L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Bangkok - LA CANETTE | Bangkok | Thailand | French Gourmet Restaurant

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Bangkok,Thailand.

I ordered the signature dish La Canette which is Breast fillet of Challans duck roasted with spices, baby celery, parsnip, spring turnips and comfit lemon.

Here's a video of the Maitre'd preparing the serving and plating.

Thee duck was really good and I totally enjoyed the experience. The cost for this was dish was Baht 2,790. Michelin has finally confirmed Bangkok is getting a Red Guide of its own in second half of 2017. I'd recommend you to try it out.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Bangkok is located on the 5th Floor of Mahanakhon Cube. A very peculiar building that looks like a Lego building. Dress code is smart casual with shoes and no shorts.

de Challans rôtie aux épices et sa cuisse braisée, petits navets printaniers aux agrumes

New Zealand Food - Paua Fritters aka Abalone Fritters

New Zealand’s päua, (known as abalone in other countries), are all unique species of abalone
 found only in New Zealand, and are distinguished by their brilliantly coloured shells. Päua have an oval shaped shell, inside which is a large muscular foot which clings to rocks. They have a pair of eyes, a mouth and tentacles, and breathe through gills which are near their mouth under a row of pores in the shell.

Päua are found around the coast of New Zealand, in shallow water clinging to rocks. They are much more abundant, and grow larger, in the colder waters around Stewart Island and Southland.

Päua are caught when fishers free dive (diving without the use of breathing apparatus) and use blunt instruments to prise the shellfish from the rock.

I had päua fritters, a true blue Kiwi food when I was in New Zealand. Päua  is chopped and minced into a paste then mixed with batter and deep fried. Some shops use normal batter while some use beer batter.

Laksa

Laksa has a taste like no other and loved by everyone (well, mostly). It is a spice-laden noodle dish that is popular in Malaysia and Singapore. There are many different types of laksa but the two dominant ones are curry laksa (coconut milk based) and asam laksa (tamarind based). Laksa is an iconic street food served by hawkers throughout Malaysia. Laksa was listed at number 7 on World's 50 most delicious foods complied by CNN Go in 2011.

 A bowl of laksa usually comes brimming with the signature ‘hae ko’ (thick sweet prawn paste) and pieces of mackerel fish. Laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). As you scoop up tablespoons, the strands of thick rice noodles are covered by the generous ingredients.

 The soup is thick with balanced taste of sweet, sour and spicy, added with lingering touch of the prawn paste. It’s a small bowl, but satisfying, and some may want seconds. A bowl of laksa will come garnished with finely sliced lettuce, cucumber, pineapple, mint, onions and ginger flower (bunga kantan) with chili to taste.

 Laksa is simply referred to or ordered at a restaurant as laksa (curry laksa) or asam laksa. By default, laksa means the standard curry laksa while asam laksa refers to the standard Penang version. If a restaurant serves a non-standard version, the restaurant will qualify the laksa by the version being sold.

Chai Buey

Chai Buey or also known as Kiam Chai Buey is a popular Chinese Hokkien dish. Often cooked during Chinese New Year. It is one of the most appetising Chinese food you will ever have eaten. Chai Buey if translated from the Hokkien dialect means leftover dishes.

So is this a vegetable stew or is it a vegetable soup some may ask? I would see this as more of a vegetable stew. During Chinese New Year, there will be a lot of leftover food. Chinese families will often pour all these into a pot and cook into what you see in the picture below.

The leftovers can range from vegetables (mushrooms, cabbage, etc), meat (roast pork, roast duck, roast chicken, port trotters) to seafood (abalone, prawns, squid,etc). It may sound disgusting to some, this mixture is the exact reason why this stew is special and tasty. Chinese pickled mustard, fresh Chinese mustard leaves are added together with tamarind juice and slices, dried chilli and pepper corns. It's very savoury, spicy & sour.

It takes quite a while to cook as you need to stew it and make sure all the ingredients are releasing and soaking up the flavours. It simple to cook though: Just throw in everything. For halal version, you can substitute the meat with halal ones.

Chai Buey Recipe :

Leftover meat (roast pig, barbeque pork, duck, chicken, or turkey)
6 dried red chilies (soaked with warm water and then cut into pieces)
4 pieces of Asam Gelugor (tamarind skins)
1 cup of tamarind juice
3 teaspoons of taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce)
5 medium bowls of water
4 stalks of mustard green (cut into pieces)
Salt to taste

Method:

In a pot, bring the water to boil. Add the leftover meat and boil for 30 minutes. Add in the dried red chilies, dried tamarind slices, tamarind juice, taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce), Chinese pickled mustard and fresh Chinese mustard green and simmer for another 45 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Voila. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

[ Raw Food ] Traditional Thai Food - Goong Che Nam Pla กุ้งแชน้ำปล่า. Raw Prawn Salad

I recently traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand between 20-25 Decemeber 2014. It was a great trip as the weather was cool and I managed to sample a variety of Thai food.

