Running back for more…

We enjoyed the prawns that my missus cooked that day that I simply had to run back to my favourite fish & seafood stall for more. Of course it was super delicious because of her recipe and her superb cooking skills but for one thing, those prawns had been in the freezer for way over a month before we took them out to cook and eat.

We were amazed by how they were still so very fresh and sweet, so firm and succulent unlike some that we might have had the displeasure of eating outside especially when most of the time they were so minute!!! That was why I decided to go back to the stall and buy some more.

Yes, this time around, the lady had three different sizes and prices and of course, I picked the biggest ones…

…going for RM38.00 a kilo. I think that was a little cheaper than the previous time but they did look a little bit smaller. There were 30 altogether, RM1.27 each.

Much to my delight, I saw that she had these…

…that morning. Gosh! I cannot remember the last time I had those, probably way before the outbreak of the pandemic. My missus would buy them sometimes when she went marketing.

We call these mini pek chio/ikan bawal putih/white or silver pomfret kilat which means lightning in Malay or shining, a word to describe a nicely polished car or pair of shoes, for instance. Normally, they are somewhat small but the ones I bought that morning were bigger than the palm of my hand! They were not all that cheap though – RM25.00 a kilo, same as or chio/ikan bawal hitam/black pomfret but I went ahead and bought 2 kilos, nonetheless, considering especially that we had not eaten these for such a long time and the nice lady was kind enough to ask her young assistant to clean all 18 of them for me – it would probably take me a long time if I were to do it myself.

We cooked half of the lot and kept the rest in the freezer for another day. We love them fried…

…till nicely done and a little crispy at the edges so I would just eat it all up except the head perhaps and parts with some bigger bones!

My goodness!!! They were so fresh, so sweet!!! I had never had any that was so so so good. You would usually find this fish at the chap fan (mixed rice) places, very small and absolutely bland, tasteless, not nice at all. They probably use those cheap frozen ones that they buy in bulk from the supermarkets or the frozen foods suppliers, this and all the other kinds of fish like kembong and the rest.

I certainly was pleased with my purchases, definitely worth it, value for money and look at what the kind and generous lady gave me…

She said that a friend of hers gave them to her, quite a lot, and asked her to make some chiew chu koi (tapioca cake) to give to her so she picked two good ones and said that I could have them.

I did manage to get to eat some when I went to Miri in 2019 and I did buy some here as well, also way back in 2019. That did not look like a lot but there was enough to fill one big bowl…

…and yes, it was very good. Actually, I dread buying this as sometimes, the texture of the tuber is not good, not edible and we would end up throwing it all away.

I sms-ed my sister to ask her if she wanted any and of course she did…and in no time at all, she was at our gate! We enjoy eating it with gula apong but since it is starchy and I am on a low-carbs, low-sugar diet, I have to refrain from going overboard – just a bit will do. After all, we do not get to eat this all that often.

I must say it was truly a really good day that day!

The fish stall is located to the right of CCL FRESH MINI MARKET against the wall at that 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, if you go in via the entrance where San Len Tyres is located, just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall.