: : Kuih, Kueh : :

Since steph requested for some kuih muih pics, here are some of them. Funny how food looks good on a camera but doesn’t quite taste as good? I took these shots from the company cafeteria early this morning. Was trying to arrange them in an orderly manner but the rest of the other people were looking at me in a funny way. Also, the cafeteria staff started getting nervous when I whipped out my camera.

Granny’s contribution : helping me to identify the names of the different types of kuih. Note, she also got hungry. Ha!

Clockwise from top left : Ham Chee Peng, Yu Char Kuih, Kuih Lapis, Kuih Salat. The ham chee peng is not in it’s usual circular form. It’s a light fluffy bun that taste slightly saltish. Yu Char Kuih is my favourite but this version tastes so bland. Probably because they add too much flour that it becomes too tough. Yu Char Kuih goes great with porridge and bak kut teh though. Think it’ll also go great with chik kut teh (chicken version of bak kut teh). Kuih Lapis is a layered snack which 3 different colours. Even though it’s steamed, it’s still a bit oily from the glutinous flour used. Kuih Salat has a pandan layer on top and glutinous rice layer on the bottom. One of my favourite kuih.

Clockwise from top right : Hua Kuih, Ang Ku, Kuih Talam, Unknown Malay Kuih, Kuih Yam. The Hua Kuih looks a bit too thick but not sure. Ang Ku is a red kuih that has grounded peanuts inside. An addictive kuih, believe me. Granny and I were scratching our heads on the name of the kuih and the green and brown kuih. There are actually a lot of Malay kuih I have yet to sample. Not sure what is in Kuih Talam. Any ideas anyone? Kuih Yam is one of my all-time favourite. Missing some chopped chillies and spring onions on top though.

Top down : Pulut Udang, Chai Tau Kuih. Pulut Udang is actually glutinous rice with chopped dried prawn as filling. It’s wrapped up in pandan leaves and then steamed. Are those staples? Yep. They don’t use little toothpicks anymore. Staples became more convenient so remember to check that you’ve removed them. As for the chai tau kuih, it’s also addictive. It’s sometimes chopped up and fried with egg. Yummy.

Last kuih taken. This is the Kong Pia. It’s actually a very light, fluffly bun that surprisingly doesn’t taste oily but you can feel the oil in your fingers. I think Granny mentioned that it was a popular Foo Chow kuih but I could be mistaken.

There are actually more kuih outside but these are some of the popular ones. I have to seriously get out to the market one day with my camera and do the tourist thing. Just for the heck of it.

: : RC’s Hands : :

Joke of the night

wah, you’ve got very fair hands! i like!

jia | Email | 07.16.03 – 10:16 pm | #

Not my hands but RC’s….

He is a GUY!!

ROTFLMAO!!

Sorry Jia but it seriously was so funny.

: : Sarawak Laksa : :

Went out this evening to get steph’s sambal laksa (laksa paste) to make the famous Sarawak Laksa. This particular brand is the best tasting one in the whole Sarawak. Good laksa hawker stalls always use his paste. Sad to say that it’s only available in Kuching. When I used to live in Miri with my parents, we used to ‘order’ from whoever was coming up from Kuching.

Right, trying to recall what my father told me about the manufacturer. It’s a family-owned business somewhere in Green Road. They’ve been making laksa for a really long time. They used to run the St. Joseph school canteen where it first became famous. It’s a bit more expensive now compared to before but still very much so affordable.

It’s available in 300 g and 600 g packaging. I got the packets from a Chinese grocery shop called Goh Say Lak along Green Road. A bit far to travel from my home in Tabuan Jaya but it’s kinda difficult to hunt around Kuching looking for this particular brand as there are limited stock available. The shopkeeper amuses me : looks like a typical Chinaman with shorts and T-shirts and yet has a very polished English accent.

Here is a closeup of the packet. Yep, pitch dark brown. Can’t eat the ingredients though. The paste is boiled in water to extract out the delicious flavour. Then, drain the water and add coconut milk in it. Cholesterol, cholesterol, cholesterol. Behind the white label, there are instructions on how to cook the paste but Daddy dearest has a better recipe. Okay, I’m biased. So what? ;p He’s good at it and his laksa parties in Miri are famous.

