Food Archives - Page 2 of 9 - As Suanie Sees It

Ah Hee fish ball noodle, Batu Pahat

June 15, 2015 By Suanie 5 Comments

“What do you eat in Batu Pahat?”

Batu Pahat fish ball noodles, of course! Also known as “Penggaram Mee”. Why the name? Because back in the days, a Mr. Lee operated a roadside stall along Jalan Penggaram (Hakka street), selling handmade noodles served with fresh fish balls.

Batu Pahat fish ball noodle aka Penggaram Mee

Today, his children continue the family business, albeit in different locations in town. The eldest son sells it near the bus station. There’s a brother selling near “Tam Chiak Kuey” aka Glutton Street (Jalan Peng Kai). Another plies his noodles at the riverside hawker centre.

Our family favourite is the brother operating at Taman Bukit Pasir, at a coffee shop named “Eng Kok”.

Eng Kok at Taman Bukit Pasir

What’s the difference if the siblings learned the same skills from their father? Oh yes, if you’ve been eating it for as long as we have, you can easily tell which version belongs to which sibling.

Maybe it’s the individual human touch that sets them apart.

Ah Hee (Mr Lee) working non-stop churning out bowls of fish ball noodles

What is special about Penggaram Mee? The handmade egg noodles has a slight coarse texture. It is al dente – chewy, comes with a bite, and is well seasoned by the mixing sauce.

The soft, springy fish balls always seem to be so fresh! Add some slices of signature Batu Pahat fish cakes (salty skin), lean pork and fried lard, and you have a bowl of my childhood deliciousness.

The stuff of childhood glutton happiness

The standard order is for thin noodles. Some prefer mee pok, a flat type of noodles, not unlike linguine.

I find that the thin noodles (mee kia) is more suitable for Penggaram Mee, as it holds the sauce better.

Mee Pok fish ball noodle

The last I checked (December 2014), a small bowl costs RM3.70. A big bowl (with more noodles) sets you back RM4.20. Prices could have well increased by now.

But it wouldn’t bother Mr. Lee. He’s a busy man, there’s no shortage of customers happy to wait for a bowl of his fish ball noodles. He operates his stall no more than 3 hours in the morning before everything is sold out.

Sometimes you can see him at the riverside hawker centre at night, helping out his brother. I think that the two of them look very much alike!

Ah Hee Fish Ball Noodle (Penggaram Mee)
Eng Kok Kopitiam,
No. 30, Jalan Kundang 2,
Taman Bukit Pasir,
83000 Batu Pahat, JOHOR.

Opens Mon-Sat, 8am to 11am (usually earlier ‘cos everything’s sold out)

5 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: batu pahat fishball noodle, batu pahat food, batu pahat food trail, batu pahat pengggaram mee, famous batu pahat food, what I eat in Batu Pahat, what to eat in batu pahat

Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat

June 5, 2015 By Suanie 7 Comments

“What to eat in Batu Pahat ar?”

If you’re originally from Batu Pahat like me, you’d invariably get asked this loaded question.

There are all these expectations of great food in small towns (it was still small when I left 15 years ago), and that people still cook the old school way of charcoal and passion.

I hate this question. Please stop asking me what to eat in Batu Pahat. I don’t know. Well, I do. But I don’t want to impose my personal favourites unto others. I like what I like. You very well might hate it.

I refuse to be that b* that causes people to go, “Ceh, tell me to eat this that in Batu Pahat, but the food so-so only, nothing special also.”

Go stuff yourself with sand then!

“What do you eat in Batu Pahat ar?”

Now, THAT is a question I can answer. Let me start with a Batu Pahat institution, Ah See Wantan Mee.

Plates of Ah See wantan mee

Yes, institution. I grew up with it and when I came to KL, I missed it (and mostly the tastes of home) so much that I wrote a very silly piece as a sort of odd tribute.

And also for the first few years in KL, I couldn’t take dark soy-based wantan noodles. Just like how the rest of Malaysia could not understand Johor’s wantan noodles that comes with chili or tomato sauce.

Chop See Kee along Jalan Jenang, Batu Pahat

You see that shop second from right that says “CHOP SEE KEE”? Yeap, that’s “Ah See wantan mee”. There are a lot of small shops whose name starts with “CHOP”. I think it was an older way of establishing that you’re a ‘company’ or ‘business’.

You see that corner shop next to Ah See’s? I lived there until I was about 5.