I had a taste of Goong Che Nam Pla กุ้งแชน้ำปล่า aka Thai Raw Prawn Salad during one of the dinner sessions. Note: This is raw food. Some locals joked it was the Thai version of carpaccio. It was my first time eating it and it's actually nice and tasty. I was sceptical about it because it was raw and the multiple horror stories of food poisoning especially places far away from the sea or river.

If you're a fan of sashimi or anything raw, this will definitely be the dish for you. Goong Che Nam Pam is one intense dish. It is basically raw prawns marinated in chillies, Thai fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and mint leaves. You eat it just like that minus the tail.

The one I had was using tamarind instead of lime juice. It's prepared either marinated or the marinate as dip. It's simple to make according to my Thai travel guide and here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

8 medium sized raw prawns

Some bird chillies

4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

2 or 3 tablespoons of lime/tamarind juice

Garnish:
Mint leaves
Slices of lime

How to prepare:
1. Clean, shell and cut the prawns into butterfly shape. Spread them flat on a plate
2. Drizzle fish sauce over the prawns and keep in fridge for 5 minutes
3. Chop the chillies and garlic finely and mix them into lime/tamarind juice

4. Take out the prawns and drizzle the rest of the ingredients and serve.

Alternatively, you can mix all the ingredients (minus prawns) and use it as a dip for the prawns.

Sata - Grilled Fish Cake Wrapped In Banana Leaves

Sata is a type of Malaysian fish cake, or otak-otak. The main ingredients of sata are grated coconut, sardines, ginger, onions and chillies.

Sata or also spelled as Satah is not to be confused with Satay, another dish popular in Malaysia. Sata is a Malay specialty from the state of Terengganu in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the best kept secrets of Terengganu and not many Malaysians know of Sata's existence.

It is simply one of the best snacks Terengganu have to offer. Sata is usually sold by the roadside and you won't be able to miss it. Sata is usually conical / triangular in shape. The ingredients are packed and wrapped in banana leaves. Sata is not usually spicy and will cater well to kids and adults alike. The conical package will then be skewered using a bamboo or steel rod and grilled over charcoal fire.

The picture above shows the difference between Sata and a typical Malay otak-otak.

As you remove the singed banana leaf wrapper, the aroma wafting through the air is just simply irresistible and you need to eat it fresh from the hot grill. Sata can be eaten as a snack or as a condiment to rice.

We're starting to see Sata being sold in Kuala Lumpur and other cities as well. If you're in Kuala Lumpur / Petaling Jaya area, you can find Sata @ Selera 223, Jalan 223, PJ.

Chendol

 Some say chendol originated from Java, Indonesia. Well, kudos to them for creating such a wonderful desert. But we don't really care do we when it comes to real good food? Chendol is quite popular in SEA (that's South East Asia if you don't know already) from Malaysia to Singapore, Thailand to Indonesia. Heck, even Myanmar too.

Basic ingredients are shaved ice, coconut milk, palm sugar (aka Gula Melaka), slippery green jelly noodles and some people love it with sweet red beans (some use sweetened mung beans). Some like it with glutinous rice. Some people will also add in palm seeds which actually makes chendol taste better.

Chendol is a common sight and are often sold by the roadside in South East Asian countries with the exception of Singapore. In Malaysia, chendol is usually sold by the roadside by Indian Muslim chendol sellers.

The chendol seller in the picture is still using the wooden shaver unlike the new mechanical or electric ones.

In Penang and Malacca, there is a different type of chendol called nonya chendol. This varies slightly by the ingredients used and is much more creamier.

15 Things About Coffee

We found a funny comic strip from The Oatmeal. 15 things worth knowing about coffee that perhaps you didn't knew earlier. Have fun. The Oatmeal has other funny comics around as well.

Cincau Bandung Ais

Most of us have had cincau aka grass jelly or sirap bandung before. Sirap Bandung is basically a cordial drink and more popularly known as rose syrup which is then mixed with condensed or evaporated creamer. Sirap bandung is one of the most popular drink in Malaysia. Yes, Malaysians thrive on sugar. We have quite high number of diabetes cases too. Cut down on sugar people. Come on.

