Make it fast…

I had not been to see this handsome boy…

…at the pasar malam (night market) here for a while now for the simple reason that it would be so hard to find a place to park the car and I, for one, wouldn’t be all that keen on parking some distance away and walking all the way and all around the place in search of the stall – they cast lots once a week, I hear, so each time you go, the stall that you are looking for will be at a different location.

Well, last Sunday night, my girl was out with a friend and I dropped her off at the place they had agreed upon and I thought I would make my way to the pasar malam to buy some of the tee piang that my girl enjoys a lot so we would be able to heat them up for breakfast the next morning.

It is not difficult to find the stall – if you see one with a whole lot of people…

…standing all around it, that would be it! The problem is the tee piang may be sold out by around 7.30 p.m. so all your effort in making your way there would all be in vain.

I was lucky – when I got there after 7, they were just about to make their last batch for the night so I quickly placed my orders and stood around waiting…and in the meantime, I decided to take snapshots of everything that was going on at the stall.

This lady was making the batter…

…and it was obvious that she did not need any electrical appliance, no blender, no mixer, nothing – she just had to do it by hand and see how smooth…

…the batter was! Later, I saw her cutting some chives and adding those to the batter as well.

She had some banana fritters frying in the wok so she had to remove them…

…first after which, she added some more oil and once it was hot enough, she was ready to roll.

She added some of the aforementioned batter to the ladle…

…and lowered it into the hot oil…

Once it was cooked enough, it would detach itself from the ladle and float on the oil…

…while the lady went on with the next one in line.

She would be able to do quite a few…

…at one time and once they were nicely done, golden brown in colour, she would take them out of the wok.

To do the ones with meat filling, she would line the ladle with the batter and add the meat…

…after which, she would cover the filling with more batter before lowering it into the hot oil…

I bought four of those with meat filling (RM1.50 each)…

…and don’t ask me why they were only three in the photograph. Of course I could not resist indulging in one right away the instant I got home, nice and hot. LOL!!!

The filling…

…is something like those in steamed paos (buns) and these would be a lot bigger than the regular or kosong ones (those without any filling) and one would be enough to fill you up – in fact, if you are not a very big eater, you probably should find someone to share or go for those without any filling (3 for RM2.00).

It did take quite a while even though it was very obvious that everyone was working as fast as they could and it was way past 7.30 before I got my orders. I did not feel the time passing by as I was busy taking the photographs…and I did hear somebody asking while I was leaving only to be told there wasn’t any left – somebody else had already ordered the last few still frying in the wok. Do go early to avoid disappointment – they usually open at around 5.30 p.m.

Everybody says…

…that the noodles here…

…is nice so I just had to go and give it a try.

Actually, a long time ago, some friends of mine were telling me that a friend of theirs was praising the noodles there to the skies and the next day, she took them there to try but they were not impressed so I never bothered to go and check it out…or perhaps I did go once and one look at the place…

*From Google Maps, street view*

…I changed my mind about having anything there.

More recently, I shared on Facebook a series of photographs of the Foochow fried noodles that I had before and asked my friends where they had the one they liked the most – nobody bothered to respond except one and she mentioned this place and told me the stall number. I quickly went there but unfortunately, the place was closed for renovations.

The municipal council people sure have done a great job in upgrading the place…

…and when I dropped by early one morning, I sure was pleasantly surprised seeing the crowd there at the time – they certainly were enjoying brisk business in their nice new environment. They had a whole lot of fans lined up on the ceiling…

…and being new, it was very clean, definitely a world of difference from how it used to be. I certainly hope that the tenants will cooperate and keep it that way.

An ex-colleague of mind shared this photograph of the fried kway teow…

*Ex-colleague’s photo on Facebook*

…that he had there and he was saying something about “Lau Peng Yau” (old friend) and a certain Stall No. 10.

It turned out to be a drinks stall so I was at a loss as to which stall the one with the nicest fried noodles was. While I was sitting there waiting for my orders, it looked like this guy at Stall No. 12…

…was the one as he seemed to get a lot of orders from the crowd.

I ordered this very nice kopi-o-peng (RM1.50)…

…from Stall No. 15 and eventually, I decided to try the noodles from Stall No. 14…

…because there was this very nice and friendly lady who probably noticed me in my predicament and she asked me what I wanted to eat. She said that they also served Foochow fried noodles (RM4.00)…

…and it turned out the be the so-called moon version that I like very much and yes, it was very very nice. I sure would not mind coming by this way for this again and I liked how they used those glass plates instead of the plastic one in that photo my ex-colleague took of his kway teow. Hot food served on plastic plates always get me worried.

Stall No. 14 also sells kampua mee and pian sip and I ordered a small bowl of the latter (RM2.00)…

…to try and yes, I must say it was very good but somehow, the light clear soup tasted a little different from the usual, nicer! I wonder if this is one of those that they say they throw in one whole Chinese cabbage into the meat bone stock for the added sweetness.

I sure enjoyed my breakfast that morning and I most certainly would be back again sometime for the fried noodles that I enjoyed a lot…

…or maybe I shall try something else the next time around.

