Apom Telur in Island Glades

Three meals a day do not apply to most people, and definitely not the average Malaysians.

Even those on strict diets are often advised by the doctors to maintain several small meals throughout the day anyway, and Malaysians are just avid fans of food and it is no surprise since our country is often hailed as food paradise with the multitude of ethnicity and culture we have here.

While restaurants and cafes are sprouting up everywhere, this did not put an end to the roadside stalls set up by the locals which made up part of the Malaysian colorful lifestyle and culture. 

Many may perceive that these stalls are run by the needy locals in need to make a living, but some of these locals have been in business for decades and generations even. Some may have already made it big but they are still maintaining their business in the stalls instead of expanding to shops or franchise, simply because they enjoy it that way. 

These stalls; be it on trolley carts with wheels or makeshift stalls with chains and with the familiar sight of the big yellow umbrella with colorful stripes are just loved by the local Malaysians because they are just fond reminders of our local culture, and are just simply our very own even with the existence of such stalls all over Asia. 

Snacks are one of the most loved meals, I would say as most could just indulge in various varieties throughout the day; away from their main meals that is. It is a common excuse that there are just snacks, and not filling, at all.
There are just so many to choose from; noodles, cakes, desserts and sweet savory delights.

Apom, is a sweet savory pancake which I have previously blogged about here; and the earlier post was about the Apom Balik (or Apam Balik) and this time, it is about the Apom Telur (or Apong Telur).
These are the two variants of the local Malaysian pancake; with the Apam Balik being the one with the thicker and richer version with fragrant coconut milk and sweet corn or any other filling, and the Apom Telur is the lighter version, with a thin paper-like texture and is purely made of flour and eggs batter, yet aromatic as well.

I personally prefer the Apom Telur, and it is getting hard to find these compared to its more popular sibling on the island. I stumbled upon this stall in Island Glades, near the row of shophouses and the coffee shops in Genting.
The stall is run by an Indian lady, who can be seen here on most days; and sometimes even until night.

The Apom Telur comes in fives; where one has to order five pieces at a go for a price of MYR3.00 (a piece would cost MYR0.60 each).

A glimpse of the making of the Apom Telur below.
She made them on the spot for her customers; although sometimes she may have made them beforehand as extras and left to cool, but typically it would be made on the spot.




The Apom Telur is made purely of flour and eggs batter, heated on these little pans for a good few minutes before she checks on the middle to make sure they are well-cooked.
Then they would be lifted and scrapped from the pans to be folded and left to cool before being placed on the banana leaf to be wrapped for the customers.

It is rare to see the banana leaf being used these days, and it was good that she is still practicing it as it gives the pancakes that extra little kick and natural aromatic flavor.



It is always best to leave it to cool for a few minutes before biting digging into these pancakes, as it could be a little soggy when it's hot. (Perhaps that is just my personal preference though)
When it's slightly cooler (not too long), it has that aromatic scent and perfect texture when one bites into it. The texture is a little like the love letters or Kuih Kapit for Chinese New Year.
This version is slightly salty though, perhaps she had mistaken the salt for sugar that day?

Don't leave it too long to cool, or it would have the same soggy or unappealing texture as well. Just a few seconds or 1-2 mins would do.
That is why I am already having it in the car the minute we bagged it from the stall *winks*

Genting Muar Chee

It is not a surprise that Penangites are ardent fans of food; and they are known for their eating habits around the clock, or rather, all Malaysians are in the same habit as well. It is for this reason that we see stalls all over the place at all hours of the day; selling somewhat snacks or noodles or just, street delights to tempt the palates of the locals, and it is even more the case for Penang, which is known as the food paradise in the country (and even in the region).

Muar Chee (麻糍) is a local favorite; in its form of boiled/steamed sticky glutinous rice balls/paste cut into small pieces and dressed with a coating of grounded peanuts and sugar. In Penang, they would add the fried shallots as the toppings to complete the snack and it is not uncommon to hear the locals requesting for extra shallots, as they claimed it would add to the aromatic flavor of the gooey snack.