Ah See’s third son, a smiling Mr Chong Kok Heng

Some 60+ years ago, Chong Ah See – the family patriarch set up a roadside stall. There, he cooked and peddled “char siu wantan mee” – handmade egg noodles mixed with a sesame-based sauce, served with slices of charcoal-roasted char siu barbecued pork) and wantan (meat dumplings).

Soon the stall was moved to the shoplot where it currently stands. All of Ah See’s 8 children helped with the restaurant. A couple of them still work there today, including Ah See’s eldest grandson who dived right into the family business.

Another Mr Chong, who seemed more serious

Ah See’s family prides themselves in their homemade ingredients. Sure, modern technology made the work faster now, but quality was not compromised. For example, the handmade noodles were ‘cut’ using a knife, a process that took many man hours. Today, they have a machine to do that.

They still make the noodles at the back of this shop. When cooked and mixed with the Chong’s aromatic secret sauce, the noodles retain their satisfying springiness and bite.

Ah See’s handmade noodles

The ‘char siu’ is still slow roasted using metal tin ovens and charcoal, right in the back alley like how they did it many years ago. These aren’t the fatty types of char siu, but by no means less flavourful.

Wantan; its meat and skin are also made in the kitchen at the back of the shop. These meat dumplings are tender and juicy. Want these delicious morsels in your own home? You can now buy frozen packages of Ah See’s wantan.

All your wantan are belong to me

A small portion costs RM4, a larger portion costs 50 sen or RM1 more. Order your Ah See wan tan mee with or without chili, it’s how us Johor people eat our noodles.

This is one of the things I eat in Batu Pahat 🙂

Chop See Kee (Ah See Wantan Mee)
No. 2, Jalan Jenang,
83000 Batu Pahat,
Johor, MALAYSIA.
Tel: +607 – 438 8516
Click for: Google Map || Facebook

Opens daily from 8.30am to 9.30pm

7 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: batu pahat food, batu pahat food trail, famous food batu pahat, what I eat in Batu Pahat, what to eat in batu pahat

The best “chwee kueh” (steamed rice cakes) in Johor Bahru

May 16, 2015 By Suanie 2 Comments

Growing up, one of my favourite things to eat is chwee kueh – steamed rice cakes served with flavoured radish and sambal. They are made from rice flour, not glutinous rice like the more popular Korean rice cakes. We’d usually eat them for breakfast and sometimes as a treat, for tea.

I don’t remember where you can get chwee kueh in Batu Pahat. I think most of our supply was homemade by various relatives; I’d have to call my Mom to confirm that but I don’t feel like real life interaction at the moment #lifeOfAnIntrovert

There are chwee kueh and there are chwee kueh. The good ones are steamed to perfection; silky smooth, soft yet firm enough to hold their shape. Take a spoon to it and it cuts like soft tofu. Each spoonful of chwee kueh is accompanied with a small scoop of dried salted turnip (chai poh) and fragrant Chinese sambal.

It’s warm, soft, sweet, salty, spicy and comforting all at the same time.

The bad ones? Bleurgh! Hard. Tough. Inedible. Translated: something went wrong with the delicate batter, or the steaming process did not see enough kung-fu. Keep trying till you get it right, k?

From what I know, chwee kueh is a Johor and Singapore thing. You can hardly get chwee kueh in Kuala Lumpur and up North; even if you do, they are not likely to be very nice. Of course I welcome a difference of opinions; please point me to good chwee kueh in Klang Valley!

Some time ago, my friends and I were in Johor Bahru for Legoland. During our trip, we stumbled upon a Chinese coffee shop where I found the BEST chwee kueh in Johor Bahru! You would not believe how many chwee kueh I managed to stuff into my stomach. I would have ordered more but they ran out.

Late last year, I packed my bags and went back to Batu Pahat to spend a week++ with my folks. The last time I was in my hometown for more than a week, I was 19. For me, it was a reconnecting trip of sorts; together with my parents, we revisited as many of my favourite places as we could.

I told them, “We’re going to Johor Bahru to eat the best chwee kueh!”

Dad was as cool as a cucumber. That’s how he is really, not easily rattled by strange, spontaneous things that his daughter is prone to executing. Or perhaps he is too used to my unorthodox ways.

He said, “If you want to go, I’ll accompany you lor..”

Mom was a bit more… reactive, as she usually is. I feel that it’s her way of showing appreciation, which is lovely. Later she posted an update on her Facebook, laughing that while rich people fly to Hong Kong and back for dimsum, we drove from Batu Pahat to Johor Bahru specially for breakfast, insinuating that we were part of an elite group. Sort of. More like the very bottom part of the group; the underlying burnt, crusty bits of claypot chicken rice.

