Stiff competition…

So far, my favourite or koi (Chinese yam cake) would be the ones here, big thick slices, pre-deep fried but the last time I bought some from there, they had jacked up the price to RM1.20 a slice, 20 sen more than what they were selling them for formerly…and I would not know if it was a case of poor quality control but it did seem a little bit more wobbly or jelly-like than before. Many of those sold around town are like that and I think it is an indication of their using more rice flour and less yam.

Well, I happened to buy a slab of it here, not very big for RM2.00 but yes, it was big enough for four slices so that would mean that it did not cost more than those small thin ones selling at stalls all over town for 50 sen each. It was so nice – not wobbly at all, with lots of yam in it plus it tasted great.

It so happened that I dropped by the shop again the other morning and saw this big one…

…selling for RM6.00 which I thought was inexpensive considering that it was no less than four times the size of the one I had bought earlier.

The shop gets their supplies from people who make those kuihs (cakes) at home and send them over for sale and I’ve a feeling the one who makes this one in the morning is not the same person as the one in the afternoon. This one had bits of carrot in it (though I did not think that made any difference to the taste) and a whole lot more yam – you would be able to taste it in the texture and it had a very strong taste of the hay bee/udang kering (dried prawns) used in the making. The other one had bits of minced meat but I could not detect any in this one. I must say the competition is stiff between the two and personally, I would not mind buying one or the other. In the meantime, I am sorry to say that the one aforementioned, formerly my favourite, can just go and take a back seat now.

These are not deep fried though – I don’t mind eating it steamed just like that and I do recall the ones in Penang where they served them with some hay kor (prawn paste)/rojak sauce and a dash of chili sauce. My missus likes it deep fried so I cut it into bite-size slices and threw them into a pan of hot oil to fry lightly…

…and yes, she enjoyed them very much and was full of praises.

In the meantime, the nice young boy at the shop asked me to buy this new variation of the yew char koi/youtiao (Chinese crullers)…

…at 50 sen each. I did not really catch what he said, something about there being spring onion or fried shallot or meat in it but anyhow, I bought two to try.

No, it did not have the texture of the traditional yew char koi, soft and light and full of (air) holes nor was it thick and dense like doughnut…

– it’s just different, that much I can say but it tasted all right. I wouldn’t say it got me jumping with delight but it was good enough to buy once in a  while for something different for a change.

The eloquent boy, obviously a good salesperson, also persuaded me to buy the tee piang…

…which did not look as nice as those at the handsome boy’s stall at the pasar malam (night market) but the ladies in the house liked them a lot. My girl said they were good and the mum insisted they had a stronger taste of the soya bean pulp used in the making.

I thought it was good and I liked the filling…

…more – both are priced the same, RM1.50 each with meat filling and of course, if I can grab these here, I would not have to go through the hassle of making my way through the crowd at the pasar malam and wait a long time for the tee piang to be fried and parking can be such a pain – I would have to park far away and walk all the way there!  So which one do you think I would much sooner go and buy now?

These and lots more are available at SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441), located along Jalan Ruby, in the block of shops on the right – next to a hair salon at the extreme end…and on the other end, to the left is the Kim Won Chinese Medical Store and Mini-supermarket. Kim Tak Co. and Ah Kau Cafe are located in the other block on the left.