Or Hwu Restaurant, Yong Peng, Malaysia

On the way out from Labis and back to Singapore, we decided to stop by this place in Yong Peng which serves Fu Zhou fare.

These minced pork and liver balls are stuffed into pig intestines before they're fried. They reminded me a bit of hati babi bungkus, no complains here; these were tasty as.

Stir-fried pork ribs, in a tangy sauce. A good thing the sauce wasn't too sweet. A nice smoky aroma from good wok heat finished this off nicely.

A classic Fu Zhou dish to order is the chicken with Chinese red wine in vermicelli. This one has a kick in it. I think they poured in more of the booze when the dish was done but it was still fragrantly good.

Some stir-fried greens with garlic are always good for health.

Finally, to round up the meal before we returned to Singapore was a plate of black sauce noodles. Yong Peng looks like another sweet place for grub, so I'm quite sure I'll be back to check it out more thoroughly next time.

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Kedai Mee, Labis, Malaysia

Another must-have in Malaysia is their wan tan noodles. This place does it the typical "black sauce" Malaysian variant.

A good douse of black sauce, a dollop of chili paste and we've got a tasty wan tan noodle ready for a quick meal or in this case; a mid-afternoon snack.

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Durian Plantation, Labis, Malaysia

If things could not get more fun, turns out my colleague's family owns a durian plantation! Alas, we were about two months early, so we could only satisfy our cravings for these horny fruits visually. Can you spot them hanging on the tree?

I did chance on this "baby" durian on the ground. Fits in the palm of my hand, too bad I don't think there was anything in it. Maybe I'll be back in two months.

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Cendol, Labis, Malaysia

Almost becoming a habit of mine is checking out the local cendol scene wherever I am. But this refreshing coconut cream based dessert is just so addictive that I can't fight the urge to explore the intricate details of each different permutation.

This guy's pushcart stall has been serving cendol in the town center of Labis for more than 15 years. He obtains his coconut milk fresh daily from the 150 coconut trees that he owns in a small plantation. It's very traditional, even the ice is shaved by hand.

This wasn't as thick as the one in Geylang Serai but the freshness of the coconut milk shows through. The addition of sago and red beans to the sago also added a nice touch. Nevertheless, it was still cold, rich and sweet, just the thing for the hot weather!

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Kedai Makan Ah Tee, Labis, Malaysia

After the bak kut teh, it was time for a second breakfast. This place specializes in kway chap and I was told Malaysian kway chap is quite different from the Singaporean version. Sure, there's still a heap of braised innards and porcine bits but the main difference is the gravy which comes with the dishes. The gravy here is thick and slightly herby compared to the thinner sauce versions in Singapore.

Thinly sliced pork belly.

A variety of braised bean curds.

Braised pig intestines.

Pig ears and fallopian tubes.

There was also an option to have the noodles dry instead of in a soup. Since we don't get this in Singapore, I gave the dry version a shot. The noodle here is more like a flat rice noodle instead of large rice sheets. Still, the dry version with the chilies and fried shallots was quite a refreshing change.

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Tian Tian Claypot Bak Kut Teh, Labis, Malaysia

There's pretty much only one place in Labis to get a bak kut teh (localized pork rib soup) breakfast. Fortunately, they do it very well. There are many variants of this dish, ranging from savory peppery versions to more herbal ones. Tian Tian's version is a fine balance between the two.

As with most Malaysian-styled bak kut tehs, this comes with a heap of additional ingredients besides the pork ribs. An assortment of beancurds and pig innards adds some variety to this.

Eaten together with the side-dishes of fried Asian dough crullers, assorted preserved vegetables and a bowl of freshly steamed white rice, this was indeed a great way to start the day.

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Sate, Labis, Malaysia

For some post-supper supper, we decided to hit a popular sate (satay) stall along the town's main road. Just look at those prices! Not only is the street food kickass in Malaysia, but the prices (compounded by the exchange rate) are just fantastic.

As we were already rather full, we just picked up an assortment of lamb, beef and chicken satays. Good stuff!

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Ria Pusat Makan & Minum, Labis, Malaysia

Labis is a small town in Johor with a population of slightly over twenty thousand. Coincidentally it's also the hometown of my colleague who was gracious enough to play host to me for a short trip. By the time we arrived, it was time for supper and this place is quite popular as a supper joint.

When I saw this dish of fried aubergine on the menu, I thought it'll be similar to Canton Wok's but this turned out quite different; in a good way. Chunky bits of aubergine coated in a crisp batter and topped off with a spicy minced meat gravy. Just the thing to whet our appetites.

The fried chicken wings were smothered in a tangy barbecue sauce which reminded me of a localized version of buffalo wings.

The deep fried fish with butter is similar to butter or cereal prawns, this was fried to such a nice crisp that you could crunch down everything; bones and whatnot.

These deep fried pumkin slices were so thin they were almost like crisps. Great to go with beer.

The morning glory with preserved cuttle fish was a bit too sweet for my liking. It came in a sauce that tasted fruitily sweet. The cuttle fish had a nice crunch though.

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Restoran Aunty Lee, Malacca, Malaysia

Quite a long time ago, Chinese settlers and traders married the locals of Malaysia and gave birth to some pretty kickass fusion food known as "Peranakan" or "Nonya" cuisine. Malacca was the outpost for Chinese admiral Zhang He and as such an intermesh of Chinese settler influx and the local female population resulted in a rather strong Peranakan population. No trip to Malacca is really complete without some tasty Nonya food. We knew this place is good when there are only about six tables in the premise and they were turning away quite a few who didn't have the foresight to make a reservation.