You’ve come to this page to read about the best chwee kueh in Johor Bahru. Yet somehow you got stuck in my life story. That happens a lot; you will find it a common, unifying theme on this site.

So yes, I called ahead to make sure that the chwee kueh stall would be open on the day of our little road trip. Of course preparation is everything; I would hate it if we drove 1.5 hours to find them closed!

The owner, Mr Lee answered the phone. Yes they would be open. Yes they would keep some chwee kueh for me. Yes they would impart the secrets to making the best chwee kueh in the world. Hahahah no, just kidding…

Restoran Multi Mart is a Chinese corner coffeeshop in Taman Abad (Century Garden) near KSL City, an old neighbourhood that houses famous spots selling delicious local food. Just type in the restaurant name on Waze; it is fairly correct and will take you to the exact location.

Turns out, this coffeeshop is also well-known for a stall selling pork porridge, and another selling kuey tiao kia. But for me, the chwee kueh sealed the deal.

A husband and wife team operates the stall, aided by their daughter. They start making the chwee kueh at midnight, then sell them at Restoran Multi Mart from 7am onwards. I paid RM0.50 for one piece of chwee kueh; the price could have gone up a little since then but that is to be expected.

Individually steamed rice cakes

Mine, all mine!

The chwee kueh is served with chilli sauce and homemade radish sauce. The radish mix is unique as dark soy sauce is added to it. This results in a rich, sweet and savoury topping that brings so much flavour to the steamed rice cakes.

Ah the chwee kueh… art pieces in their own right. Making decent chwee kueh is already an accomplished feat. Yet this woman has managed to up all chwee kueh-making levels to produce soft, wobbly steamed rice cakes that have a bite to them, then almost melts in your mouth.

If you have eaten the famous Tiong Bahru chwee kueh in Singapore, well I have too. Let me tell you that this one is on a different plane all together.

I have to admit that the Tiong Bahru stall has better sambal, whereas Mr Lee gives you regular chilli sauce. For me it does not make a lot of difference, but maybe true sambal-worshippers may think differently.

Besides chwee kueh, Mr Lee and his wife sells Muar otak-otak (grilled to order), and nasi lemak and mee siam wrapped in banana leaves. The latter two are taken from other vendors, may or may not be available depending on the individual vendors.

If you get the chance, do try some of the mee siam. It is fried with prawn paste, and is one of the best packet mee siams I have had. These also run out very fast so if you’re a late riser, too bad!

Mr Lee’s chwee kueh, otak-otak, mee siam and nasi lemak
Restoran Multi Mart
Tel: +60 16-756 8332

Opens from 7+am onwards. Definitely sells out before noon. Closed whenever they have to, so be sure to give them a call if you’re specially making a trip to eat their food.

We tried other food available at Restoran Multi Mart:

The rather famous Hainanese pork porridge. The egg add-on is a raw egg cracked into your hot porridge, where you swirl it together and the heat will cook it.

Fried noodles. I remember this as rather good.

Restoran Multi Mart
Jalan Harimau, Taman Abad,
80250 Johor Bahru, Johor.

Opens from 6am to 4pm.

p/s: Want to try making your own Chinese steamed rice cakes? Kitchen Tigress tells you how *click*

2 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out Tagged With: breakfast johor bahru, local food johor bahru

Recipe: Banana Muffins in Airfryer

May 7, 2015 By Suanie 5 Comments

Finally a baked goods recipe that I’m happy with!

There’s SOMETHING about baking that I could NEVER get right. I blame it on… well, non-hereditary non-talent. My mother and sister bake delicious treats; wait a minute, I didn’t inherit that bit!

Cooking is forgiving. Missed out an ingredient? Don’t worry, there’s always something else to make up for it. So easy to fake it like a pro, bro!

But baking! It’s like thermodynamics to someone who doesn’t know what thermodynamics means, yet uses it as an example in a baking-related context! The nerve of these plebeians…!

But yes, baking. There are strict rules and principles to follow, which do not bode well for a person who cannot follow instructions, i.e. me.

Still I tried and tried. Failure played in my mind like a lingering bad dream (and a boy named xxx). Obsessed? Me? Never! 😛

I just want to BE ABLE to bake SOMETHING that I would eat.

… and I finally did.

This Banana Muffin recipe contains 2 eggs, NO oil and NO butter. This results in an old-fashioned dense muffin, NOT light nor fluffy. Almost like a heavy quick bread type. Rich, filling, moist, slightly chewy and not too sweet. This recipe makes 12 large muffins.