The laksa stall at Tabuan Jaya makes a mean soup. My favourite. Other locations are the stall in front of Maybank Office in town, the coffeeshop in Sekama Road (can’t remember which one, sorry), coffeeshop next Grand Continental Hotel (mornings only!! it’s that popular). Then again, Hilton Hotel’s laksa soup is good as well but pricey at RM14 (US$3.67) but available the whole night (I think). For Sarawakians in KL, there’s a place in Bangsar that sells Sarawak Laksa. Can’t remember the name though. I just remembered it was along the same row as Coffee Bean but further up. Has throw pillows on the floor. Heard that it’s a bit pricey.

Okay, have ranted and raved enough about Sarawak Laksa. Gotta go. Enjoy it people.

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :

Running a bit late today. Got distracted at Josie’s Dollz having a little bit of fun. It’s a gal thing when it comes to playing with dolls. :p

Lunch was at Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya, again. A popular lunchspot. Found a site showing the front of Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya but it hang my PC so decided not to put the link up until I check it out at the office.

Hong Kong Mee

Hmm… slightly different today from previous visit. Guess they had veggie today. The crispy mee become ‘un-crispy’ when soak in the gravy. Wonder if one can get this type of mee overseas? It’s easy to make the gravy. Use a little bit of cornstarch to make it slightly thick or just simmer it until it thickens. Non-halal stall though.

Fried Kway Teow with Taugeh

Taugeh is bean sprouts. Goes great with the kway teow. I think they only added kway teow, taugeh and egg. No meat. Cheap : RM2.50 (US$0.65). I can see raised eye-brows everywhere. ^_^

Claypot Porridge

Ever had porridge cooked in a claypot? Well, for first timers, be prepared for a slightly burnt after taste if it’s not done properly. And yes, the egg is raw but will be partially cook over time.

Air Ular

One of the local herbal drinks. Translation : snake water. Surprise? There isn’t any real snake in it although someone once mentioned to me that it was wheatgrass. Doubt it. Again, RC couldn’t wait for to drink it before letting me take the pic. Typical. :p

That’s all from lunch today.

: : Hunger : :

My my my, this blog suddenly made more than one person hungry. :p Then I know the pics are effective. Still, gotta get the camera looked into. Too many dots popping up, even when the pic is taken in broad daylight.

A quick bachelor student’s recipe about Adrian’s Rojak Pot. However, they miss out one more ingredient : Lee Kum Kee Oyster sauce. I remember the guys in uni used to finish bottles of it in fried rice, fried mee, fried bee hoon, etc.

Poor Pennylaw. Oh well. Fly over to Kuching to eat lor! :p

: : Pasar Kampung, Tabuan Laru : :

Lunch time destination. It’s a really big, open-air hawker centre under one big green roof, located in Tabuan Laru housing area where the shoplots are. All types of food there but not that many are that good. There used to be a stall selling pan mee but she closed down last year. 🙁 The only shop in town that one can get pan mee in Sarawak. Doesn’t seem to be so popular in Sarawak. Sayang (pity).

Anyway, lunch menu is below. The pictures didn’t turn out so good because I forgot to turn on the flash. Sigh. Oh well. Below are the only good meals worth mentioning. Anything else isn’t worth your money.

Nasi Lemak with Chicken Curry

RC was too darn hungry so he started eating before I could snap a clean picture. Spoilsport. He reads this blog anyway so I know come Wednesday morning, will get an earful. Don’t care. ;p This nasi lemak has one of the better tasting sambal in Kuching. Although the shop owner is Chinese, the chicken meat is halal. You can order nasi lemak with chicken curry, fried chicken or lamb curry. Personally, the Chicken Curry is the best tasting one.

Tomato Kway Teow

This was what I had. Kuching folks claim that tomato kway teow originated from this town. Don’t know how true is that. The dish sure tasted good. It’s similar to sweet and sour dishes but with less sugar. The kway teow is fried first and then the sauce is cooked with the other extras as well. The sauce is then poured over the kway teow. Had to eat this really fast because it started congealling really fast as it cooled down. The stall is non-halal.

Mee Goreng

Mee Goreng means fried mee but in this context, it means Malay Fried Mee. The other four ladies ordered this dish for lunch from a Malay food stall. It’s actually quite delicious but would be more sweet than salty. Came with a spicy hot sambal as well. Took me awhile to redo the picture and even then, I’m still not satisfied with it. So, just stuck it half-done on the blog. Too lazy to redo it properly.