THE SUNGAI ANTU MARKET & HAWKER CENTRE/FOOD COURT (2.320030, 111.830741) is located along Jalan Sg Antu 2, on your right off Jalan Industri as you drive in from Jalan Kpg Nangka.

Style…

I dropped by here that morning to get these Saudi Arabian cheese wedges…

…for my girl – she enjoys eating them so I would go and buy for her time and time again.

While I was there, I decided that I might as well drop by the stalls by the side of the road (Bandong Walk) and have a bite to eat. The nasi lemak guy, my favourite in town, was nowhere to be seen.

The guy at the drinks stall beside his…

…said that he had taken a few days off after the Hari Raya Haji holiday – probably he had gone home to Sarikei or Daro or wherever and had not come back yet.

I noticed that the lady at the noodles stall had some helpers…

…that morning, probably her children who would be on their one-week school break at that point in time.

I felt like having the roti canai (RM1.20)…

…so I went and placed my order at the stall next to the noodles stall…

Business must be really good as the older guy had just come and he brought with him a whole lot of the pre-prepared soaked-in-oil dough.

These days, when I see people doing really well, I feel somewhat glad and also relieved as the economy is not all that great and the prices of anything and everything have been going up and up and many have called it a day, it seems. Hopefully, things will get better soonest.

I also had their roti telur (RM2.30)…

…which is basically roti canai as well but with egg added.

My friend, Merryn, shared some photos on Facebook of the roti canai she had that day and she asked how everyone would usually eat it – as roti celup (dip) or roti banjir (flooded). I saw a guy sitting at the next table having the latter and it sure looked rather messy. Besides, the roti would soak in the dip and end up less crispy and nice, I think.

Talking about the dhal dip, they sure have improved on it since the last time I tapao-ed some home (and that was a long time ago). It is now thick and creamy…

…and I sure enjoyed it very much.

So how did I eat it? Well, I used the fork and spoon to tear the roti canai into smaller pieces and taking a bit of the dip, I would apply it to the roti and then roll it up nicely like what one does with a wrap, poke through the roll with the fork and place it my my mouth to eat, so elegant, so classy. I sure do it in style, don’t I, Merryn? LOL!!!

This roti canai stall is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong, beside the fried noodles stall to the immediate right of the drinks stall and The NASI LEMAK BANDONG WALK stall (2.313869, 111.825808) somewhere in front of the block of shops where Mastura Delite and the 1Malaysia clinic are.

I prefer…

If you go and order a plate of fried noodles at the Chinese shops and stalls here, you will most likely get the wet one, the one with gravy…

…or the dry one…

Of course, you will need to know where to go for the nice ones – some may not be all that great and the dry version may turn out to be just noodles fried with garlic and soy sauce with a few strands of taugeh (bean sprouts) and a bit of egg.

Generally, when it comes to noodles, fried dry, I do prefer the mee goreng (fried noodles) at the Malay shops and stalls like this one (RM4.00)…

…from the lady at the stall beside the drink stall which is to the immediate right of the Bandong Walk Nasi Lemak stall.

I noticed that morning that the roti canai boys are back, a couple of stalls to the right of this noodle stall and were enjoying brisk business as well.

She also sells kampua mee and I saw a lot of people eating that but no, I did not feel like having that. Her mee goreng was very good…

…with bits of chicken and everything else, not too oily like some and bursting with flavours. I sure would not mind going back for it again and perhaps the next time around, I will ask her if she has a “special” – they usually have that, a fried egg or a fried chicken wing perhaps.

I had the kopi-o-peng/iced black coffee (RM1.50)…

…and good grief! It came in such a huge glass and the best part was that it was so cheap. I prefer the kopi-o, no ice (RM1.00) that I had the previous time though.  This one was too sweet initially but it was ok after the ice melted a bit by which time, the coffee was kind of diluted.

Business certainly looked very good these days – there were so many people eating there or buying to take away and of course, that is a good thing.

This noodle stall is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong, beside the drinks stall to the immediate right of The NASI LEMAK BANDONG WALK stall (2.313869, 111.825808) somewhere in front of the block of shops where Mastura Delite and the 1Malaysia clinic are.

Meet me in the shade…

I was in the vicinity of the shops at Bandong Walk here and I noticed that the somewhat prolonged construction…

…going on there was more or less complete already. I guess that roof will provide some shade from the rain on wet nights – I do not think any of the shops open in the daytime so there isn’t any need for protection from the sun.

It looks pretty nice but it would be good if the owners of the shops could give their premises a nice new coat of paint, the same colour throughout perhaps and something pastel, light and soothing – that will make the place look a whole lot nicer than now, with the myriad of horrendously gaudy colours, some of which have seen better days, that’s for sure.

This shop…

…is open now, it seems. I used to frequent their satay stall and when they set up shop here, we did go a few times. Eventually, they closed down owing to the high rental there but they could not open here for a long time because of the on-going construction. I certainly would drop by one of these days to check it out.