Wet Mix
4 ripe bananas (Cavendish size)
2 eggs
90g brown sugar (100g for white sugar)
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp milk (can substitute with unsweetened applesauce)
1 spoonful Nutella (optional)

Dry Mix
250g flour (whole wheat or plain)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)

Optional
1 handful chopped walnuts
Chocolate sprinkles
Dried fruits

1) Mash ripe bananas in a bowl, then add the rest of “Wet Mix”. Combine well.

2) Sift “Dry Mix” then add to “Wet Mix”. Gently fold to combine, but do not stir vigorously.

3) Add in any optional chopped walnuts, dried fruits or chocolate sprinkles. Chocolate sprinkles should be in EVERYTHING.

4) If oven, pre-heat to 175°C. If airfryer, pre-heat to 120°C.

Pour in batter to muffin cups. Bake in oven for 20-25mins, and in air-fryer for 30mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

5) Get excited because you just made delicious muffins!

Yes I don’t make beautiful muffins, but they sure tasted great! Now that I successfully made this, I can retire my baking ambitions.

5 Comments Filed Under: Eating In, Recipes Tagged With: airfryer recipe, baked in airfryer

Recipe: Salted Vegetable and Tofu Soup

April 29, 2015 By Suanie 2 Comments

One of my favourite soups is also the easiest and fastest to cook. It takes just one hour and 6 ingredients to make a large pot of delicious Salted Vegetable and Tofu Soup.

The only hazard in making this soup is, uh… To cut a long, sad story short, I do not recommend slicing slippery salted vegetables with a sharp Zwilling knife when you’re in a hurry. Not if you like all your fingernails intact 😛

… that’s it. There are no other stories related to this Chinese pot of deliciousness. It’s bursting with simmered bone broth goodness, marked with a satisfying saltiness that pairs great with soft tofu.

Also, the ability to whip up such simple home-cooking makes you look like a kitchen goddess because it reminds people of family. True story.

AND being thought of as a goddess of any kind is one of the most absurd, yet strangely appealing feelings ever. You should try it once in a while.

So make this soup already!

… Wait wait, a few more notes to share:

… On the bones, use chicken if you can’t or don’t like pork.
… On salted vegetables, it’s pickled/salted mustard greens that looks like this *click*. Wet markets will have them, some hypermarkets may not carry them. There are many kinds of salted vegetables, remember it’s the “wet” one.
… On tofu, use firm or pressed tofu. Eat tofu, it’s good for you!
… On ginger: I buy a big one, slice it up and freeze the rest. I don’t use ginger all the time, and it is wasteful to buy when you only need a little.

Frozen ginger slices at my convenience!

Okay, NOW let’s get to it:

1) Blanch 300g pork/chicken bones in a pot of boiling water. This removes the scum.

2) Remove and transfer to another pot of water with a couple ginger slices. Let it come to a boil, then simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.

3) Use this time to slice up a packet of salted vegetables (cut it however you like to eat it), 2 tomatoes and a box of tofu. Personally I like everything bite-size. Watch out for your fingernails.

4) Put in salted vege and tomatoes to cook for 10 mins. If you want a saltier taste, this is when you put in a pickled plum. I find it unnecessary.

5) In the last 5 mins, put in tofu and let it simmer before serving. If you’re using prawns and/or meat slices, this is the time to put it in.

Ta-dah, a nice bowl of Chinese soup ready to be consumed, nom nom nom nom… Go on, make soup and let your domestic goddess shineeeeeeee!

(Ingredients and method all above. I’ll update again with Printable Recipe when the plugin decides to work again)

2 Comments Filed Under: Eating In, Recipes Tagged With: Chinese bone broth, chinese soup recipe, easy chinese soup, recipe tofu soup

Ristorante Da Valentino, Singapore

January 20, 2015 By Suanie 4 Comments

It is said that while Malaysia has better hawker food, our neighbour down South trumps us in fine dining fare.

Armed with this belief, I asked Shirley for recommendations for a ‘nice place to eat’. She came back with a few suggestions, one of which was Ristorante Da Valentino.

Reviews on-line were overwhelmingly positive; a cosy, family-owned semi-fine dining Italian restaurant that reputedly serves the best pastas in town. Reservations, especially during weekends are a must. We decided on Ristorante Da Valentino and got a 8.30pm Saturday dinner slot.

Single obligatory interior shot. I was a bit shy to go around and take photos

The restaurant is warm, cosy and expansive. The bricked walls inspire mental images of what Carmela Corleone’s kitchen would look like. Cleverly partitioned nooks and corners encourage private dining and moments. In short, a perfect place for a good simple meal, a romantic date, a classy get-together, and if you were the couple seated next to our table that evening, an argument on the verge of a relationship break-up.

