Roti kahwin, Nonya kueh and Musang King durian @ Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

A few months ago, we spent a few days in Kota Kinabalu on the eastern part of Malaysia, together with my younger sister and her husband. We rented a nice apartment in Alam Damai, and had a pretty laidback schedule as we had an infant in our travelling party. On our first day in KK, we explored the nearby Damai area for food and then took a taxi into the main part of town to check out the various specialty markets at the Filipino Market (aka Handicraft Market).

Fook Yuen shopfront:

After our second breakfast in Damai Plaza, we walked the short distance over to Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen (translates to "Fook Yuen Coffee Shop") for some roti kahwin ("marriage bread"), as we had been told by some KK residents that Fook Yuen makes the best roti kahwin in town. So just what is roti kahwin? Two slices of bread sandwiching the combination of butter and kaya (a delicious coconut spread that I grew up eating). Basically kaya toast with butter. Honestly, I think roti kahwin is lost on me. For one, I don't like butter, and much prefer eating kaya by itself on bread. Secondly, unlike most Asians, I love crusty breads (think European-style breads), and Fook Yuen's bread was pillowy soft. I do like the kaya made in-house, and I bought one small bottle to enjoy back in Hong Kong. Service at Fook Yuen is a bit spotty at best. The staff at the counter seem to speak and understand English, yet on both occasions that I visited, my order got jumbled up. Fook Yuen also sells hot and cold drinks, a range of cakes and breads, and warm pre-prepared food from the bain marie near the front of the shop. It's open from 6:30am to 2am, so I can see why Fook Yuen is a popular choice with the locals. If I had to choose, I would say I prefer the kaya toast in Singapore (because we could order soft-boiled eggs with them!)

Two untoasted roti kahwin and one toasted. I actually requested one to be made with toasted wholemeal bread, and one white to be toasted, but received all three white bread and only one toasted:

A pandan kueh (cake) from Fook Yuen, which appeared to be made from glutinous rice flour:

Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen
Block A, Damai Plaza Phase 4
Jalan Damai, Luyang
88300 Kota Kinabalu
Sabah, Malaysia
Tel. +60 88 232 794

Opposite Fook Yuen was a shop with tables set up filled with a variety of Nonya kueh. My sister and I were drawn there like bees to honey, and we bought a few kuehs to try later. They were all good, and I wished we went back again for more!

Tables filled with kueh goodies:

Pretty colours:

A fried pandan kueh I'd never before encountered. It was a little greasy, and not to my taste:

This kueh was like Kueh Talam, except it was green and yellow, not the usual green and white. Perhaps the yellow was from yellow split peas? Whatever it was, delicious!

Kueh Talam, upside down. Actually, I'm not sure if this is Kueh Salat (aka Kueh Seri Muka) or Kueh Talam, and it was too long ago for me to remember if the white part was glutinous rice or just a coconut pudding that took on the crumpled pattern of the plastic it was in. Also delicious:

Pandan kueh - second one of this type encountered on this trip to KK. I don't think I've seen it before. I guess it's like an unbaked kueh bakar pandan. Another delicious one:

We took the short taxi ride into town, to check out Pasar Kraftangan (Handicraft Market), or better known as the Filipino Market (so-named because many of the stalls are run by Filipino immigrants). There are other specialised markets along the same street, one part being the Pasar Besar Kota Kinabalu (Central Market), and there are also hawker stalls at the Pasar Malam (night market) and Pasar Ikan Masin (salted fish market).

The hawkers were just beginning to set up their stalls when we arrived. By nightfall, the place would be heaving with buyers and vendors alike:

Inside the Handicraft Market, literally stuffed full of merchandise and souvenirs. Rows and rows of jewellery, scarves and various knick-knacks. It was pretty impossible to navigate with a baby stroller, and I got a little claustrophobic after a while:

We indulged in some expensive Musang King Durian (I think it was RM50 for this amount). It was good, but the one we bought from a street vendor in Penang (that converted hubby) was still so much better:

We also drank some delicious young coconut water. This one was called pandan coconut, which was more expensive than the normal coconut, but half the size. I asked the vendor why it was more expensive, and he said it was sweeter:

So we got the normal coconut water for research purposes. Sure enough, the pandan coconut was sweeter!

