Successful…

The other day, my girl said that she was going to make some Thai rice noodles. “Huh?” I thought to myself. “Isn’t that kway teow…or whichever way you are supposed to spell it in Malaysia these days?”

I did not say anything, of course and just let her go ahead with her plan. After all, our Sibu kway teow is generally thick, white and chewy, nothing like the lovely translucent, soft and smooth ones that I would get to enjoy over in West Malaysia.

It did not seem too difficult and she managed to make the kway teow…

…successfully in no time at all.

After she had done that, she said that she would like to fry it but unfortunately, we did not have much in the fridge for her to use to cook a decent version of Penang char kway teow or the Thai pad Thai. Of course, there were those prawns that I bought to keep for use and we also had some Taiwanese sausages which nobody liked all that much – they came across more like lap cheong (Chinese sausages) and were kind of sweet.

No, we did not have any taugeh (bean sprouts), no see ham (cockles) and we had finished off all our sotong (squid) and fish balls and she was not keen on adding a bit of the cangkok manis from my backyard. In the end, she just had to make do with what we had and started by adding some sauces to season the kway teow…

…and went on to fry it with whatever we had – basically, just the prawns, the Taiwanese sausages, egg and chopped spring onions from my garden…

…and yes, it was really very nice!

The texture of the kway teow did come across as being nicer than our local ones and there was enough that evening for the three of us to share for dinner (together with the dishes we had at hand that day) but I told my girl that she should double the amount of ingredients used the next time she makes more of this kway teow so there will be a lot more to go round plus we should get all the ingredients needed ready so we can have everything in it, just nice for a one-dish meal.

Incidentally, if anyone is keen on giving this a try, he or she can click this link to go to that website and see the recipe and how the blogger makes hers.

Blooming…

When you see lots and lots of durian flowers everywhere, you will know that the trees are blooming and you can expect a bumper harvest soon which, of course, is somewhat strange and out of season as it is the month of April and all throughout my growing up years, we would only get to see durians and all the other seasonal local fruits like the dabai and all the rest around the rainy/flood season called the landas at the end of the year.

Lately, I saw relatives and friends sharing on Facebook a whole lot of photographs of the durian flowers cooked in all kinds of ways. I used to get a lot from my in-laws as they had a tree and everyone would come from all around the neighbourhood to ask from them. Unfortunately. for reasons unknown, it never bore any fruit so they got rid of the tree.

The last time I got to eat any durian flower, I bought from a stall at the Sibu Central Market, twice but it is closed at the moment as there have been cases of COVID-19 reported there and anyway, even if it is open, you will not catch me anywhere near that place. A friend did ask me if I wanted any but I said no, thank you and the next thing I knew, my missus came home with a bag of it, RM3.70 at the neighbourhood shop that I frequent, round the corner from my house so we had that for lunch that day.

Right after that, an ex-colleague/friend PM-ed me via Facebook to ask me if I wanted any as the tree at her house was blooming too but I also said no, thank you to her as my missus had bought a bag of it already. Much to my surprise, a couple of days later, she and her hubby showed up at my gate to give me one HUGE bag of the durian flowers…

…thank you so much, Bing Bing & Edward.

Actually, my missus was cooking tom yam…

…with the sotong (squid) and prawns that I bought not too long ago and I suggested adding the durian flowers to it but my suggestion fell on deaf ears. She just added some fresh sweet baby corn that we had in the fridge.

She cooked what she bought that day with sambal hay bee/udang kering (dried prawns) but it was a little laim liam (sticky) – probably when we removed the anthers, we missed some of them or perhaps there were some trapped in the rolled up petals and we did not bother to check. Besides, it was slightly sour and when I asked, she said she added a bit of tomato sauce. I don’t know why she did that but it sure was not compatible and no. we did not quite enjoy it that day.

This time around, she cooked the flowers masak lemak (with santan/coconut milk)…

…because my girl had mentioned in passing that the next time she had more of the flowers, she would like her to cook them this way and yes, it was so very very nice.

There was a lot of sauce/soup and there were still a lot of the flowers left so I suggested throwing them all in but no, once again, my suggestion fell on deaf ears. Obviously, she had another plan in mind which was to cook the flowers with sambal hay bee/dried prawns…

…again! This time around, it turned out perfect and was really very nice unlike the previous time.

Of course, that was a lot of durian flowers plus the tom yam soup for the three of us but my missus shared everything with my in-laws but even though there wasn’t too much in the end for us to manage, there was still some left over that we could heat up and enjoy the following day.

SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441) is 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.

Spare a dime…

The authorities have granted permission to the people at the pasar malam (night market) here to resume business but of course, I was not surprised to see from the photographs shared on Facebook that the response was poor, both from the sellers and the customers.

Well, what did they expect? All this while, they have been telling people to #staysafe #staywell #stayhome so of course, generally, people would be quite reluctant to go out anywhere – who knows the coronavirus may be lurking somewhere and by some stroke of bad luck, one may end up tested positive!

I cannot remember the last time I went, long before COVID-19 and even when they allowed it to open not too long ago with strict observation of the SOP before entering, I kept my distance. They might be very firm before one went in but once inside, it would be a free-for-all. I did not see any lines or signs on the road as to where to stand or queue to maintain physical distancing at all times.

So if you ask me whether this handsome boy…

…is still there running the stall with his family selling their tee piang, I’m afraid I haven’t got the slightest clue.

For the uninitiated, the tee piang is our local Sibu Foochow version of the Fuzhou oyster cake in Singapore except that ours do not have oysters in them. I’ve never tried those, of course but those who have said that they are not as nice.

Well, like most everything else these days, I would just go to the neighbourhood shop round the corner from my house to buy…

…whenever I feel like eating those, our Sibu version, that is. I will usually buy the ones without any filling and if I remember correctly, they were 40 sen each, 6 for RM2.00 at the pasar malam way back in 2018.

The ones with meat inside…

…were RM1.20 there then but all this while, I had been paying RM1.50 each at this shop here. The other day, I bought some and was duly informed by the boss that they now cost a dime more, an increase of 10 sen!

Ah well! What hasn’t gone up in price? After all, they increased the price of pork here not too long ago. I guess we’ll just have to be thankful that the increase is only by a mere 10 sen and it is still quite affordable and they have maintained the quality. The only thing is if the prices keep going up and things become too expensive, we will just have to stop buying and learn to live without them.

Incidentally, there is a Chinese pancake (apam balik/ban chian kuih) stall in the vicinity in the afternoon, now located on the pavement right beside the aforementioned shop. The chai peah is very nice, 3 for RM1.00 and they also sell tee piang – with or without filling. I guess the prices should be more or less the same as at the shop.

SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441) is 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.

Pay the price…

My girl loves these homemade Sibu local Foochow-style sio bee (meat dumplings)…

…that the mum bought from the neighbourhood shop round the corner.

They were more expensive than the rest, she said – RM1.20 each. Well, for one thing, they were big, round and plump so that alone would justify the price but more importantly, they were really very nice, a cut above all the rest – even the celebrated ones here or here which, I feel, need some better quality control because I had had them on days when they failed to impress.

These tasted great and inside, there were little crunchy cubes of I-dunno-what…

…water chestnut or mangkuang/sengkuang (turnip) perhaps but my missus insisted it was cabbage.

Seeing how my girl enjoyed them so much, I went back to the shop to buy some more…

They were not RM1.20 each. I asked my missus and she said she said RM1.50 – I remember that was the same price as what we would pay for those celebrated ones at the old school restaurants but no, they actually cost more than that! I had to fork out RM20 for a pack of 12 so that would work out to over RM1.60 each.

I thought they looked similar to these…

…that we bought from here before to try and they were very nice too. If I remember correctly, they were RM1.30 each but that was a very long time ago. Perhaps I can go back there and grab some so I will be able to compare.

In the meantime, we will just have to pay the price and stick to these. At least they are worth it, anytime better than paying for something cheap to find that they are not worth the calories and ending up throwing them all away. Truth be told, there are a whole lot of those horrible ones here, there and everywhere all over town.

SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441) is 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.

Ten years after…

I don’t know when they started making these lovely chicken pies…

…but I first stumbled upon it in 2010, around ten years ago, and it was, without the shadow of a doubt, love at first bite! I liked it so much and wasted no time at all in blogging about it.

Well, the other day, I was in the vicinity and as I was driving past, I noticed that there was a vacant parking space right in front of the bakery. I stopped right away, parked my car and went towards the shop. Like many of the shops around here, they have blocked the entrance and would not allow customers to go in. You still have to go through the required SOP though – check your temperature, scan your MySejahtera or jot down your details in a notebook (and sanitise your hands) after which, you tell them what you want and they will get for you and you pay them the money for your loot and leave.