We ordered a few starters to share and thoroughly enjoyed all of them! It greatly pleased me, an appetizer lover that they do it so well here! One could argue, what is so difficult about putting together cheese, ham and melon? No, not very but with that attitude, you’re going to be eating a lot of meals alone! 😛

Gourmet Porcini mushroom soup with truffle oil (S$15.50)

Thinly-sliced Prosciutto Ham on Rock Melon (S$27.90)

Burrata (S$45.90)

Slicing up the big burrata for us to share. Thanks!

I was REALLY looking forward to their pasta as I was repeatedly informed that this restaurants makes them really good, the best etc. Well, my mistake to have too high expectations. My aglio olio was too salty, evident from the overuse of salted pasta water to bind. I found the fettuccine and risotto to be average. They weren’t bad, but I kept waiting for something explosive to happen to my taste buds.

Like I said, my mistake.

The good thing is, the seafood was fresh. If you eat out as often as I do, you’d not take this seemingly little thing for granted. I appreciated the al dente pasta; in Malaysia the de facto way to cook pasta is slimy soft because apparently, that’s how Malaysians like it (NO, NOT REALLY, STOP DOING THAT!)

The best course of the evening was Hassan’s lasagna. A small portion, but absolutely delicious! The ragu sauce tasted like ten thousand warm hugs in the bosom of a loving Italian woman, in the bone chilling cold of mid-winter.

Linguini Aglio Olio with Seafood (S$28.50)

Squid Ink Fettuccine with Crabmeat in Creamy Tomato Sauce (S$29.90)

Risotto with Seafood (S$27.50)

Lasagna with Braised Beef and Tomato Sauce (S$21.90)

Happy Hassan.

The dessert that stood out was the panna cotta, wobbly and creamy and hits all the right notes. The tiramisu with alcohol-soaked biscuit base was delightful, good for sharing especially after your main meal.

Panna Cotta (S$12.80)

Tiramisu (S$14.80)

Menu prices exclude 10% service charge and 7% GST. Our bill came up to S$340, and we didn’t have any wine. That’s about the same price you’d pay in a similar restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, except that you may get one or two wine by the glass out of it.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience. Decent food, lovely ambiance, good friends. Our waiter, though incomprehensible at times, had a wicked sense of humour. When asked for directions to the ladies, he replied in a straight face,

“.. turn left, go straight on and you’ll see a bus stop..”

With Chef Valentino, wahey!

Ristorante Da Valentino
200 Turf Club Road,
#01-19, Singapore 287994
Tel: +65 6462 0555
Website: www.ristorante-da-valentino.com

Opens Tues to Sun. Lunch: 12pm – 3pm. Dinner 6pm – 10.30pm

4 Comments Filed Under: Eating Out, Travel + Trips Tagged With: fine dining italian singapore, italian restaurant singapore, restaurant for special occasion singapore, Singapore 2014, where to celebrate birthday singapore

Wild Honey, Singapore

January 20, 2015 By Suanie Leave a Comment

At Wild Honey, it was love at first bite. I was determined to revisit to re-experience the BEST hippie breakfast I’ve had.

A few things have changed since my first visit. Reservations are essential to secure your preferred dining hours. The newly renovated outlet at Mandarin Gallery sees a bigger space, allowing waiters to come take your order at your table (previously you have to order and pay at the counter).

I am pretty sure that the prices went up a buck or two, as all things must.

If I’m going to spend RM60 on breakfast, I’m going to stick to tried-and-true orders!

The European was as delectable as I’d remembered. Two eggs (they delivered on the perfect part), sauteed mushrooms, Italian prosciutto, Hollandaise sauce and fluffy brioche.

It sounds simple, classic. But each component was done so well in its own right, that they come together in a gastronomically-pleasing meal. No, it’s not something that you can re-create at home, unless you do every single item right!

Nothing in Kuala Lumpur has this. Nothing in Kuala Lumpur beats this.

I could marry a European. With sausage.

The description for the Belgian sounded tempting: light and fluffy waffles bound with coconut cream, grilled mango, blueberries and toasted coconut flakes.

Boy, did they deliver! Amazing combination of sweets, each ingredient complementing the other. This will also be on my ‘must order’ list next time.

Side note: I’d never really liked processed coconut, found most of them to be too fake. But I was really taken by Wild Honey’s use of coconut products – the cream and toasty flakes didn’t seem too ‘manufactured’, if you get what I mean?

The Belgian. I love you.