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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
After another refreshing cendol from the Geylang Serai Temporary Market, I took a little walk around the surrounding shopping centers and chanced upon this packed fast-food joint on the second floor of City Plaza (810 Geylang Rd). They seem to specialize in fried chicken (I guess everybody loves fried chicken) and to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to drop in as well.
Their serving concept is rather different here, the menu is out front. You place your order, take a queue number, wait for your feed, eat up, then pay when you're done.
This little bird wasn't too bad. The skin wasn't as crisp like Popeye's as I hoped it to be (the texture was quite similar to the Colonel's Original mix) but the seasoning had a nice chili and pepper kick in it. The meat within also had a nice and juicy succulency. A pity the chips and coleslaw weren't anything great and the chili sauce in the sachets was so sweet I could probably make cordial out of it but I'll be back for the bird.
I saw a little queue at this stall at Blk 94, Henderson Road and also some writeup and photographs on the wall. Since I had some spare time, I decided to try some of their fare - big mistake.
The prawn noodle had a few slices of halved-prawns and came in a broth that tasted unnaturally sweet. The noodles didn't taste rinsed-well enough as the flavor of alkaline was still quite evident.
The soup with prawns and pork ribs was slightly better as that bitter alkaline flavor wasn't apparent but still it was not really anything to shout about.
To give them some credit, the braised pork trotters were stewed just right. Soft enough for a tender chew but not too mushy either. That being said, I'll rather choose the one at Mei Chin or even Noo Cheng at Adam Road over this.
This place used to be all the way East in Joo Chiat but has swung far West with a much larger dining area as well to accomodate their growing following. As the pun in the name suggests, Peramakan deals mainly with Peranakan cuisine.
We started off with the bakwan kepiting (meatball soup with bamboo shoots). Quite tasty, you can taste the crab used in the stock which imparted a rather sweet flavor.
The beef rendang is as good as always. Stewed to melt-in-your-mouth quality, the rich coconut-based gravy found its place very well in a plate of steaming white rice.
The ayam buah keluak's gravy here is a lot thicker than the one at Aunty Lee's and the flavor a tad bit richer as well. A pity there were only two of the keluak nuts in this serve though.
I can't really remember the name of the fish dish, but it has chili and ginger in it. The fish were fillets so at least there weren't any pesky bones to fiddle about.
The nonya fried chicken here paled in comparison to that of Aunty Lee's though. I think it's the lack of (or too little?) balacan powder which made this significantly less fragrant. It's still a decent fried chook but just not spectacular.
The grilled squid was a pleasant surprised. Grilled just nice and served with sweet and semi-spicy salsa sauce, this was a clear winner.
The nonya beancurd came with a sauce almost identical to the fish, so it was a bit of bummer having two dishes that tasted pretty much the same. But if I had to choose between the two, I'll go for the beancurd because I prefer shrimp over fish.
This is pretty much the main reason why I dine here - hati babi bungkus. This dish of chopped liver and pork wrapped in pig's caul, before being steamed and then fried is almost getting extinct in Singapore. True this wasn't the best I've had (anyone remembers Nonya and Baba along River Valley Rd?) because of the stingy layer of pork caul (this main ingredient is really hard to get, so I understand) but I guess beggars can't be choosers.
The durian pengat is pretty much like a heavy mousse with strong durian, gula malacca and coconut elements. Not too bad if you're a fan of durian. The chunks of sweet potato and yam were a nice touch though.
The sago with coconut cream and gula malacca tasted pretty much like its description. I guess it's hard to go wrong with a dessert so rich in coconut cream and gula malacca.
Their cendol is also fairly decent, although it still doesn't come very close to the ones in Malacca or Jakarta. Even the one at Geylang Serai at only 1sgd would give this a run for its money, although it doesn't come with any red beans.
I would stop by this coffeeshop sometimes for a bite of fried chicken. It used to be a pretty dingy place (which explained its appeal to me) but has recently undergone renovations with the new anchor stall being yet another Hong Kong Street franchise.
I ordered a bowl of mutton soup from the new Indian-Muslim stall and it was pretty good. Thick and rich in flavor, they were quite generous with the meat as well.
Since the mutton soup seemed like a pretty good start, I decided to try their mee goreng (fried noodles) as well. The serving is large enough for two or one very hungry bloke haha. Continuing with the trend of generous ingredients was a pretty decent amount of minced mutton, egg, peas, potato chunks and beansprouts in this.
But the fried chicken is what I was really here for. I'm a fan of localized coffeeshop or hawker center fried chicken for one particular reason; it's cooked to order. I'll choose this sort of fried chicken in Singapore anytime over the mass commercialized chains (maybe with the exception of Popeye's).
Piping hot with a crisp savory coat of batter.
Even the breast cut was tender, juicy and succulent.
Donuts
4. Add the remaining flour and manually mix and knead till a soft elastic texture is obtained (add more flour if it's too wet)
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cling wrap the top
7. With a rolling pin, roll the dough (using copious amounts of extra flour if it's too sticky) into sheets of about 1/2 an inch in thickness
9. Line them up on a lightly greased tray prior to frying
10. Glaze (no fixed proportions here)
d. Add water and stir on low heat until desired viscosity is achieved
11. Heat oil on medium heat, test the temperature first by sacrificing one of those donut centers
13. Set aside donuts to cool and excess oil to drip off (they won't pick up the glaze if they're too greasy or too hot)
14. Dip one side of each donut into the honey glaze and serve warm!
Of course, how could we forget what to do with the centers? Donut balls on a stick - a childhood classic.