Obviously, because of the pandemic, they are not making as many things as on normal days. There were some cakes and buns in the glass display cabinet, visible from the front of the shop. Their counter in the middle of the shop was empty except for a few trays of the chicken pies and no, they did not have those coconut tarts…

…that I like a lot but it did not matter as those are sweet and right now, I’m cutting down on my sugar intake so those would have to be avoided.

I asked for the number of pies that I wanted, paid for them and left. As far as I can remember, way back in 2010, they were RM2.80 each and there were peas in the filling plus a layer of meat floss on top right below the pie cover and the pie had a slight mound on top because of the amount of filling. No, it is quite flat these days so evidently, the filling now is less. It still tastes really great though but there are no more peas, no meat floss, just some bits of carrot with the chunks of chicken and potatoes…

…in the lovely creamy sauce and the price has been consistently going up and up year after year – at this point in time, it is going for RM4.50 each, up from RM4.20 when I bought it in May last year!!!

The shortcrust pastry is still as good as before and all things considered, I do think it…

…is worth buying to enjoy once in a while.

We had a few of them for breakfast the next morning and the ladies were grumbling that they were no longer as good as before and insisted that those West Malaysian-made Australian ones…

…were very much nicer. Well, those are good too (the chicken ones – we do not like their black pepper) but they are around double the price at over RM14.00 for a pack of two, over RM7.00 each.

I guess as long as we can jolly well afford it, we shall go on buying them, either one, to enjoy, depending on where we are and whichever is convenient. After all, at a time like this, there isn’t much we can spend our money on and there is no way we can go anywhere, no travelling to any place in the foreseeable future and it is good to pamper and console ourselves sometimes.

AROMA BAKERY (2.311151, 111.831515) is located at No. 36 (G/F), Taman Damai along Jalan Dewan Suarah, the second shop in the block on your right as you enter from Jalan Melur, after the Maju Tyre shop.

Just a little bit salty…

That day, my in-laws dropped by my house and passed to us a bag of steamed paos…

There were the ones with meat (RM2.20, up by 10 sen now)…

…that had a bit of egg inside and also, the vegetable ones (RM0.60)…

The skin was really good and both tasted really great but were a tad too salty. I would have loved them a lot more if they had cut down a bit on the salt and the msg.

My missus did not ask where they got them from but eventually, she did manage to find out for me. They turned out to be the Hua Kiew Road ones from here that I did buy to try more than once before just that I do not recall theirs being so salty. Perhaps we caught them on a bad day.

Incidentally, they do not open their shop till noon or later and at times, you will see the door ajar, just open a bit at the bottom like it is not open for business. Just go to the back of the shop right behind the block – that is what they tell me. You can buy your buns from them there.

HONG CHENG BREAD HOUSE (2.291838, 111.838213) is located among the block of shops to the right of the junction of Jalan Tong San and Lorong Langsat if you are coming via the latter from the roundabout at Jalan Pedada near Rejang Medical Centre.

I cannot remember…

The other day, my missus came home from her once-a-week outing to stock up on food and supplies in the house and she bought these…

…for my girl to give to her friend for Hari Raya.

I love the sarong/batik designs…

…but I’m not fond of the fact that they’re plastic even though it is of much better quality, not like those single-use ones that are often used for takeaways. I asked her how much they cost each but she said she could not remember. She said they were over RM10.00 each, just that she was not sure how much she paid for them exactly.

If you want the complete set, there are four colours altogether but I guess it will take your friend a very long time to finish all that Kit Kat especially when he or she is not holding an open house and has to eat it all himself or herself. If only, they had given a choice of flavours – I wouldn’t mind having some matcha ones besides the regular chocolate.

Never mind, as they say it’s the thought that counts. This would be nice for something to munch while watching TV or something or one can take it to the office to share with one’s friends. At a time like this, I guess most folks would not be in the mood to celebrate.

Big and small…

I stopped by my favourite fish stall the other morning to see if they had any more ikan terubok and yes, much to my delight, they did! I quickly grabbed four to keep in my freezer and this time around, I did make it a point to ask for the price. Much to my surprise, it was only RM28.00 a kilo, cheaper than the or chio/ikan bawal hitam (black pomfret) and the bay kar/ikan tenggiri (mackerel). Now that we have this new stock at hand, I decided to finish off the remaining one that I bought the last time and was still in the freezer.