We found this stall right outside the famous Genting coffee shop (famous for their Chee Cheong Fun in the afternoon) run by an elderly man, in the afternoons.



He was rather quiet initially, but was soon humorous when my family requested for extra shallots and nuts and he guaranteed that if the Muar Chee was not aromatic enough, we could return it and ask for a refund. He was confident that he had included a generous amount of his ingredients to make his Muar Chee of great and satisfactory quality to his customers.





While I am not a fan of glutinous sticky rice (yeah, crazy me, I know), the looks from everyone who tasted were testament enough that it was a good one and the best part was that it was served hot and fresh from the making and it is no wonder the uncle was just so proud of his trade.



The aroma of the fried shallots and peanuts filled the air when the box was opened for consumption, and this was probably one of the good Muar Chee tasted around the island.
It may be a common snack, but finding a good one may prove to be quite a task, and I guess the Uncle can continue to be proud of his snacks for quite a long time~ ;-)



Prices are MYR2 for a small box, and MYR3 for the larger box respectively.

Glutinous Rice and QQ in Ice desserts?

Remember this place named after a famous and intelligent scholar in China; Scholar Tong Pak Fu? (Read here)
Well, we have recently revisited the place during the weekend; to relish the tastes of the desserts and also to battle the heat and high humidity from the crazy weather we have these days, besides spending time like the old days (before marriage :-)



As I have previously described the place, I shall jump directly to the desserts we ordered to save the time of reading through my lengthy description on the place alone (yes, I do know that I can be extremely lengthy with words sometimes;)

The Glutinous Black Rice Ball with Coconut and Mango 
(Hubby is a fan of glutinous rice, as most people are, with the exception of yours truly as it gives me indigestion)



Huge cuts of fresh and sweet mangoes are a to-die-for for mango fans out there.



Glistening with pride in the light; the generous lump of sinfully rich glutinous black rice



This is definitely a place to be for anyone who has a sweet tooth and a soft spot for glutinous black rice as there are many varieties of the black rice served with many more different ingredients.

Sunmelon with QQ Balls; fruity and refreshing delight me more with its vibrant flavors bursting with sourness blended with the sweet scent of the sunmelon.



The spoonful of the 'popping' QQ balls; which sorts of 'Pops' and then burst with a little sourish juice when you bite on them.
Cute, but I would prefer the chewy black pearls anytime :-P



(My favorite shot; and for those of you who have 'liked' my Facebook page and feel that this is familiar, yes, this is my cover photo for the page at the moment :-)

Our desserts...before we devoured them!




I enjoyed the lovely and picturesque photos/paintings they hung on the wall; depicting the beautiful Suzhou; the place of origin of Scholar Tong (oh yes, I have been to Suzhou too and I can vouch for its beauty!;-)



We had the whole cafe to ourselves at that time and there was so much privacy.
I guess we were just lucky to be there during the non-peak periods or else, there are usually patrons there throughout the day too.

Maybe the next time we should try their other signature desserts; but we will need to come in a larger group; 4-5?

Sweet local favorites

There is almost a saying that if one did not try the famous Penang cendol while traveling here, it is almost like one has never been to Penang; yeah, almost.

Cendol



This is a really simple bowl of sweet soup cooked with brown sugar then served with coconut milk, blended ice, red bean and the main ingredient, cendol; which are green curly strips made of flour.
A typical dessert made popular in the states along the straits; mainly those with Peranakan influence and with a historical past - namely Malacca and Penang, it is not wrong to call this a local favorite, at all.

Ice Kacang/ABC



This has appeared time and again in my blog; and is definitely no stranger to anyone who has been following my blog for a while now. Another delightful and one of my personal favorite, this is a bowl of blended ice then served with sparkling sweet syrup and a whole range of ingredients such as red bean, cendol, sweet corn, grass jelly, and rice flour jelly; sometimes may include milk, grounded nuts and in Penang; even strips of nutmeg.
The reason it is also known as ABC? It's because one can include a variety of ingredients as one please; there is not much of a restriction but the mains are usually red bean, sweet corn, cendol and jelly.
Ice Kacang; simply translates to Ice with beans/nuts; cool? :-)


Now, with the sun just glaring at me through the windows at this very moment, I crave for the above bowl of Ice Kacang!

