I love steamed paos like the ones from Tanjung Sepat in the peninsula or the ones here but the trouble is when you want to buy, you do not know how good they really are. You can’t judge the texture of the skin merely by looking at it…or by pressing and you can never tell whether the filling is nice or not. You will just have to buy one to try and that was exactly what I did the other day at a bakery/coffee shop at Rejang Park here…
I ordered two – one meat and the other char siew at RM1.70 each.
I’ve tried them before but I cannot exactly remember whether they were any good or if they were, to what extent.
The meat one was very nice…
…with a bit of egg nestled among the minced pork filling. I love steamed paos with egg inside. However, I felt it was a bit strong on the ginger taste of which I am not quite fond of. Those who love xiao long paos would probably enjoy these as well.
The char siew one…
…was good too though it ย was a tad too sweet for me.ย All in all, they were good enough and if I were to feel like eating steamed buns and I happened to be in the vicinity, I wouldn’t mind getting the ones here though I would not go out of my way to stop by here and buy. For one thing, they’re cheaper than what I bought from this bakeryย at RM2.00 each and they even charge 20 sen extra for the plastic bag that they seal the buns in. Tsk! Tsk!
And talking about that bakery, we did drop by last week to see what they might have that Melissa would enjoy. She picked up a few things that tickled her fancy and I bought a pack of these lung ngor/kay nerng kor (egg cake) to try…
Yes, they can do it very well – just like the original authentic ones that I grew up eating though I thought they could reduce the sugar as they were very good, just a bit too sweet for the likes of me. I can’t remember the price now but upon calculation, they’re a bit more expensive than the ones from Sarikei – my missus prefers those and would steadfastly insist that they’re the best.
I also bought their Portuguese egg tarts (RM2.00 each)…
…to see if they were any good and indeed, they were. I loved the fragrant crispy puff pastry and the egg custard filling was very well done too. Still, at RM2.00 each, I wouldn’t think I would be having them very often.
Sigh!!! Things certainly do not come cheap anymore these days and the sad fact is that at times, you may find that something does not meet your expectation after you have paid so much for it. Of course, it is not so bad if they’re really very nice, value for money – after all, there is no harm in pampering ourselves sometimes and I do mean sometimes!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Oh man! I was hungry to start with and it didn’t help looking at your posts LOL. I love the Kay Neng Kors too! My aunt makes them over charcoal the old school way and sells them out of her house (people call and place orders, etc.). She saves the fresh ones off the fire for me when I come to visit and I love eating them with a glass of cold milk ๐
The only time I saw somebody doing it that way was at Kenyalang Park, my friend’s mum using the brass mould over a charcoal fire in a pot-like stone stove. She also made love letters or kueh sepit (kapit) that way, her cheeks red from the heat. I don’t think many would go through all that these days, not that there are still many who can.
YES! Couldn’t agree more… things are certainly not cheap these days….
Sad. ๐ฆ
Don’t know whether you’ve heard of this.. Here, in KL, actually in Connought Cheras to be precise, there’s this van called “Yip Chi Mei Tai Pao” selling all kinds of pao, but their specialty is of course, (like the name implied) “tai pao”.. Yip Chi Mei is one HK artiste, with big boobies, keke, so they named the “tai pao” after her.. Certainly very big.. Double (or I think triple) the size of normal “tai pao”..
Yes, heard of those. Loved the tua pao at Bukit Bintang…but they’ve “upgraded” the shops there, coffee shops all gone…so dunno where to get them already. Many nice things to eat in those coffee shops last time…80’s and 90’s. All gone. ๐ฆ
oh yeah, the pao‘s from Tanjung Sepat in the peninsula!! i had that before but rarely go there all the way now, can also get nice pao‘s here in Kuala Lumpur in peninsula too, but i do not know the whereabout since my sister bought them back ๐
Wahhhhhh!!!! So nice. If I don’t buy, I will not have any to eat. Sobsssss!!!! ๐ฆ
Kay nerng kor, char siew & meat paos, all I like but must be soft & fluffy.