When I was young, I didn't really appreciate the taste of petai (also known as smelly beans) that much but somehow I now tend to order this dish whenever I see it on the menu. These were fried with shrimp and a very tasty and spicy local chili gravy.

A fluffy omelette cooked with preserved shrimp was next. I was worried this would be too salty sinced it used preserved baby shrimp but thankfully it was extremely fragrant and flavored just right.

Nonya otak is vaguely described as a fish and coconut paste cake. The nonya variants always at least abit spicy compared to the Indonesian otaks. This was steamed instead of grilled but the rich coconut taste and chunks of fish were very welcomed indeed.

Chicken buah keluak is a spicy, sourish curry dish which is characterized by the usage of nuts from the Pangium edule or kepayang tree to produce a unique taste. The contents of the nuts are an acquired taste but I do enjoy digging it out with a teaspoon, mixing it with some gravy and stirring everything into freshly steamed rice.

Chicken pong teh is another classic Nonya dish and involves cooking the meat and mushrooms in a sweet brown bean paste. Since this joint is halal they used chicken instead of babi (pork). I'm still more used to babi pong teh though, as chicken tends to be a rather boring meat.

This nonya fried chicken was surprisingly very good. Apparently the chicken is coated in balacan (preserved dried shrimp) powder before being fried hence giving it a unique flavor which isn't as strong as the prawn paste fried chicken we get at all the Hong Kong Street outlets here. Still this was extremely crispy on the outside but still juicy and succulent within.

The assam squid was decent. Definitely not bad but nothing much to shout about either.

The green dish of the meal was stir-fried morning glory with garlic. Nice big chunks of fried garlic really gave this dish quite a flavor boost, not to mention a breath boost as well haha.

As a taste-test we decided to try their cendol and see how it stacked up against Jonker Desserts. I know this answer may seem politically correct but this was very good as well in its own right. It tasted more traditional than the one at Jonker but still very nice. I'm a big fan of cendol and I'll put Aunty Lee's and Jonker's on the same pedestal as the excellent one I had in Jakarta.

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Wan Tan Mee, Malacca, Malaysia

At the risk of being arrested for the potential to cause dissension, I can't help but pose the question, "Why does wan tan mee tastes so much better in Malaysia than compared to Singapore?" This stall at the corner of Jonker Walk is run by three generations, grandma at the cooking helm, mother preparing the ingredients and daughter serving the plates. The daughter is already in her 40s so you know, for sure, this has to be good.

The noodles were cooked to al dante perfection and each strand was a single entity without any annoying clumping. The sauce had just the right balance of saltiness, sweetness and spiciness. Although the barbecued pork was decently above average, the wan tans were bursting with an extremely fragrant sesame flavor. Good stuff indeed.

The toast served here was abit of a let-down though. This was so scantily dressed with butter and coconut-egg jam that I was worried it would catch a cold even in this heat.

The soft-boiled egg was cooked to just the right finish though. A great way to slurp up some protein to round off an excellent breakfast.

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Teo Soon Loong Chan, Malacca, Malaysia

Malacca has quite a significant Teochew population and Teo Soon Loong Chan was recommended to be one of the oldest and best Teochew restaurants in town. I knew I had hit culinary gold when I first saw the place. I mean, just take a look at this hardcore external decor! You know only kickass food can be found here.

The man himself, the 80 year old owner and chef showed us the spread of ingredients they had and we chose some for our dinner.

Whilst waiting for dinner to commence, I started snacking on the anchovies in this local chili sauce. They were getting quite addictive.

The first dish served was noodles and oysters in a thick black sauce.

Cooked with ample lard, each strand of noodle was fragrant and silky-smooth which paired up really nicely with the juicy and succulent oysters. The sauce was rich and thick without being gooey from overcompensated starch-thickening.

The braised duck was next. A pity they didn't have braised goose here but the duck was done pretty good as well. The meat still maintained a nice bite and the sauce had flavor without being too salty.

The obligatory vegetable dish was stewed cabbage with broccoli, mushrooms and Japanese abalone. The cabbage was stewed to a point where it just melts in your mouth. The use of dried scallops in the gravy complemented the abalone very well.

We decided to veer away from the typical Teochew steamed pomfret with tomatoes and preserved plums, and decided to try another highly recommended style. Although the fish was steamed just right, the unique part about this dish was the extremely delicious sauce which contained a mix of minced chicken breast and re-fried dried solefish.

Almost every table has one of these little porkers. The suckling pig was roasted very well indeed (perhaps even better than the one in Bangkok?) with most of the fat being melted off and leaving just a crisp layer of cracking and a thin layer of meat. I prefered the seasoning in this over the one at Nam Sing because it wasn't as sweet.

Which Teochew feast is complete without a serve of yam paste dessert? This place serves the dessert steamed together with the gingko nuts and pumpkin on the side.

Smooth, extremely aromatic but not too sweet, the yam paste and the perfectly steamed pumpkin and gingko nuts were indeed just the thing to end off this sweet meal!

Of course, the hot and thick Chinese tea right at the end dissolves all oil, fat and grease ingested hence making this meal a rather balanced one haha.

Although this meal was our priciest yet in Malacca, it was definitely worth every cent (or should I say sen?). Please make your reservations in advanced because this place does get packed. The earliest reservation they could give us was the 9pm slot.

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