This was a productive foodie day in KK. We then headed back to our rental apartment, and enjoyed more food from the Damai Plaza for dinner.

Revisit: Lunch @ Madam Kwan's (KLCC), Kuala Lumpur

When we were in Malaysia last month for my cousin's wedding, we spent half the time catching up with relatives, and the other half eating. It was great when we could combine the two! On the day after the wedding, I spent much of the morning texting my cousins to arrange an impromptu lunch date before people started heading back for their home away from Kuala Lumpur. I suggested Madam Kwan's at KLCC since we previously had a great experience, and the location was convenient for those of us who had stayed overnight in the area after the wedding (and for my poor cousin who got called to go in to work on Sunday morning!). The food was three to four times more expensive than what we can get at the hawker centre, but the comfort and hygiene levels were infinitely better, and dining in the air con is so much better than sweating it out in the hot humidity outside. Especially when there are little ones! No one objected to my suggestion, so everyone made their way to Madam Kwan's for a delicious meal.

The 5-year-old requested the Nasi Bojari - Madam's tri-coloured rice with assam prawns, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumstick (RM24.90). He ate everything but the assam (tamarind) prawns and the beef rendang which would have been a bit too spicy for him. The boy especially loved the fried chicken:

You can also order the Fried Chicken Drumstick on its own (RM10.90):

One of hubby's faves, the Char Kuey Teow (RM18.90) - flat rice noodles with chicken, prawns, squid, egg and beansprout. Delicious:

Another of hubby's favourite Malaysian dish is the hor fun, kind of like char kuey teow, but with a viscous egg sauce. At Madam Kwan's, it is called Fried Beef Noodles (RM19.90) - flat rice noodles with sliced beef, ginger and spring onion in egg sauce. Also delicious:

Curry Laksa (RM15.90). Each Malaysian state has its own regional version of laksa, and this particular bowl sparked a discussion about the differences between the laksa types in Penang, Sarawak and the curry laksa found elsewhere:

This curry laksa was superb:

Claypot Seafood Beancurd (RM25.90). I liked it so much last time that I had to reorder it:

Cendol (RM8.90) - green jelly and red beans served in coconut milk with gula melaka (palm sugar) on the side. So, so good. Definitely a big upgrade from the 50-cents cendol I used to buy as a kid from the motorbike vendor who rode past my house in Malaysia every afternoon:

Ais Campur (RM8.90), aka Air Batu Campur (ABC; "air batu" means "rock water" for the ice and "campur" means "mixed") or Ais Kacang ("kacang" means "beans" or "peanuts"). This is another childhood favourite, a shaved ice dessert with sweet red beans, attap chee (palm seed), sweet corn, grass jelly and nuts under the shaved ice, with a generous drizzle of sweet syrup and condensed milk:

Madam Kwan's is a solid choice for trying out the local hawker fare in the air-conditioned convenience and comfort of a luxury mall.

Madam Kwan's
Lot.420/421, Level 4, Suria KLCC
Jalan Ampang
50088, Kuala Lumpur
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel. +60 3 2026 2297

Nonya cakes and dumplings @ Kim Choo Kueh Chang, Singapore

One of my fond childhood foodie memories when I growing up as a young girl in Malaysia is eating the delicious and colourful Nonya kueh - sweet snacks that come in the form of cakes, pudding and dumplings. There are so many varieties of Nonya kueh that it is quite possible that I haven't tried them all, and I always get confused about the names! As the culture, language, history and food of the Nonya-Baba (aka Peranakan) are integrations of the Chinese and Malays, many of the Nonya kueh are also native to the Chinese and Malay cultures. Basically, the Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese immigrants who settled in Malacca, Penang, Indonesia and Singapore, and they intermarried with the local Malays. My maternal grandma is a Nonya from Malacca, and when I was a little girl, I was told of the cool possibility that we may be descendants of Hang Li Po, a Chinese princess who was married to the Sultan of Malacca in the 15th century. Of course, it's also entirely possible that our ancestry could have humbler beginnings, tracing back to one of the handmaidens who intermarried the local Malays, but let's not shatter the fantasy. I digress. Singapore has its own Peranakan community within Katong, and here we paid a visit to Kim Choo Kueh Chang. I had intentions of only buying some snacks to taste, but I got a bit carried away in my excitement.