Whereas, grass jelly is is made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency * Wikipedia

Below is how grass jelly looks like. Can be cut into cubes or strips.

Mixed these two together and you get Cincau Bandung Ais. Best for hot weather, during lunch or dinner or when you visit mamak stalls.
You get your coolness from grass jelly mixed with the refeshing sirap bandung. Potent mix for sugar high on a hot day. Probably will make you sleepy when you're in air-conditioned areas after taking it.

Three Layer Tea aka Teh C Peng

Coffee or tea is usually the favourite local drink if you're at mamak stalls or at normal Malaysian coffeeshops/food courts. We definitely like Teh C Peng but there are two variants. One is from Sarawak and one is from Peninsular Malaysia.

And this time, we're gonna post on the Sarawak version. This version tastes creamy and is full blown of sugar you'd get sugar high like monkeys on chilly. And it actually consist of three distinct layer you can atually see with your naked eyes.


Bottom layer is actually palm sugar or better known as gula melaka locally. This is what makes the Teh C Peng Sarawak different. Then, comes the middle layer which is evaporated creamer. Btw, they don't call it evaporated or condensed milk anymore as it's doesn't really consist of milk. The top part will be the tea itself.

Looks nice. Cool drink for a hot day. Don't drink too much though or you'll get holes in your teeth. Mama said brush your teeth.

Ice Cream Thosai

Note: This is not an advertorial. We're not paid to write this.

I don't take thosai regularly like I do roti canai. Heck, I don't even like it. Taste sour and horrid. Texture is like semi-moist biscuit.

And this afternoon, my perception on thosai totally changed. It was rather a good lunch as we had always known of this restaurant over Twitter but never actually went. So, off we went to Spicy Corner.

Food is the typical Indian banana leaf rice. With a difference though. We all agree that there wasn't this commercial taste like most other Indian banana leaf rice restaurants. And that is the dreaded (aweseome to some) MSG. Tasted the spices and it's au naturale.

Also, the condiments were served in this lil cute cup/bowl thingy.


Ok ok. Backtrack to the Ice Cream Thosai. Splendid on a hot day. Good dessert to have after a spicy and good banana leaf rice.

And the syrup they use? Hershey's yo. Beat that. Nothing better than quality stuff. Ice cream is by Walls if not mistaken. Several flavours in and you get a darn good dessert Malaysian Indian style.

And oh oh oh, if you're on FourSquare, check in to Spicy Corner and you will get a special price of RM4 for Ice Cream thosai. Usual price is RM6. And yes, it's delicious.


Pictures all taken with DiGi BlackBerry Curve 8900

Coconut Jelly

Yes yes, you have heard of coconuts before and yes of nata de coco. Believe us, this is true blue coconut flesh and not the mumbo jumbo fermented cooconut thing you see in supermarkets.

This thing rocks man. Superbly well and good for a hot humid sweaty day like today. There are the traditional ones formed within the coconut shells. Wish we could find those but beggars can't be choosers. We found them in plastic containers.

Taste like coconut, feels like coconut. Of course it does. It's made out of coconut. There is actual coconut flesh or meat (whichever word rocks your world) in the jelly. Nice change from the hard chewy nata de coco. It is advisable to consume the coconut jelly within a day or two as it will turn sour and bad. It won't turn into toddy. That's a post for another day. Seems like the jelly is made out of the coconut juice/milk and formed from cold and hot process. So, no seaweed nor any other agents or preservatives added.

Anyway, if you see it on the roads, do stop by and enjoy one. Best if on an extremely hot day. :)

McDonald's Greenbean Sundae

Sory for the long hiatus in posting.

I had the chance to taste a rocking fusion of culture and food of the east and west. Presenting to you, nyum nyum, the McDonald's Greenbean Sundae. Available in Malaysia during the entire Ramadhan month. Had a chance to taste this sundae twice.


It's sweet, it's tasty, it's cooling, it's starchy like beans should be. A dump on this will only cost you RM3.20 ++. The Greenbean promotion has a version in Greenbean McFlurry. I haven't tried that yet because it really lookes yucky and gross. It's like industrial waste sludge from Chernobyl that once eaten, will turn you into a creature with a curled tail, a snout and a thousand eyes. The McFlurry version will cost you RM4.30++. I call it McSludge.

You'll never look @ and taste greenbeans the same way ever again after this.