While I was there that morning, I dropped by the nasi lemak stall to buy a couple of packets home with the super-yummy and spicy sambal sotong for the ladies but my main intention in going there was to try the guy’s mee jawa (RM5.00)…

…and I sure was glad I did!

It was very nice and had quite a bit of beef in it…

…but what won me over was the gravy – it was absolutely delicious and bursting with its most delightful flavours…

…and I would say it certainly was a head above most, if not all, of the mee jawa that I have had around town.

I’ve yet to give the guy’s mi sapi (beef noodles) a try – perhaps, I will go for that the next time I’m around those parts.

The NASI LEMAK BANDONG WALK stall (2.313869, 111.825808) is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong somewhere in front of the block of shops where Mastura Delite and the 1Malaysia clinic are.

The walk…

This is Bandong Walk…

Those who were around in the 70’s and 80’s would probably remember the glory days when the eateries here would be jam-packed with people. It was a very popular place where the younger set would hang out at night, enjoying the food and one another’s company. Eventually, the crowd stopped coming – I hear it was because the place got very dirty and was infested with rats.

I must say that I am very impressed by the effort made by the people concerned to upgrade the place – the area in between the block of shops is near completion but I have no idea as to when it will reopen for business. I do hope that everyone, shop owners and members of the public alike, would make a concerted effort to keep the place very nice and clean and not let it go to rot all over again.

For some reason, some of the stalls by the side of the road are not open any time of day though I did gather from a reliable source that all of them have been rented out to somebody. Perhaps some of them only open at night and some only in the morning, like this one, for instance…

– my favourite nasi lemak in town!

They do seem to be enjoying brisk business…

…which is good as that would mean that it will definitely make enough and more to keep them going and I can continue to drop by to enjoy the nasi lemak…

…there or have it packed to take home and eat.

There is a canopy at the back and customers can sit in that somewhat makeshift area…

…to enjoy their breakfast. Personally, I am of the opinion that they should have something more proper, more presentable and a lot nicer.

I had the coffee…

…from the stall beside the nasi lemak stall and surprisingly, it was really very good. Often have I complained that the coffee at the Malay shops are quite hopeless, not nice at all but this one is one of the few exceptions to the rule and believe it or not, it was just RM1.00 a glass!!!

There is another stall next to the drinks stall where a lady would be frying noodles and I noticed that she even sells kampua mee. Perhaps one of these days, I would drop by again to give it a try.

Back to the nasi lemak, it certainly is cheaper…

…than the ones at the shops and what I had, with the sambal sotong (squid)…

…was RM3.00 plus RM1.50, RM4.50 only altogether, the same as what one would need to fork out if one would go for the regular here and elsewhere.

To me, a good nasi lemak would be one whereby the rice is really lemak, rich with the taste and fragrance of santan (coconut milk) and would taste so good without it being drowned by a multitude of sins and this is just about the only one that I have tried and enjoyed that truly lives up to its name.

The NASI LEMAK BANDONG WALK stall (2.313869, 111.825808) is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong somewhere in front of the block of shops where Mastura Delite and the 1Malaysia clinic are. 

Big fat momma…

I was driving along Jalan Kampung Nangka early that morning when an interesting banner caught my eye and of course, I simply had to stop to check it out.

I parked my car by the side of the road and walked to the stall…

…and this very friendly and jovial lady…

…came out. Her nasi lemak was selling for RM2.00 a packet…

…and there was a salted fish…

…in it with a piece of omelette – no hard-boiled egg, no ikan bilis (dried anchovies) but there was a slice of cucumber and some peanuts…

…as well.

The rice was not as lemak as I would like it, not quite like the one here but that one is now selling for RM3.00 and like the others that I had had, despite the tint of green, it did not have the fragrance of pandan…or maybe just a bit. I did like the texture of the rice though, not hard and dry like some and not too soft and soggy either, just right plus the sambal was really good, a bit spicy and very much to my liking.

You have the option to add something extra, if you want and that morning, the lady had this soy sauce chicken…

…and if I remember correctly, she said something like that would be RM2.00 a piece.

I took a snapshot of the chicken and she made a remark on that jokingly and that was when I asked her if I could take her photograph and she happily obliged so I took that one of her above. Then she suggested having another one taken of her beside her banner…

– actually, I was already planning to take a photo of that with the very cute caricature of her. I must say there is a very close resemblance, don’t you think? For one thing though, I really do not think she is a mak cik (auntie) – she certainly looks way too young to be one and as for the gemok bit, well, when it comes to gemuk-ness, she sure has a long way to go to catch up with me, the very sui tuapui (good looking fatty). LOL!!!

I sure would not mind dropping by to buy from her again – it always makes me feel good having a little small talk with such nice and pleasant people as and when the opportunity arises.

NASI LEMAK MAKCIK GEMOK (2.316525, 111.824230) is located at No. 75, Jalan Kampung Nangka, on the left if heading towards Sungai Antu and Sungai Merah, not far from the bend after which you get to the army camp, formerly the KD Sri Rejang base.