The kay nerng kor is nice – sure will buy from there again. The Sarikei ones are not readily available. ๐ฆ
So in Sibu the char siew pau also RM1.70? Over here, it is also around that price.. no more RM1.20.. or so.. I think it is overpriced, dont you think so? The egg kueh really looks nice, not like some very dry… this one still looks very fresh…
I went to the market the other day – used to buy veg, chili, lime…and so on, all RM1. Now, all RM2.00, nothing at RM1 anymore. ๐ฆ
Hard to tell whether the pao is nice anot till u eat it, sometimes from outside, it looks good, but when eat it, errrr…..
How very true! ๐ฆ Never judge by appearance.
I was half expecting some pao jokes!
There, somebody mentioned that infamous Yip Chi Mei… ๐
I still remember during my kindy (I went to Chinese kindy), saw my friends having paus as their lunch. I always thought that pau is really really yummy (at that time, there were no halal pau. Not many Malay knows how to make pau either). I love to see the way they peel the pau skin and eat it deliciously. Lol! I don’t know why the image is still clear in my mind until now. Childhood memory…
The pau looks like it’s hand made. For me, I only like char siew and kaya. The egg tart looks damn good.
Ummmm…you can make pao without using hands? They have machines to do that in the factories? Never thought about it. But factory mass-produced ones, not nice lah. Like those frozen ones sold in the supermarkets.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing when I read about the 20sen for the plastic bag! Do they expect customers to bring their own bags for the buns then? Hehe
Ya, another place, they charge 10 sen extra EACH if you want the siew mai steamed and piping hot. Ridiculous!!!
I like to eat pao, char siew pao, da pao…hehe!!!
We’re one of a kind! ๐
Huh? 20sens for the plastic? Next time bring own container can kurang harga ka?
Yalor…already saving them the gas and the trouble of steaming them and keeping them hot. You can buy the steamed ones – hot…and they just put in plastic bags, no extra 20 sen charge. I just cannot understand why – not that they use special plastic, very nice, custom-made ones. Just ordinary, plain plastic. ๐ฆ
Wha – ? 20c for the plastic that the bakery seal the buns in? That’s preposterous!!!
I always bring my own container to tapau the steamed buns yet they never reduced the price. I think they are just trying to earn more profit.
Good to bring own containers when tapao-ing food but at times, you do not actually plan to do so.
Good idea to taste first. But that also depends if they are consistent. My mum used to buy the big pau from here and freeze to take back to Terengganu. The pau from here taste better it seems.
There are better ones here, actually – just trying these since I was there that day to send a letter at the post office in the area.
But the pao looks fluffy. Probably need some improvement on the fillings.
I wouldn’t mind if they double the amount of the filling, more expensive a bot also ok.
That 3rd photo looks similar to our Corn Bread here.
I was away for a few days but now I am back so I will catch up on your blog posts that I missed! I have been trying to catch up on posts as well…doing multiple a day ๐
Hope you are well ๐
I’m fine here, thanks. Hope that you are too. Even in your absence, I did drop by your blog and comment.
Thanks so much! Means a lot! I see you swinging by now, too, thanks!
Same to you.
Yeah, I noticed that Sibu food prices is skyrocketing out of control in some cases!
I don’t like overly sweet char siew pau too, feels too jelak to eat if it’s too sweet.
RM 2 / tart sure does sound expensive but it looks good. I got a pork floss sandwich for RM 1.70 at Big Thumb, it was small and used leftover bread, but interesting crunchy texture though. I didn’t think it was good, my brother in law likes the stuff there though.
The deep fried one? 3 for RM2. My daughter loves those so I would buy if she’s around. The Portuguese egg tarts are really good – best I’ve ever hard but RM2….I don’t think I would be having them again soon. ๐ฆ