Kim Choo Kueh Chang shopfront, with colourful kueh, snacks and bak chang (savoury meat dumplings):

Beautiful assortments of sweet cakes and savoury snacks, and bottles of Nonya kaya (coconut egg jam) were also available for sale:

There were also chiffon cakes and chocolate muffin (top), various kueh sprinkled with dessicated coconut (middle), and ang ku kueh too (right):

Another of my childhood favourite food: bak chang - savoury glutinous rice dumplings with delicious savoury meat fillings. Other filling ingredients also added, depending on type. I got two different types, the Nonya Chang (minced pork, wintermelon cubes and Nonya spices, wrapped in pandan leaves) and the Salty Chang (five-spice-flavoured glutinous rice dumplings with pork, shiitake mushrooms and roasted chestnuts, wrapped in bamboo leaves):

One of the chang, unwrapped:

The glutinous rice dumplings were hefty, and only one would have proved too much for myself. Delicious stuff:

The packet of assorted kueh we bought, still wrapped up:

Kueh Lapis (layered cake) - I love peeling off each layer. This had a subtle overlying taste that didn't belong, and I couldn't figure out where it could have come from - perhaps it came from the food colouring? Hubby thought it tasted fine:

Kueh Dadar (pandan crepe stuffed with coconut and gula melaka) - we really enjoyed this one. :

The crepe was chewy and the coconut filling was moist and not too sweet:

This kueh was like Kueh Talam, but I think the guy said the yellow part was yellow mung beans. Another good choice:

The two bak chang we bought were good and substantial to be lunch material, and the kueh were mostly good. We especially liked the kueh dadar.

Kim Choo Kueh Chang
111 E Coast Rd,
Singapore 428801
Tel. +65 6741 2125

Malaysian favourites @ Madam Kwan's (KLCC), Kuala Lumpur

One of the things we always do whenever we are in Malaysia is to eat up on all our favourite Malaysian dishes, and there are many of them. Back home in Perth, there are many good Malaysian restaurants, so it was easy to satisfy our Malaysian food cravings when we were still living in Australia; however, since we moved overseas about seven years ago, we haven't had much opportunity to indulge in good Malaysian food both in Japan and Hong Kong. Although we are blessed with a good Singaporean restaurant conveniently located in the mall downstairs from our HK apartment, there are still some of our favourite dishes missing, and the flavour and spiciness are catered to Hongkongers' tastebuds. For this year's Chinese new year reunion, my Perthite parents and all three of my Sydneysider sisters and their families also flew to Malaysia for the occasion. While most of our family members were staying outside of the city centre, my shopping-loving younger sister chose to be located in the heart of the city near the KLCC. I couldn't resist spending a day in the city, so I dragged hubby and son along with me and we hopped on the LRT for KLCC. Shopping with my sis is so much more fun than with hubby or by myself, and there were a few things I needed to get (unlike most females, I only shop when I need to). Somehow my sis and I also managed to convince our parents, another sister and her family to come out to the city to have a family dinner, and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner at the very popular Madam Kwan's.

That's hubby and the boy seated outside, waiting for our table:

When my sis and I were scouting out for potential restaurants inside the Suria KLCC, it was at the neither-lunch-nor-dinner time of around 4pm, yet Madam Kwan's was buzzing and full with a fairly short queue of hungry diners waiting for a table. We asked if we could make dinner reservations, but we were told that the restaurant didn't accept bookings, that it operated on a first-come-first-served basis. When we came back a couple of hours later, we didn't have to wait very long because a large group had just finished their meal, which freed up two large tables for our group of 10.