Rice and its variety

Malaysians grew up with rice since Parameswara founded Malacca or even before that. Rice is the staple food of Malaysians for either Malays, Indians, Chinese, Orang Asli(native Malaysians) and other minor natives. Rice comes from paddy which is mainly planted in Northern Malaysia which is also know as the rice bowl of Malaysia. The natives in Borneo plant their Huma paddy on the hills which required lesser water to grow. This variety of rice is also known as Bario Rice comemrcially.

A paddy field located in Perlis, Malaysia.

There are 2 different kinds of rice to choose from, polished and unpolished rice. The popular choice is the polished rice. It is nearly white in colour and free of impurities, which is the reason why it is popular as compared to the dull colour of unpolished rice. Unpolished rice is full of impurities which are actually nutritious for us. Unpolished rice is gaining popularity with many health advocates due to the nutritional content. There are varieties of rice and some are as expensive up to the point of RM8.00 per kilogram. Apart from polished and unpolished rice, rice is differentiated by their grain size, nutritional properties and the place they originated from.

American rice is short grained, cheap and contains loads of starch which is economical for restaurants. The Basmati rice, the grade A rice and high in nutrition yield after can cost up to RM7.00 per kilogram. Thai fragrant rice is a long grain rice from Thailand which gives a very fragrant aroma after cooking and glutinous rice which is high in starch and perfect for making rice dumplings. You can find most of the popular rice at any local departmental store and is sold in different packing from 1kg to 20kg packs.

Rice is the staple food of most parts in Asia and is prepared and eaten differently depending on culture. In India, rice is cooked wtih sufficient water in electric cookers or pots under wood fire until fully cooked and is served either piping hot or warm on a banana leaf that magnifies the aroma. They also cook rice in a special procedure of sautéing with ghee, spices and vegetables and cooked in sufficient water and yoghurt. This recipe is called Bryanni rice with different variations of meat and seafood cooked together with the rice. This is an equivalent of Paella from Spain or Jambalaya from South Africa. In Japan, rice is steam cooked and served in bowls and chopsticks and glutinous rice is used to make sushi.

In Malaysia, rice is cooked in a lot of water which is called congee or porridge and there are different variations of it too from chicken porridge to oyster porridge. The best porridge is prepared by the Teochew Chinese which originated from China and is one of the many peasant food made into a gourmet food and fast food. McDonald's in Malaysia sells chicken porridge which is now widely accepted and enjoyed by other races. In the UK and Malaysia, rice is made into rice pudding as dessert.

Rice pudding dessert (UK style). Chinese style is different.

While I was studying in UK for my degree, I saw my hostel mate cooked rice by boiling them in water and then strain all the water off before eating. I even had the opportunity to try frozen fried rice and frozen Thai green curry rice which is prepared by heating them up in the microwave. It tastes just like freshly cooked rice and even the texture is the same. There are even rice in pre-packed food grade safe plastics which are prepared by boiling them up in water and then drain the water off as the wrapping have small holes which made life much comfortable. I have to admit that the plastic pre-packed rice is my favourite as you can prepare them in under 5 minutes. Rice is being creatively prepared all over the world and being accepted in nearly every country as either a source of carbohydrate, snack or dessert. It is hard to imagine living in a world without rice.

Uncle Vinny's Recipe – Steam Fish with Star Anise

Uncle Vinny's Recipe – Steam Fish with Star Anise


500gm to 1.8kg of either Siakap, Kerapu, Jenahak or Senangin

2 cloves of Star Anise

Carrots/ Baby carrots

Spring Onions

Coriander

Young ginger

Chilli/ Birds-eye Chilli

Soya Sauce

Garlic infused oil

Coarsely grounded peppercorns

Vegetable stock/ fish stock


Method:

De-scale and gut the fish thoroughly. Slice the carrot into thin slices, finely chop the coriander and spring onions and cut the ginger into thin strips. Halve the chilli and retain the seeds. Lay the vegetables on a ceramic or steel plate and lie the fish on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle some soya sauce and the coarse grounded black peppercorns on the fish and pour the fish stock/ vegetable stock on the plate. Glaze the fish skin with some oil (olive oil/ garlic infused oil). Add the star anise to the plate and put the plate with the fish into the steamer. Time your steaming as a 500gms fish would need around 5 to 6 minutes to cook at high flame. The texture of the fish meat will on how long it's being cooked. Remember, fish meat is very delicate.

You can check the meat by poking the flesh with a fork. If it is cooked, the fork will pierce through the meat with ease. Before serving the steam fish, decorate it with the finely chop coriander and spring onions. Sprinkle the fish with some garlic infused oil too to get a dash of fragrant aroma. You can get the freshest fish at wet markets or you could get them from fish farms :) .

