Romancing Taiping

To most, Taiping is this quaint little sleepy town in middle Malaysia with lovely green lungs but to me, it is a romantic birthmark of sorts.

Source
My parents met, courted and fell in love here under trying circumstances and if their current seasoned-couple disposition is anything to go by, Taiping mined enduring love and passion, apart from tin in its heydays.

We chanced upon Taiping Ho Chiak when in the vicinity for the SS2 branch of Super Kitchen Pan Mee last year.

I had surrendered to the fact that you can't force an appetite when dogged by a nasty sick bug clogging up the respiratory system, until this ill-timed meal to which a kind and generous cavalier had whisked me away from a pounding work-addled weekend. We arrived around 2PM so the place was fairly empty. All the better. Wouldn't have been able to stomach crowds or queues, which were evident when we checked it out last year.

Got down to the business of ordering. First things first, Sambal Petai Prawn. The serving was larger than life and upon arrival, we looked at each other "uh-oh we're in trouble!" The stinking beans were abundant, laced in pungent sambal perfume that couldn't escape even nasal blockage. Forget durians, I could sleep in this stuff!

The Kerabu Paku was graciously green and crunchy - the love-or-hate cincalok flavour was mild, and I would've suspected the nasty bug at work again had he vetoed the presence of it altogether.

The Assam Fish arrived a staggering portion, increasing the panic in us of the collision ahead with unconsciousness. The gravy was caked with spices and flavour and even though the carb police in us called for back up, we couldn't resist ordering an extra serving of rice.

The Hainanese Pork Chop arrived last and thankfully, was not too daunting in size. The battered pork cutlet added metal to the meal but we cringed at the crippling use of MSG in the gravy. Not ordering this again.

The bill came up to a square RM100 for two. And a sullen, sluggish afternoon to boot. The menu also features more sensible single portions of noodles and such, a better option if you're not planning to sleep off the rest of your weekend.

If romance is on the cards, I'd say Taiping the town would serve to invoke the tenderness of simplicity but failing that, the gallantry of the food here might work too.

Taiping Ho Chiak
28, Jalan SS2/10
Petaling Jaya
(Chow Yang, same row as Super Kitchen and Nasi Kandar Kayu)

Nyonya Breeze, Abu Siti Lane, Penang

With impending departure of Mag, Ollie and Mama Chow, we gathered Ah-Ma and Seku for lunch today at Nyonya Breeze. Mama Chow has been adamant about trying this place out for some time, only to be derailed by whingebag family members who much prefer places without a fluoro-lit shopfront. Anyways.

We went overboard ordering and ended up with way too much food for a party of six. And they are:


Choon Peah (Spring Rolls)
Mag and I were somewhat irked by the fact that the wait staff did not have the good sense to inform us, a clear party of six, that one serving came in only 4 pieces. We ordered seconds, naturally. It was alright. I think I've hit Spring Roll plateau. As in, I've had enough mediocre Spring Rolls in my life and I can rest assured knowing that it's never going to be a dish that will bowl me over.


Sambal Prawn Petai
This was lovely, jumbo-sized fresh shrimp and stinkin' sweet petai in a sourish sambal gravy.


Curry Kapitan Chicken
Both Mag and I agreed that this did not blow the house down. The litmus test is in the gravy and while it was thick enough, it was just lacking in punch. I should've studied the exact discrepancy in ingredients. I am sorry.


Kerabu Kacang Botol


Jiu Hoo Char
Nyonya Breeze's version of this shredded turnip dish deserves a mention. Wrapped in lettuce leaves and topped with fiery sambal, this oozes crunchy flavours in your mouth. Loveliness.


Otak-otak
Looks better than it tasted, but it could've have been just me being distracted by the plethora of dishes in front of me. I thought it was a tad dry, but Mag appreciated the chunks of fish that stayed intact.


Nyonya fish curry
The highlight of the meal, hands down. By the time this was brought steaming to the table, we had forgotten about the order and had almost finished the meal. However, it went down right as rain, with extra scoops of white rice. They used cod fish, which was greatly appreciated. I particularly like the fact that it's chunks of flesh, as in fish fish, and not any of that fish head nonsense. The assam gravy was a total hit, despite the fact that it was consumed on very full stomachs. 10/10!

Chap Goh Meh: Dinner at HainanTown#2

I think the fish is a bit pissed off. Rightly so, I guess. The glare is justified. I just want you to know, for all the misfortune you suffered, and it might be little comfort to you fair enough, you were hot property that night. Some of us got nervous we weren't going to get none of you. We got competitive, fish, it wasn't right, but you looked too good to miss out on. Some of us got territorial, some of us scrambled for slithers, and now I see you were glaring at our shamelessness, our betrayals, selfishness over some delicious fish. What are we to do with ourselves without judgemental animals?
A better choice might have been the poorly-focused joo hoo char wrapped in a lettuce leaf, with a small heap of sambal.
Ma, Pa & Taka
We demolished the meal - which included the not-pictured curry kapitan and vegetables in less than 30 minutes. If you felt that the photos for this particular outing were quite awful, this was not coincidental, rather consequential - actually that doesn't make sense. But the rapid speed at which we ate, which Ma attributed to the fact that Papa & Min were both starving because of minimal vegetarian lunches, hence intensified the urgency with which the food had to be eaten - this, in turn, made us all needlessly competitive, which, in turn, meant very little time for photographs. Min and I later revealed to each other that we were fearful we were not going to get any fish which was a good arms' length away from us most of the meal, Mama was similarly disadvantaged with the joo hoo char placed at the other end of the table (I saw her eye this anxiously from time to time). Of course, we could have easily avoided all of this if we had sat at a round table with a Lazy Susan - without equal access, communal eating=competitive eating. We suffer, the food suffers, the documentation suffers. And the fish hates us.
Hainan Town is located next to that other hotspot, La Jette. For Aucklanders who've been to Sri Pinang, K'Road, the encased model of a ferry by the window/near the cashier is based on this. Tres nostalgic -this is how we used to travel to Penang age 0 - 7 when we lived across the shore in Chai Leng Park.

Chap Goh Meh: Dinner at HainanTown

Ma famille. So we didn't keep up the vegetarian thing the whole day but I can make up for a lot of that in NZ. Note the semi-ridiculous Christmas decoration on the right I obviously did not manage to keep out of the shot.
Deep-fried poh piah. Generous size, chock-a-block filling, good crunch.
Fried Chicken under a Giant Prawn Cracker. I was left rather indifferent to this, I know that it was fried well but in the context of all these other flavour-intense dishes, it felt a bit muted.
Assam Prawns: Full points for presentation, beautiful colours and a beautiful dish. Gigantor Prawns.

CNY Reunion Dinner at Nyonya Cafe, New World Park

Left to right: Papa Chow, Taka, Mag & Mama Chow. This is us trying to kill time while waiting for dinner to be served. It was an extremely busy night at the restaurant, others were also forgoing the traditional feast at-home for a fuss-free meal out. The downside was waiting. A long time. Sipping on Nutmeg Juice and overpriced (supposed) 20-year-old tea.
The upside: Nyonya yumminess. The six of us polished this off within 10 minutes. Min timed us, we were starving by the time the food arrived. Clockwise from front left: Poh Piah, Loh Han Chai, Prawns, Curry Kapitan (Chicken), Kangkung Belacan, Otak-otak and Ikan Gulai Tumis.
Closeup of Ikan Gulai Tumis: Killer gravy - lemongrass, tomatoes, mint leaves, all kinds of goodness, worth the wait...
Deep-fried poh piah with worchestershire sauce. In spite of it being a crazy night for the restaurant, every dish delivered, and then some (apart from the Loh Han Chai).