Full house:

Madam Kwan's interior decor was fairly sleek and chic, making it a comfortable choice for foreigners and locals alike to try out a variety of hawker favourites. The service we received was attentive and we found it quite easy to get the attention of waitstaff (our table was near the front bar and the door to kitchen), but service slowed right down towards the end of the meal when we made our second orders. We were informed that the kitchen puts second orders on lower priority, so diners should take note to order enough in the first round, or be prepared to wait. The menu was quite extensive and full of Malaysian specialties, and we found almost all of our favourite dishes in it. All the dishes we ordered were delicious too - not a small feat for a restaurant offering a large menu. The food was more expensive than at any local hawker centre, but the setting was a whole lot more comfortable - an invaluable quality when dining out with young children. It's still far cheaper than the Malaysian food available overseas in Australia, US and HK. Due to a few of us having dietary restrictions - my son has a few allergies, my older sister is gluten-intolerant, and my younger sister's boyfriend is on paleo diet due to severe IBS issues - we decided to only share within our sub-family groups. The following dishes are what we ordered for us and my parents to share.

Nasi Lemak, one of hubby's favourite Malaysian food. The name literally means "fatty rice", and refers to the rice that had been soaked and steamed in coconut cream. Served with sambal ikan bilis (anchovies), cucumber, chicken curry, half of a boiled egg and dried shrimp floss, this was a hit with our 4-year-old boy:

Three servings of Madam Kwan's Fried Chicken Drumsticks were ordered - two went to my sister's boyfriend and one to our boy. Many thumbs ups for this dish:

Beef Rendang, the way it should be - utterly tender and rich in spices and coconut milk:

Claypot Tofu with Seafood - a tasty way to get our daily intake of vegetables. The silken tasty egg tofu type was used here, which was simply lovely:

Sambal Lady's Fingers - a good one for those who like spicy and okras:

Sambal Kangkung - my all-time favourite leafy green!:

Char Kuey Teow, stirfried flat rice noodles - another of hubby's all-time favourite. Delicious and not too greasy:

Cendol - an ice-based dessert made with coconut milk, green pandan jelly, and delicious gula melaka (palm sugar, aka jaggery) served on the side to add to taste. Nice and refreshing:

Bubur Cha Cha - a warm sweet coconut soup with sweet potatoes, yam and tapioca pearls (or perhaps it was sago?). This is a Nyonya dish, and I remember eating this dish often while I was growing up (my maternal grandmother is Nyonya, whose 88th birthday we also celebrated):

A perennial favourite: Ais Kacang, aka ABC (Air Batu Campur which literally means "mixed ice") - a shaved ice dessert with sweet red beans (this makes up the "kacang" part of the name which is Malay for beans), attap chee (palm seed), sweet corn, grass jelly and nuts under the shaved ice, with a generous drizzle of sweet syrup and condensed milk. Enjoyable, but it got much too sweet after a while:

Our family enjoyed a fantastic meal at Madam Kwan's. During our meal, I noticed that there was always a queue of people waiting outside for a table, and it is clear why this restaurant is so popular. Madam Kwan's is a good choice to try a wide variety of Malaysian dishes in air-conditioned comfort at affordable prices. There are several branches of Madam Kwan's around Kuala Lumpur, and I must take note for the next time we are in Malaysia.

Madam Kwan's
Lot.420/421, Level 4, Suria KLCC
Jalan Ampang
50088, Kuala Lumpur
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel. +60 3 2026 2297

Penang 2012 eats: Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Finally, I am able to write and post up some foodie photos of our trip to Penang last month! It has been a really full-on past two weeks for my family (which also saw me in hospital for 3 days!), and it's still no time for rest, but I am stealing a moment to relax and work on something I enjoy. We had the privilege to attend my cousin's wedding in Penang, and we stayed at a hotel on Gurney Drive (aka Persiaran Gurney), one of the most well-known places in Penang. It is a beautiful location with sweeping sea views, and home to one of Penang's biggest and most famous eateries.

