had an urge to go for sushi after having tasted the delicious sushi brought by CK Lam during the 3rd Penang Floggers Gathering. I immediately headed out to the Pulau Tikus Market where all the yummy hawker stalls are. Hidden from the sight of the main road (Jalan Pasar) was this dimly but beautifully decorated stall selling sushi. The two owners, Boon and Sandy, had manned this stall for many years. Although hidden from where all the crowds were, business remained quite smooth flowing with consistent flow of patrons. What attracted their customers was the 100 over selections available, taste, presentation as well as the price of each sushi. Prices can range from as low as RM1 per sushi to RM5 per sushi with large fish roes.

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You would not believe that I had a 7-piece sushi takeaway such as the Califutomaki, chopped baby octopus, tuna, prawn, crabstick & egg, fish roes and prawn roes sushi as shown above for a mere RM7. Yup! You heard it right! Each sushi costs only RM1. There were more available but I chose what was available as the sky was beginning to drizzle at that time. Here are some snapshots of their other sushi.

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You do not have to worry about the unavailability of your preferences as shown on the menus on the stall as well as on the special order menus as either Boon or Sandy would be more than happy to make them for you. In fact, you can always ask them for their house specialties.

If you are coming from Jalan Burmah into Jalan Cantonment, turn left into the first junction. That’s where the Pulau Tikus market is and that’s also where the night hawker area is. Move further up until you see a small lane beside a bakery on your left. You will see the stall at the corner with two lighted up red Japanese lanterns.

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Name: PULAU TIKUS MARKET SUSHI CORNER
Address: Lorong Pasar, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 5.30pm-11.00pm (Closed Monday)
Contact: 016-472 2893 (Boon), 016-532 2066 (Sandy)
GPS: 5.430320, 100.312100

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (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: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

TE CHANG YOU TIAO WANG

Posted by Criz Lai On December - 11 - 2008

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Penang has quite a number of records in the Malaysian Book of Records and this yummy Chinese Cruller or Fried Bread Stick (You Tiao) from Te Chang You Tiao Wang (Extra Long Chinese Cruller King) could well fall into one of the category as being the longest (as I know) in Malaysia. This crunchy golden brown, deep fried strip of dough was about 14” long, one and the half times the length of a normal You Tiao selling elsewhere.

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Even a specially designed aluminum stove had to be constructed to ensure evenly spread heat to cook this dessert.

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At present, there are only two types of crullers available at the stall, the extra long cruller (RM1 each) and the Black & White Sesame Twins (3 for RM2). The Black & White Sesame Twins is quite similar to Ma Keok (Horse Shoe Shaped Sweetened Crullers) except that they were kneaded differently with black and white sesame seeds sprinkled on them.

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It was not the extra long crullers that impressed me but the fusion of what it had become today. I could not have imagined that they can be stuffed with so many different combinations and yet tasted great. Would you love to try out Stuffed Cruller with Meat Floss and Mayonnaise (RM2.50)?

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Stuffed Cruller with Tuna Mayonnaise was my favorite. Selling at RM2.50, it had tuna flakes mixed with mayonnaise, chopped onions, cabbages and carrots. Simply crunchy and delicious!

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You can even have Stuffed Cruller with Sausage and Mayonnaise (RM3). This would be a favorite for children.

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There were actually a few other sweeter combinations for you to choose. Each set would cost you only RM2. They are Kaya & Butter, Honey & Butter and Peanut & Butter. Instead of having one long cruller with one filling, I opted for the Mixed Cruller which has half meat floss and half tuna mayonnaise (RM2.50).

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On top of that, they have Black Soy Bean Milk at only RM1. The crullers are best taken when they are fresh and crispy. Leaving them too long with the mayonnaise stuffing would not ensure their crispiness.

If you are coming from Jalan Air Itam (near Kek Lok Si Temple) towards Jalan Paya Terubong, you would pass by SJK (Cina) Kong Ming 2 on your right and then East Coast Seafood Restaurant on your left. The stall is just a bit further up on your right before the Lintang Paya Terubong/Jalan Paya Terubong traffic lights. In fact, it is just next to the Paya Terubong Lao Foo Zhi Bak Kut Teh stall. This extra long Chinese cruller originated from Kuala Perlis. They are the main supplier of You Tiao to one of the famous seafood restaurants there. You could even try them out at their main branch in Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.

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Name: TE CHANG YOU TIAO WANG ENTERPRISE
Branch Address: 1250-A, Jalan Paya Terubong, 11060 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 016-433 7301 (Mr. TH Tan)
Main Branch Address: 76, Jalan Sarawak, 02000 Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00am-5.00pm (Closed Alternate Tuesday)
GPS: 5.394222, 100.276417

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

 

MAT RELAX CORNER @ JONES ROAD

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 14 - 2008

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Still remember when I was posting up the “Idris Karipap Ayam & Daging” review? I did mention a hawker stall down in Jalan Jones (Jones Road) selling many different types of Kuih Melayu. In fact, there have almost 80 types of modern and traditional Malay kuih (Malay desserts), noodles and rice to fill up your appetite. They call themselves the Mat Relax Corner – a place you can enjoy your favorite local delicacies while seeping in their thick creamy Teh Tarik. The good news is that you could try out any 5 different kuih at merely RM2. Unless there is a price tag on the tray, each item would cost you only 40sen. The cheapest in Penang!