What Penangites enjoy for a snack?

My previous post highlighted most of the local favorites on the island of Penang, and most of them can be found all over the island throughout the day; be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even supper.
There is no fair distinction between what defines a main course or a snack; although we like to believe that noodles/rice-based meals; basically also referred to as carb load definitely outlines what is seen as a main course.

As mentioned earlier, Penang is known to many as a food paradise, and the previous list only compiles most of the favorite local delights and is in no way justified to define the complete food guide to Penang food; for there are more that the locals enjoy throughout the day.
Malaysians love to eat; and that is evident from the many shops, restaurants and roadside stalls odd operating hours which could last up to 24 hours, for some of them!
So, how can the locals of a food paradise be left out in snacking between their meals or enjoy light bites at any time of the day?

Let me introduce a few more local delights that the local relish in between their meals; or whenever they feel like it.

Rojak


This can be almost known as the local version of a fruit and vege salad; but with a more exotic and adventurous flavor to it, as instead of the usual salad mayo-based dressing, the rojak consists of properly chopped fruits (usually pineapples, mango, cucumber, jicama, or other crunchy vegetables/fruits).
The fruits and chopped vegetables are then mixed in a bowl with slightly spicy shrimp paste tossed with grounded nuts. This can be found in some coffee shops, food courts and some food stalls, but some of the food bloggers can tell you that this is simple enough to be made at home as long as one is able to get hold of a bottle of the shrimp paste which can be found in supermarkets and bazaars.


Popiah



Another vegetable salad using a unique type of rice flour based wrap; which is getting hard to find. The vegetables used are usually jicama; a crunchy and juicy one stir-fried or also known as mengkuang char/jiu hu char and then put in some tofu, fried eggs and sometimes add in sweet shrimps before placing them on romaine lettuce then rolled up with the wrap. The sweet gravy or chili paste is then added into the roll to add to the flavor.
This is usually considered as a light snack or even as an additional dish during meals to be enjoyed. This can also be easily made at home; but the trick is to find the right wrap; which is quite difficult. One of the best handmade wrap can be found in one shop in Penang.


Pasembur



Another version of salad is this; which in some version uses raw fish/sashimi as an additional ingredient and is known as 'Raw Fish salad'. The Pasembur is different from the Rojak as the ingredients consist of usually fried items such as fried prawn crackers, fried beancurd, sliced cucumber, flour rolls served with a type of sauce made with grounded nuts. Toss sesame seeds on top of it and it is ready to be consumed.

More sweet treats coming up next....

Coconut sago with Gula Melaka layered kuih

I am not sure how many have heard of sago; which is a type of starch produced from by sago palm, and the starch is extracted from the pith of the palm.
It is probably rare in other countries, but in the largest state, Sarawak, on the east coast of Malaysia, this is one of the main produce for export.

I love sago, and it is so versatile too that it can be used for so many different types of dishes; but mostly dessert.
I am not a cook per se, but I did use the slow cooker to cook sago once as taught by my mummy.

Oh, in case you are wondering, this is NOT made by me.
We found this in one of the stalls outside the typical coffee shops and it was priced at 60 cents per piece.
(A piece of Kuih used to cost only 30 cents!)
Kuih (pronounced as Koay) is a Malay word referring to little sweet cakes meant for snacks/desserts like this one. (Hopefully I can run through a list of Malaysian kuih someday:)

You can see the glistening and round little sago 'beads' forming the kuih, and the brown colored layer is made with Gula Melaka; a type of palm sugar which is thick and sweet.
Oh, when you take a bite into the kuih, you can taste grated coconut in slices amidst the flavorful and sweet temptation.

