Another year, another chance for lion dancers to molest the unwary. The risk of a lion dancer catching aflame grows each year. The hanging iceberg lettuce attracts them. Welcome to the Chinese New Year. I had a vague plan to hit up some dumpling joints but was derailed by a newish Malaysian place: Old Town… Continue reading Gong Xi Fa Cai, Rendang
Category: Malaysian Food
Great balls of chicken rice
The apparent simplicity of Hainanese chicken rice is what makes it an addictive comfort food. It looks like simple steamed chicken and with fatty, chicken stock-cooked rice but is so fecund in people’s memories at it is impossible to begin to judge it. There are objectively bad plates of chicken rice replete with ropy strands… Continue reading Great balls of chicken rice
The last ditch
Saturday night market in Little India, Kuala Lumpur If you could choose your last meal in a country, what would it be? It’s a much more concrete question than some imagined last supper: unless you’re on death row or about to commit suicide then chances are you’ll have no power over the menu for your… Continue reading The last ditch
Satay and fondue, together at last
I never tire of regional novelties like cooking a skewer of something in a boiling pot of satay sauce, which constitutes something of a specialty in Melaka (Malacca), Malaysia and is the raison d’etre of Capitol Satay. This style of satay, satay celup, was (as far as I can find) invented by the owners of… Continue reading Satay and fondue, together at last
Cendol and pearls
These green worms are cendol (pronounced chen-dul), made from green pea flour flavoured with pandan leaves. They’re essential for making the dish that is their eponym: a combination of the worms, shaved ice, santan (the first extraction of coconut milk), gula (palm sugar) and often red beans. With a dish so simple, the only key… Continue reading Cendol and pearls
Kota Bharu’s Central Market
The central octagonal hall of Kota Bharu’s central market (Pasar Siti Khadijah) opens up like a cathedral devoted to the veneration of fresh Malaysian produce. A skylight illuminates the scene in a dull sepia glow throughout the day; upper levels providing a birds-eye view of the myriad proceedings below. By the crowded standard of Malaysia’s… Continue reading Kota Bharu’s Central Market
A sea of tea
I know very little about tea, apart from what you learn by osmosis from your Anglo-Australian grandparents. I can make a decent cup of black tea but tend to regard it as a sort of beverage bycatch; something that fits well alongside pho or yum cha or fruitcake. I have no idea how it is… Continue reading A sea of tea
The Wok Hei Economy
One of the great mysteries of eating in Penang is the economics of the hawker center. A group of vendors cluster around a kedai kopi, a cafe serving drinks and work almost independently of the cafe. Some pay rent, others are owned by the cafe, some seem to have agglomerated at a single point in… Continue reading The Wok Hei Economy