For the last 12 years, they have been there along Jalan Jones and Jalan Kelawei junction selling those yummy desserts. People from all walks of life would gather there for breakfast or afternoon tea. You could even see some in ties sealing some deals there. Surprised right? You can start savoring their food as early as 6.30am but my recommendation would be after 3.00pm as that would be the ideal time for more hot steaming items being displayed on the tables. Here are some of their yummy kuih-muih.


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As I always love to consume salty items rather than sweet things, I would like to recommend their Popiah Goreng, Cucur Bawang and Udang, Roti Sumbat Sambal Ikan Bilis and some of their tasty rice and noodles. You can even add in their Sambal Tau Kua if you would like more ingredients in your food.

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Finding Mat Relax Corner would not be hard as it is strategically located at the junction of Jalan Jones and Jalan Kelawei, next to the Pulau Tikus UDA Flat. I would advise you to find a place somewhere before the stalls as the place would be high in traffic.

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Name: MAT RELAX CORNER @ JONES ROAD
Address: Jalan Jones, 10350 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 017-429 5082 (En. Aziz)
Opening Hours: 7.00am – 8.00pm (Close Saturday & Sunday)
GPS: 5.431094, 100.315347

RATING:
Ambience: 4/10 (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: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

IDRIS KARIPAP AYAM DAN DAGING

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 10 - 2008

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Since I’m into introducing the finger food of Penang, let me introduce you to the Malay version of tea time desserts @ kuih-muih. If you frequent Tanjung Tokong a lot, you would see a signboard by Jalan Tanjung Tokong with the word “Idris Karipap Ayam & Daging” – 60sen each. That’s where Idris’s stall has been for about a decade. One walk near to the stall and you would see endless quantity of karipap being fried in a big wok.


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It was only recently that I had gone up that area after a long absence to try out their karipap again. Although the karipap had gone longer and more flat in shape, the filling was still as tasty as before. If you are in for beef, do try out their beef karipap as I found them to be better than the chicken karipap which was much drier but still tasty. The only problem I had was that I prefer flakier dough compared to their slightly harder ones. I hope they can improve on that.

On top of the karipap, they do occasionally sell other yummy Malay kuih-muih. If you are lucky enough, you might get some really nice ones fresh from the oven. I’m going to show you some of the tea time finger food that they have at the time I was there.

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Although Idris’s stall does have some good desserts, you can also try out another stall at the junction of Jalan Kelawei and Jalan Jones in Pulau Tikus after 3.00pm on week days. They have many varieties of kuih-muih as well as nasi lemak, nasi ayam, nasi daging, nasi tomato and fried noodles for takeaways. I always get indecisive when choosing from their over 25 types of kuih-muih for my tea time.

Idris Karipap stall is strategically located along Jalan Tanjung Tokong. If you are coming from Pulau Tikus towards Tanjung Bungah, you can see the stall on the left just immediately after the traffic lights along Jalan Fettes. In case you miss it, it is opposite the Ubi Food Court which is next to the Tanjung Tokong Petronas Petrol Kiosk.

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Name: IDRIS KARIPAP AYAM & DAGING
Address: Jalan Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia. (After Jalan Fettes)
Contact: 016-452 5933
Opening Hours: 12.00noon – 6.00pm Daily
GPS: 5.452181, 100.305219

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

TAN JETTY PRAWN FRITTERS

Posted by Criz Lai On October - 9 - 2008

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Do you believe in Ladies’ Luck? I did and it worked. LOL! I have frequent this shop almost monthly for a few years but never had the opportunity to meet up with the boss but it took Gill’s visit there for the first time to meet up with him. Don’t you think that’s luck? Haha! Anyway, this stall has been there for about a decade, serving and supplying to those community from the different jetties surrounding there and many more. Little known to the outside communities, they are the wholesale supplier of yummy fritters for many food stalls, retailers, weddings, birthdays and parties. They have four types of fritters sold, mainly prawn fritters (Hae Chee) – 90sens, bean curd prawn fritter (Tau Kua Chee) – 90sens, mini spring rolls (Poh Piah Chee) – 80sens and pork rolls (Loh Bak) – RM1.60.


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If you are observant enough, you would also see some packets of yellow noodles by the side. This is another way of taking the prawn fritters accompanied by the raw noodles. I have not tried that before as I prefer to take my noodles well cooked minus the taste of the lye water.Some might consider the price of the Loh Bak selling at RM1.30 a piece to be expensive. To me, it’s still reasonable as the pork roll is longer than the norms. There is also another thing that you have to take note of. If you are having takeaways, make sure that you consume soon as the fritters may lose their crunchiness. If you intend to get them for later consumption, either you order and collect them nearer to your party time or you can ask them to semi-fry your orders so that you could refry them when you need them later.

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For those people not staying near Weld Quay area, you might get lost trying to locate this shop as it is hidden from the view of the main road. If you are coming from The Pengkalan Weld Shell Petrol Kiosk, just drive forward until you have reached a coffee shop by the name of Xen Teck Café with a little shrine next to it o your left. Drive into the lane and you can see the shed where it housed this stall.

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Name: TAN JETTY PRAWN FRITTERS
Address: 90-A, Tan Jetty, Weld Quay, 10300 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-263 2919, 016-452 0637 (Mr. Tan Hor Chai)
Opening Hours: 8.00am – 6.00pm Daily
GPS: 5.412509, 100.339315

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

 

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