Laksa in Petaling Jaya SS5D/1

Most of the times when we look for a place to eat, it will be in hawker centres or shoplots. Some of us would go the length to search for food by the road side. For me and some of my friends, food by the road side is the best. You can smell the eau de diesel, take in the sights and sounds of cars, lorries, embrace dust and dirt. And in some instance, Mat Rempits zoom by with fantastic acrobatics. It may be dirty, but hey the essence of all makes the food tastes good. Have you seen how dirty a kitchen is in a hotel or even a KFC restaurant? This is like a kitten in comparison.

Last Saturday, I went searching for Laksa (previous post). This time in the PJ area and a specific road side stall. It's located at the T junction of Jalan SS5D/1. I have actually eaten at this stall few times before this. Suffice to say, the proprietors sells their wares which include the laksa, nasi lemak, cendol (chendol) and ikan bakar (grilled fish) from a van and a small pickup truck. It is a typical Malay stall operated by 3 Malay ladies for food and two malay/sometimes three men for the drinks. The best thing is, everyone whether it's Malay, Chinese or Indian would dine here.

Imagine dining under the cool shades of the trees while watching the world go by with a wok of laksa and a bowl of cendol. Now, that is what I call blissful. It rained the day I was there though. :)

The laksa is served in a mini wok laid over a rattan basket which is quite unusual. It reminds me of claypot rice. The presentation looks really cute. The difference between this laksa and the previous laksa is the gravy. This one is thicker than a typical Chinese laksa. Chopped cili padi (small spicy chili) were sprinkled on top of the noodles. There is a half-cut egg served together with massive amounts of sliced cucumber and big sliced red onions.

I ordered two woks of the laksa. I ordered two slices of grilled fish as well. The fish they use are stingrays.It is just superb. We'll review the grilled fish soon enough. The price is quite reasonable. Try it out. I bet you'll like it.

Taiping Laksa Review

Laksa is the queen of street food in Malaysia. Found and prepared differently in every single state! There are at least 5 major variations of laksa in Malaysia; Laksa Assam, Laksa Lemak, Laksa Perlis, Laksa Johor and Laksam. Every state in Peninsular Malaysia has a variation of their own. Laksa prepared by Malays and Chinese differs in taste, texture of the rice noodles and thickness of the soup. Some are spicy, creamy, sourish, sweet or a combination of either one or all. One more thing about laksa is if the soup spills on your clothes, you will stink. It is because fish meat was used to prepare the soup thus making the soup pungent in fish scent and for some it stinks. Laksa drives Malaysians mad! We would queue up to buy a bowl of laksa under the hot sun for our darlings or dine in the most unpleasant environment just to enjoy a bowl of stinking laksa.

After my sister signed her death warrant with her soul mate, we headed to central Taiping to build up our appetite for a good seafood lunch at Kuala Sepetang. Our host introduced us to a small coffee shop (Kedai Makan Rex – behind Taiping Jaya) that only have only 3 hawkers selling; Lok-Lok, Laksa, Curry Mee and Popiah. The coffee shop is famous for its Ice Kacang and ice blended red bean drink (specialty). Laksa would be an ideal appetiser for a wonderful seafood lunch and it did certainly did the job for me. Although, you might pack on a few pounds after that, but what the hell, it's a mother of all events for me.

Let’s get to the good part. When the laksa arrived, the aroma was very refreshing. Laksa is also served with fresh mint leaves and the pungent fish aroma plus the shrimp paste added in the laksa makes a good concoction of aroma before you eat it. The laksa have a runny soup with bits of fish meat in it. I love the colour contrast of that laksa, a light brown and maroon in for the soup, the green mint leaves and the whiteness of the rice noodle.

It makes my mouth water. The laksa tasted like what I had expected. It was a little spicy, pretty sourish and full of fish flavour and a hint of shrimp. The mint is an added freshness coupled with the pungent aroma. The laksa had a good harmony of flavours, sight, smell and price. Smell and taste is closely related and if one of them doesn't meet your expectations, the meal might not be delicious. Smell your food before you eat it and you'll experience a new revelation.