It is not easy to find this kuih everywhere on the streets of Malaysia, but if you do spot a stall selling cute little snacks in yellow/blue or metal boxes covered with plastic sheets, do ask them for it :)


A sweet treat to leave you for the weekend; we are enjoying a long weekend in conjunction with His Royal Highness's birthday; Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (title in Malay for the ruler of the country) which falls on Saturday (tomorrow).
We are getting Monday as a replacement holiday too; for some/most of the companies :)

Have a lovely weekend...I will be back, if not on Monday, then Tuesday it will be :p

Introducing a local snack - Muar Chee

For those who have not been to Malaysia or Penang, you probably would have heard of this island city which is famous for being the food paradise, not just in Malaysia alone, but the whole world.
Proudly known as the Pearl of the Orient, Penang is known to the locals and tourists alike as the food paradise/haven on earth and it is not a surprise to find many fans of the Penang delights and food with restaurants and cafes establishing their popularity by selling Penang food abroad.

As a Malaysian blogger, you would have seen that my blog covers a lot on the food found in Malaysia; particularly in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, both cities dear to my heart as they are both places where I call home.

Penang is truly a food paradise for food lovers as you will find all sorts of food available everywhere, and the best time, anytime!

There's food for every occasion; from breakfast to dinner and even those in-between meals. Well, it just goes to prove that Penangites (or Malaysians in general) love to eat, all the time

Muar Chee, is a type of local snack which is a popular favorite among the locals, especially in Penang although it can be found in other states too (rare but can be found if you're lucky)

It is a made of sticky glutinous rice dough; and cut up into shapes of all sorts to make the sticky rice balls (it does not have to be round).
The sticky rice balls/dough are then served with grounded peanuts and coarse white sugar; along with fried shallots (if you wish).

Muar Chee can be found on the streets; in the markets or the night markets and usually (though not always) it is an old man selling them on a push cart. The stall could be really small and there may be limited lighting but there will be a white sign with red words "Muar Chee" written across it.
You can choose the amount you would like to have; prices start as low as RM2 (~USD$0.65-.70) for a box like the above.

It's sweet, and really chewy, and obviously the main reason why Malaysians love this snack!

No limitation/restriction to the best time to consume this, as it is a snack and follow the Malaysian/Penangite style, eat whenever you feel like it :)

*Not recommended for diabetics*

Kuih Kosui

Found this at a morning market in Penang; the lovely Kuih Kosui.

This is a Nyonya kueh, which is a soft and sweet cake and can be found in two flavors; pandan and brown sugar.
The right way to eat this is with freshly grated coconut sprinkled on the cake.

It is shaped like a small bowl as that was the way it was made; by shaping the mixture mould in the bowl.


It can be quite sweet too, as the Nyonyas/Peranakans have a sweet tooth for their desserts and cakes (sweet treats).
Not one for sweet stuffs, I enjoyed this particular version very much as it was not too sweet and was just right for my taste.

Priced at RM0.60-0.80 per piece, this is definitely a great choice for afternoon snack or morning bite :)
Maybe someday, I will learn how to make it too ;)

How do you like your Apom?

The Chowrasta market area used to be the most crowded and merry market on the island; and home to hawkers and pedlars eager to make ends meet on a daily or weekly basis.

Previously I blogged about the Ban Cheng Kueh (aka Chinese pancake) stall which was reputed to be one of the most famous here.
Now, facing the stall is another stall which sells Apom; manned by an Indian couple.

At RM0.40 per piece, you can get a whole bagful of Apom at only RM2! (5 pcs)



It's not as sickeningly sweet as some of the Apom I've tasted; in fact, it seems to be low in sugar and light in flour batter.


Unfortunately though, they put it in the bag when it's hot from the pan!!
So by the time I tried a bite, it was already soggy!

Now, that's a bit disappointing, eh?
I don't really like too crispy; neither do I like soggy too...( I am hard to please, I know)

However, the tip is, always make sure that they leave it to cool before packing it for you (the folks selling it will make it a point to tell you that too; and will expect you to wait a few minutes for that - that's the pro)

Now, how do you like your Apom?