Steamed Fish

Fish is part of a staple Malaysian diet, especially for the Chinese and it represents prosperity and the wealth status of the host. Fish is a must serve dish in every Chinese banquet. With the depletion of seafood products from our rich Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, fish prices are soaring up the scale and thus aqua culture is the temporary solution for this problem currently.

I grew up near the sea and my family were pioneer fish merchants in Northern Malaysia. Fish is one of my favourite white meat as it is healthy. There are many ways to cook a fish (not skin a cat) and the most popular method for Chinese are steam fish. There are unlimited ways to steam a fish depending on the creativity of the chef.

Popular salt-water fishes such as Kerapu, Senangin, Siakap, Jenahak, Tauteh and many more are getting more and more expensive every year and especially during festive seasons such as Chinese New Year. There are around 7 types of Kerapu in Malaysia and the most popular ones in Peninsular Malaysia are the orange dotted Kerapu, which is the second most expensive and the light browned Kerapu. The most expensive Kerapu comes from Borneo which is called the 7 coloured Kerapu (directly translated from the Hokkien dialect).



The Kerapu and Siakap fishes are being cultured in a large scale as Kerapu is a popular fish for Chinese wedding banquets and Siakap is enjoyed by all the ethnics in Malaysia especially the Malays as Siakap is popular for Ikan Bakar (grilled fish/ restaurant serving seafood in Malay cuisine). Cultured fishes is nowhere compared to wild fishes in taste, texture and price.

In Kuala Lumpur, fresh water fishes is a popular alternative for the Chinese community. This situation was influenced by inland Perak and Pahang as they rely on freshwater fishes for white meat. Popular freshwater fishes are Carp, Ikan Hantu(Lam Kor Yi), Patin, Tilapia and Sultan fish. Freshwater fishes are hard to cook as the stomach of the fish has a stench of soil if not washed properly. Ikan Hantu is the most expensive fish in Peninsular Malaysia. I've eaten Ikan Hantu before, the texture of the fish is unbelievably delicate and the flavour of the fish is strong and pleasant. The last time I ate it, it cost me RM10.00 for 100gms plus cooking charges.

I would like to share a few tips and tricks so you can get that perfect steamed fish:

1. Buy a fresh fish. It would be the best if the fish is still moving when you buy it.
2. Starve your guests before serving your steamed fish and describe how fresh the fish was,
eg. how it was moving to cook up a desire to dine the fish mentally.
3. Make sure you don't overcook the fish or the texture will be hard.
4. Discard all the organs and the blood in the stomach immaculately.
5. De-scale the fish properly. You don't want scales in your mouth.
6. Apply some oil on the skin of the fish before steaming (Virgin olive or palm oil preferred).
7. Make sure your guest eat the fish while its still piping hot.

If you follow all the steps above, you will experience a good time eating your steamed fish with your guests or loved ones. Remember, fish is a very sensitive meat to prepare. It needs extra attention and love to cook fish. If you have any inquiries, please mail me @ vsleep@gmail.com

Tempe

Tempe or Tempeh is part of Malay cuisine in Malaysia. Often sold in most food outlets as an alternative source of protein and most of the time served deep fried. I found out about tempe while I was in sceondary school and it became one of my favourite food until today. I went to the market one day and found out that tempe was sold for just RM1.00 per piece. I was shocked and began to explore and experiment with tempe.

Tempe packaging

The tempe sold at my place is wrapped with banana leaves. I bought some back and started to experiment marinating tempe with different spices. I tried marinating with salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder for a few hours before deep frying. It was delicious and healthy. I even tried to marinate it with just salt n pepper and coat lightly with corn flour. It just blew my brains as tempe worked magic with different marination and all of them were delicious. Tempe has a deep bean flavour after cooked and with salt alone, you can unlock its full flavour. Although tempe might not be pleasant when it is raw, I assure you that it taste good after being cooked.

Tempe is the cheese of the South East Asia. Tempe is made by fermenting whole soya beans into a soya bean cake. There are a few versions of tempe. Ever wondered why tempe is not famous globally? I guess that the Indonesians doesn't know how to market their product to the world unlike the Caucasians. Cheese is one of the products of the Caucasians which is sold and eaten nearly everywhere in the world. How did they manage to do this? They have the resources and the skills needed to make cheese a must have product in every house. Let's hope tempe can make it globally too.

Asian cheese

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.