I accidentally spilled my laksa on my pants and shoes when I was having a deep conversation with my sister's best friend while I was enjoying my laksa. I would not recommend having a deep conversation with someone else when you are trying to enjoy your food. I had to excuse myself to the little boys room and wash up. 3 or 4 hot chicas offering me tissue to clean up. I feel like a 12 year old. The best part about this little accident is that, I was stinking with laksa when I took a ride to lunch at Kuala Sepetang. I hope the passengers of that vehicle didn't notice where that stank came from. 2 days later after I went home and wanted to wash my clothes, my slacks was still stinking with laksa. Now that's what I call a good laksa!

We ordered everything they could get from the coffee shop and I only managed to taste the laksa and popiah. Those food I had in the coffee shop was brilliant as the ambience was so lively. There were around 12 of us sitting in 3 medium round sized tables joined together. It was chaotic. I guess having a good meal sometimes need good company to spice up our boring life. Laksa is truly Malaysian! The laksa only cost RM 2.80 a bowl. Only in Taiping.

Taiping Char Kuey Teow

I have heard so much about Taiping from my friends that were born and bred there. Comparing food is a norm especially comparing Taiping and Penang food! I guess its just a Malaysian metaphor, comparing the incomparable. Food is an art; observable, experienced, smelt and tasted. In Malaysia, food is a contemporary street art and its a reflection of our cultural diversity. I had the opportunity to savour a local favourite, Char Kuey Teow (also known as Fried Flat Noodles) in Taiping last week and this what I'd like to share. Char means fry or fried. Kuey Teow is the Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) name for flat noodles.

I paid a visit to a place the locals termed as Casual Market with my sister and her husband during tea time last weekend for a glass of the once again famous Taiping Kopi-O (local black coffee). Casual Market is not a market per say but more to a hawker centre. A food arena. My sister's husband was born and bred down Taiping. As usual, the locals will brag about their famous coffee, tea and street food especially their Char Kuey Teow. Although I went through a particularly heavy seafood lunch at Kuala Sepetang earlier, I ordered a plate of Char Kuey Teow from a silver haired chef. Sorry I forgot the stall number but it is located opposite a stall selling Chinese pancakes facing the road. There are at least a few stalls selling Char Kuey Teow. We sat in front of the store and I noticed that the Char Kuey Teow is served on a plastic plate covered by banana leaf, with pickled chillies. Wow, it was an amazing sight! Plus, the Char Kuey Teow was served with condiments of fish ball, fish cake, char siew and green leafy vegetables(chai sim).

When the Char Kuey Teow arrived on my table, it had an aroma of lard, burnt soya sauce and garlic. The aroma of a hot dish on banana leaf was heavenly. This is hard to explain in words! You must and have to experience it yourself. The banana leaf will unleash its sweet pungent aroma when the leaf is hot. In this case, the Char Kuey Teow was piping hot with palm oil and some age old secret sauce, on top of the banana leaf. The aroma filled me with excitement even before I put it in my mouth I started to salivate heavily! The first bite of the meal was not as what I had expected. It had a mild taste and was not spicy but aromatic. After that, I ate the fish balls, fish cake and char siew.

Alas I found out where all the flavours went to! It was absorbed by the fish balls, fish cake and char siew. I was suppose to take a bite of the Kuey Teow (flat noodle) accompanied by the condiments and the pickled chilli for the extra kick! The fish balls were halved, fish cake cut into medium strips and the char siew is cut into thin slices. This helps to quickly absorb the special sauce and the fragrant oil when they are fried together with the Char Kuey Teow. They are prepared in perfection, firm in texture and full in flavour. It is hard to unlock the full flavour of the fish ball and fish cake although they are pre-seasoned. Remember when we used to eat Kuey Teow soup with fish balls and fish cakes, we dip them in the soya sauce with chillies to unlock the full flavour.

Now I know why the Char Kuey Teow was prepared in such different way. Lets not forget about the chai sim, although the Char Kuey Teow was oily, the chai sim was just slightly fried and the structure of the chai sim was still maintained. The chai sim was bitter sweet and the juices from the stems naturally wash away the oil from the Char Kuey Teow . What a brilliant combination! The Char Kuey Teow is in a class of its own. That my friends, is a slice of Malaysia on a plate.

You won't find it anywhere else in Malaysia. Only in Taiping, Perak. Here's a video on how you enjoy Char Kuey Teow with a cuppa of Kopi-O.