While I was at the stall, I saw the prawns – RM55.00 a kilo and boy, they were HUGE…

Normally, they were a bit smaller, RM45.00 a kilo but these looked absolutely irresistible that I simply had to ask for a kilo to take home.

After cleaning and deveining them, I placed them in a tub…

…and filled it with water…

…making sure that the prawns were completely covered. After doing that, I closed the tub and put it in the freezer to freeze.

Of course, the water would turn into ice and the prawns would be nicely frozen inside. As long as I do not take it out and will only do so to defrost when the time comes to cook them, they will remain really fresh, very firm and succulent like freshly caught ones.

There were 18 big ones altogether but unfortunately, there were 9 that were not as big so if I were to deduct RM10.00 for those and divide the balance of RM45.00 by 18, the big ones would cost RM2.50 each only, very cheap! The shop round the corner from my house would sell for around RM60-65.00 for a pack of less one kilo and at best, there would only be two or three big ones inside while the rest, though not disappointingly small (except for once), their size was really nothing to get excited about.

I took three of those smaller ones…

…and a pack of sweet baby corn to fry with the cangkok manis from my backyard…

…for our lunch and yes, that was very nice…

…and there was enough left over for dinner even!

The fish stall is located to the right of CCL FRESH MINI MARKET against the wall at the end of the block to the right of the Grand Wonderful Hotel (2.309601, 111.845163) along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, on your left just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall. You can also go in via Lorong Pipit 4, turning left into the lane at the junction where Starbucks Sibu is located and go straight ahead from there.

So this is it…

The other time when I was here, I saw packets of Maggi instant noodles, both their chicken and curry flavours and also Ibumie mi goreng in the cabinet. Well, I did try cooking my own a few times – either I was not impressed or it was all right but it did not really get me jumping with delight. That was why I made up my mind there and then to come back here one day and try one that is “professionally” done…

Well, dining in at many places in designated zones all over the town is not allowed these days – you can only stop by for takeaways but this place, being in the middle of nowhere in a residential area, is safe. I hear that because of the ruling, people have shifted to places where they are allowed to sit and eat and chat but thankfully, this is not one of them. There was just another table on the other side with three ladies and as I was about to leave, two men came and took a table in front.

I asked the young guy…

…if he had Maggi mee goreng on his menu and he said yes, so I promptly placed an order for a plate, curry flavour (RM5.50)…

It took quite a while because he was cooking what the ladies ordered first, plate by plate – they all looked like they were having fried kampua mee but he did not fry them all at one go. Maybe they were not all the same thing.

So this is it – what all that hoo-ha is all about! The real thing! Yes, I could taste the original flavour of the Maggi kari and its spiciness but no, sad to say, I was not overwhelmed unlike those people who seem to love this so much and keep praising it to the skies. I loved the green vegetables in my order and other than those, there were bits of minced meat and char siew, cut into thin strips and egg. All in all, I would say it was good enough to want to have it again but given a choice, I would much sooner go for something else.

NGA CHUONG CAFE (2.312134, 111.837763) is located along Jalan Au Yong Selatan past Lorong Au Yong 4 on your left as you turn in from Jalan Pahlawan.

A simple life…

I did mention this…

…in passing not long ago in my post on canned sardines – the Korean-made canned mackerel pike and that was back in January this year. For no particular reason, we did not open it to eat, possibly because we could get fresh fish quite easily these days and there is no reason for us to resort to eating canned ones.

Well, the other day, I was thinking that we had had it long enough and it was about time we ate it and be done with it. If there was an expiry date on the can, we probably would not know how to decipher it as everything was in Korean except for what was on the white sticker stuck to it, and we could not jolly well make out the meaning of all those glyphs.

My missus cooked it with sliced Bombay onion and chili…

…and yes, I would say that we liked it a lot, a lovely change from the somewhat diluted tomato sauce in our can of sardines. When we have that, we would always add some more tomato sauce to get the right concentration and taste. There is no need to do that with this one…

…as it was just nice as it was which got me wondering as to why they do not produce canned sardines or mackerel here in Malaysia like this, minus the tomato sauce. Well, if they do, I certainly have not seen it in the shops!

For our vegetable dish that day, we had fried long beans with sambal hay bee (dried prawns)…

…the way we like them doing it here. I do enjoy it this way and that was it for our simple lunch AND dinner that day. We are simple folks, leading simple lives so usually, we would have simple meals, nothing fancy, except perhaps, on some special occasion.