Gorgeous sea views along Gurney Drive. Shot was taken as we were walking northward towards the other end where the hawker centre is located:

One section of the vast open-air hawker centre, with many stalls offering diners plenty of choice:

I was informed by one of my cousins that the Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is more expensive than other more 'local' hawker centres. We encountered many tourists in this area, so perhaps that is the driving force behind the higher price. It is still very cheap by Aussie standards, and is slightly more tourist-friendly than the more local hawker centres. As typical of most hawker centres, each group of tables are claimed by a particular drinks vendor, and you cannot order drinks from a drinks vendor other than the one that serves your table. I guess the drinks vendors have to also make their money somehow. It is always a crowded and noisy affair when dining at a hawker centre, and it can be great fun when dining out with family or friends. We had an enjoyable time "shopping" for our dinner, browsing through the different food stalls and marvelling at the wonderful variety of delicious-looking food.

We found one stall selling many types of Nonya kueh! Nonya is part of my heritage, and these kueh make up some of my fondest childhood foodie memories in Malaysia. I could not resist buying a few goodies for later (photos of our purchase towards the end of this post):

This Char Kuey Teow hawker had a long queue, which we took to be a good sign that the noodles are good:

The queue moved fairly quickly, and before long I was at the head of the line where I had a good view of the CKT chef in action:

The fried flat rice noodles, served rather unglamourously on the lid of a Styrofoam takeaway box. However, it was really tasty char kuey teow, not too greasy and perfectly seasoned with wok hei (that lovely charred flavour from the wok):

A plate of Rojak (a type of fruit and veg salad), from a stall claiming to serve the best rojak on Gurney Drive (there were other rojak stalls making similar claims such as "Best rojak in Penang" and so on). Not bad for a rojak, and was a nice balance of sweet, spicy and sour:

At a popiah stall, yet another food item that conjures up fond childhood memories of DIY popiah parties. Hubby said he'd never had popiah before, and I didn't hesitate to make my way to this stall to get some:

Popiah is essentially a 'fresh' spring roll (i.e. not fried) with a mostly vegetarian filling, primarily made from grated turnip or jicama and a few other crunchy vegetables. The vendor had drizzled a sweet sauce over the pieces before handing the plate over. A fabulous way to get that all-important vege intake:

There were a few "Ikan Bakar" stalls that had seafood on ice. Diners could pick fish, prawns, squids and other seafood to be cooked to order on charcoal grill. I chose squid...:

... and some king prawns. These two were more expensive than all the other items and drinks we'd also bought, but they were pretty fresh and quite enjoyable to eat:

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the first things we bought at the hawker centre: Nonya kueh. When I was a kid, I used to eat the Kueh Lapis (layered cake, foreground) by peeling off each individual coloured layer. In the background is Kueh Dadar: pandan-flavoured crepe with grated coconut and gula melaka (palm sugar) filling. So good:

Two flavours of Kueh Kosui: gula melaka (palm sugar) and pandan - both very traditional and typical flavours in Nonya kueh:

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre
Northern end of Gurney Drive (aka Persiaran Gurney), between Sunrise Tower and Gurney Plaza
Georgetown, Penang
Malaysia

I leave you with a photo of the best durian - or what was left of it - that hubby claimed he had ever eaten thus far (and he is not a big fan of durians), bought from a streetside vendor opposite the entrance of The Butterfly Farm. It was deliciously creamy with a beautiful taste and a heavenly aroma. It was probably a bit expensive by Malaysian standards (still cheaper than any durian in Australia or Hong Kong), but it was SO good that I only thought to take a photo after we'd eaten six of the seven pieces. I reckon if all durian virgins ate durians as good as this one, they would fall in love with the "king of fruits".

Durian that was so good, it'd probably even convert durian-haters: