Chiffon Cake From Giant

My RM2.64 investment.

It's not a Giant chiffon cake, it's just a regular sized one. Did you find it punny? I guess only if you know Giant is a hypermarket in Malaysia, with its own house brands.

Anyhow, I picked one up at close out price and found it to be really, really good. It truly was light as air as chiffon is supposed to be. It also had really good texture and bite to it. While soft and fluffy, there is a certain sense of having had enough to eat after a slice. The orange flavouring was perfect - tangy and sweet enough, without giving away the fact that it is all orange essence and nary a pip out of the real fruit. Still, who's complaining?

An exceptional product, and quite unexpected from Giant!

Hand Crafted Fruit Rocks

Prettiness in a packet.

This is the last of the Chinese New Year goodies from my darling god daughter, Michelle. Yet another of the sweet offerings from Marks & Spencer, these pretty sweets are wonderful to look it; so cheery and sweet, and also good to eat.

You can tell right away what flavour this one is!

Featuring all-natural fruit flavours, the sweets come in blackcurrant, orange, pineapple and strawberry, and do not contain artificial colours and artificial flavouring. So what one gets is a lovely, chunky lolly with little centres shaped to resemble the fruit flavour of the particular sweet.

Each sweet is 145kJ in energy, making it not a very calorie-friendly suck, but the taste is satisfying, with one being enough to satisfy most sweet cravings.

One warning though: the sweets develop cracks and fissures as they are sucked and there is a very real possibility of gashing your tongue open or scraping the roof of your mouth when eating them!

Teacher Faridah's Fruit Cake (Buried Teasure)

One of Erin's teachers at Hilltop House is an accomplished baker. She is a tireless Soroptomist member and is always making some kind of treat to sell to raise funds, or to make someone's day. This Chinese New Year she gifted our family with a Christmas fruit cake, with the advice to let it mature.

This is it, all wrapped up and still being aged. If the pretty packaging does the cake justice, it will turn out a right treat! Watch this space!

East meets West packaging for what will hopefully be a fruitcake worth waiting for.

Dunkin, Suckin' Donuts

I'm just too sentimental for my own weight when it comes to food. Time and time have I proclaimed that Dunkin Donuts has had its heyday. Yet, I still cave and purchase them.

I tell you, it's the pink that draws me!

Today I was motivated a little by guilt that Kit was saddled with Erin while I went out for lunch and then an interview. Sweet stuff, as we all know, is a way to wheedle good will.

I just wish I was less expansive with my wheedling. Not only for the bottom line, but also on the off chance that the sweet selections were just not all that great. My RM12.70 box of six donuts fell squarely in this category.

Pretty is all that they have going for them!

I am not remembering wrong. Dunkin used to make great donuts, as they claim on their box. Why, as a young teen, I remember feeling so brave, leading my school mates on an excursion to Bukit Bintang, by cab no less, to the one and only Dunkin Donuts store then. We bought boxes, thanks to my generous allowance, and we gorged on them. And that was when their Munchkins (donut hole minis) were still true parts of the donut range, as opposed to fancy dressed boring old yeast donuts.

Today, I feel as if Dunkin has hit rock bottom in taste and texture. Part of my six were erstwhile, flag bearing flavours. But they tasted nothing like they used to. The strawberry frosted used to be a plain yeast donut with amazingly rice, yummy strawberry frosting. Today, the donut dough is stawberry flavoured and coloured, and with very cheap, synthetic flavour as well. It was down right bilious, like one of those cheap biscuits you'd find being hocked in primary schools.

Saving grace in a Sweetheart?

One of their new donuts was this Sweetheart. It's a yeast donut filled with raspberry jam, topped with vanilla frosting and multicoloured hearts. Of course I bought it for a three-and-a-half year old! Of course it was the one she picked out from the box! Thankfully it passed Erin's taste test, but the amount of jam in it was alarming. It also looked a bit macabre spread all over her face!

The smiling faced one had lemon frosting and a lemon custard interior which was passingly good. However the Oreo crusted one was only worth the crumbled cookie topping, to say nothing of the terrible let down of the one cake donut I bought - this again an icon from the Nineties, the double chocolate. It lacked the richness of chocolate, and its topping was slick in looks and mouthfeel - a sure indication the chocolate was palm oil based.

Yet, the box has been consumed. Late night writing calls for late night sustenance, and good taste checks out after midnight.

Will a box of six grace my table again? I'd like to say never again, but my penchant for absolutes has been proven wrong too many times...

Toblerone One By One (Major Letdown)

Toblerone! They used to be the in vogue chocolate to bring back from vacation. Once primarily available at the duty free counters in airports in Malaysia, they are one of the most iconic chocolates in the world, with their triangular shape, and the distinctive red block lettering.

For a long time there was only the original Toblerone - the yellow beige boxed one. Then came the white chocolate one, which I thought was even yummier. Then came the dark chocolate in its black packaging. Finally, small bars appeared on the grocery candy racks, but by that time, I was no longer a kid and way too caught up in gastronomy to think about chocolate.

Toblerone came back on my radar when bestie number five, Lim Ying May included mini versions of the chocolate in her daughter's full-moon gift box. I pulled a face when I ate it. It was so different from the ones I remembered, from the time when Swiss chocolate meant Swiss made, and not Swiss-name-borrowed and manufactured in countries with temperatures doubling that of the hottest Swiss summers in history.

I passed it off as perhaps being a slightly off product. Then Nana bought this box for Erin.

Goodbye to an icon.

And this food lover's soul shrivelled just a bit. It was a lovely box and idea. The contents were individual triangles of Toblerone wrapped in shiny wrapper with the chocolate brand. But face value is as far as it went. Though the package says the product was made in Switzerland, something must have gone wrong in the way Kraft foods, which now owns the brand, is making them these days.

To put it bluntly, the chocolate tasted cheap. It could have been something made in Indonesia with palm oil. There was a staleness to it, like inferior, mouldy cocoa. it was also way too sweet, as if sugar was used to mask the non existence or lack of the signature honey nougat. The almond nibs also felt stale, flat, with no crunch, like nuts left out of an airtight bin.

Just looks just don't cut it anymore.

This may well be one of the saddest things to happen to an iconic food brand. As I write I know I will not be buying any Toblerone product ever again. If I am given some, I will try to be as objective as possible when I review it, but I have the gut feeling that it won't be getting any better any time soon.

Ricola

As a kid I would watch dad remove the yellow lid off the squat paper canister of Ricola Swiss Herb Candy and wonder why anyone would eat black sweets. As I grew older, dad offered me a taste, and though I was never a fan, I did grow to identify the taste and perhaps even appreciate the complexity of mixing up herbs for a efficacious yet pleasant tasting candy.

These days I rarely see the old dark brown hard candies. Mostly on the shelves are the pastilles which both Kit and I abhor for their tacky consistency and the layer of slime which develops when you suck the gum-based bullet. The hard candy in their small boxes are still a better representation of the brand's products, although the dark brown candy is not among the variants.

The cranberry variant is not a throat easer, so pick the blue ones for relief.

A recent Guardian sale at IPC in Mutiara Damansara saw these Ricola boxes going for RM3 each. I bought a few, doubling up on the extra strong ones for Kit's throat tickles. All are sugar free, and taste good. However, the minty ones are the most effective in assisting with the ahems.

The other fruity flavours like the cranberry does nothing for the elevation of coughs and sore throats. They are best relegated to mouth fresheners for those, who, like me, sing for a church congregation at the crazy hour of 6.45am!

Chef Tony's Gourmet Popcorn (A-maize-ing Business)

It seems that gourmet popcorn is the current big thing in the snack food world in Malaysia. With movie popcorn defined and dominated by the Golden Screen Cinemas group, savvy manufacturers are now targeting the out-of-movie munchers, and tempting them with an array of flavours.

Gourmet popcorn kiosks and boutiques are already in KLCC and Sunway Pyramid, and they cost about the same as the other caramel popcorn indulgence, Poppycock. My new discovery however, is still to be had only in Johor.

The Creamy Parmesan was my RM17.80 indulgence.

Chef Tony's Gourmet Popcorn comes from the Philippines, that land of the sweet-toothed wonders. It is available in seven variants: original caramel, country cheddar, mochachino, white chocolate, creamy parmesan, creamy cinnamon and sugar free original caramel. In some markets there is also green tea, Belgian butter, dark chocolate and white choco parmesan.

I had the opportunity to try all flavours at a kiosk in KSL City Mall in Johor Baru. I have to say there is not a dud in all the range. All of them taste great, with a very specific flavour palette. The only common denominator is the fact that they are all sweet, even if they are cheesy.

The kernels are air popped to perfection, resulting in evenly round nuggets of corn, with nary a single old maid (that's the term for unpopped kernels of corn, thank you GSC) in the tub. The tubs come in large or small sizes. Oddly though, there is a weight variant from flavour to flavour. For instance, the small tub of original caramel is 170 grams, while the same size for country cheddar is 185 grams. There is also a price difference, which I think is a terrible, terrible marketing strategy. It's like Campbell's pricing their cream of chicken differently from their cream of mushroom. It just causes confusion.

Prices range from RM13.80 for a small tub of original caramel to RM19.80 for the green tea, Belgian butter and dark chocolate flavours. Large tubs are priced from RM22.80 for original caramel to RM29.80 for the luxury flavours above. The white choco parmesan is only available in a large 420 gram tub for RM29.90.

Chef Tony's kiosks are limited to Johor Baru (Sutera Mall, Level 3, Jusco Taman Universiti UG Floor, AEON Bukit Indah Level 2) but they offer free delivery within Johor for every five tubs purchased, and free delivery within Malaysia under certain terms.

Uncle Tony's Gourmet Popcorn
Authorized Distributor
Dream Snacks
11 Jalan Seroja 47
Taman Johor Baru
Tel: +013 720 9797

Laffy Taffy

Anyone remember the ads in Archie comics from the Eighties, before the Digests came out? Sea monkeys, x-ray specs, Pokey and Gumby? And of course, Laffy Taffy!

Throughout the years I have managed to try, buy and eat most of the things I saw advertised in those American comics. The sea monkeys were a washout (forgive me if I truly did kill innocent lives by flushing a quart of water down the toilet), the x-ray specs a myth debunked even without need to purchase, and Humdingers eaten at the first chance I got.

Once is enough!

However, I only ate Laffy Taffy for the first time a few months ago. Christmas is getting to be the time when there are a lot of one-time imports of candy brands usually not available in Malaysia. Erin's Nana bought this box of Laffy Taffy as part of the little gifts on her Christmas tree.

I have to say it was pretty anti climactic for me, the first taste of Laffy Taffy (named so because there is a joke on the wrapper of each piece of candy). For one, the composition of the candy is not suited to Malaysian weather, so it was sticky right out of the wrapper. Secondly, the pieces were too big to eat confortably and I really dislike biting into candy. Thirdly, although I count watermelon among my top favourite fake fruit flavours (cherry is tops!), I think I prefer the cheaper option of Sugus, if I ever suddenly hanker for chewy candy.

Still, I guess it's good to lay to rest finally the wondering of what these pop culture food items are!

Honey Bumbles (Eating Kiwi)

With the way food prices are soaring, it feels as it there is also a carbon tax imposed on imported foods. As such, I'm buying local as much as I can, but I really do feel some of our locally manufactured cereals are way too sweet. Erin, my near four year old, has been having Cheerios as her cereal base since she could eat solids. They are about the least sugar coated cereal I can find in KL without paying an arm or a leg (cornflakes tend to tickle her throat and cause her to choke, so that option is out).

Because she was brought up eating well, she does not really relish most sweet cereals. She detests Honey Stars by Nestle, shudders at Frosties. However, she will eat Froot Loops as a treat.

Looming expiry dates are nothing when the food moves fast!

At Cold Storage at IPC last week, I found a New Zealand brand of cereal on the clearance rack. Yes, it is honey, and honey is sugar, but I thought I'd try Erin on it. And guess what? It's the first cereal she has eaten with milk! While I'm not going to be getting it on a regular basis (too sweet, too pricey on usual days), this was a nice little treat.

Giant Noodles (From Pack To Chic)

Kit is the noodle man in the household. He eats instant noodles at five times the rate I do, so he knows his stuff. Recently, because I could not find the No Frills brand of curry noodles in Giant where I shop (by convenience, not by choice, because I am truly, truly, a Tesco lover), I padded the noodle pantry with Giant mee goreng as well as No Frills chicken flavoured instant noodles.

The humble noodles.

Kit said they were passable, but the flavouring sachets weren't as tasty as other brands. He specifically mentioned Nusantara. He volunteered to make me a portion, and he possibly spoilt all further mee goreng for me, since he turned this humble packet of freeze dried food into a really pretty meal.

All dressed up!

True photographer that he is, Kit prepared the noodles to resemble a restaurant dish. He topped the instant fried noodles with a fried egg, sliced up Taiwanese pork sausage and swirled tomato ketchup on them, and chopped up some daun kadok from our garden. The result was a really Asian-infused meal. If the flavour sachets did not quite live up to expectation, this combination did. The ketchup heightened the spiciness of the flavouring, while the peppery, herby taste of the kadok leaves gave the dish a whole new, authentically Asian taste and feel.

It's amazing what one can do when one understands flavours and how they work with each other!

Kenanga Non Halal Food Court (Amazing Grade)

Food courts in Malaysia are not like those in Singapore. Across the Causeway, people crowd food courts because many hawkers have moved to these cleaner, more controlled environments, bringing their specialties with them. In KL, food courts are placebos. They make us full, but in rarity do not really do anything for real gastronomic experiences.

All this changed for me when I experienced the food court at the newly opened Kenanga Wholesale City. This mall is one of the newest in the city. Unlike the crop of high end stores, this one is down to earth. It is, as its name says, a wholesale mall, which is also open to the public for retail sales. Some shops post signs on their windows saying they are only for wholesalers, meaning ten pieces and above of an item. Others welcome both wholesalers and retail shoppers who are realizing just how much cheaper clothes and trinkets can be when purchased without the middleman.

The mall is a bit overwhelming in that there are three floors dedicated to women's apparel, two to men's and children, one to Muslim wear, and one to bags and luggage and accessories. It's a lot of walking and it can get very, very overwhelming.

As such, any option to rest is welcomed, and the sign for a non-halal food court on level seven really piques the interest. That any food court in this increasingly and concernedly more pro Islamic leaning country dares to be non halal is nearly as shocking as it is intoxicating.

Kenanga food court goes boldly forth into non halal territory. Yay!

The clean, bright food court is really a nice place. First off, it is cheery and modern. The white and orange furniture adds energy to the place, and the individual kiosks look clean and inviting.

However, the real ascent to greatness is the food. There is nothing merely passable or tolerable about the items we ordered. Across the board, everything we sampled was in the upper tier for taste, some surpassing restaurant food, others holding their own with some notable hawkers trading the same item.

A dedicated Hokkien mee stall. With lard!

Instead of calling themselves the noodle kiosk, the Hokkien mee kiosk proudly spelled out their best dish. Sure, they also did the other tai chow noodles dishes like loh mee (thick yellow noodles in thick soup) and kung ku chow (Cantonese noodles in gravy) but Hokkien mee was what they were about.

The Hokkien mee was even served on a banana leaf!

And it was great Hokkien mee. Certainly worth the 15 minute wait, the noodles were firm yet soft enough. They were coated with a high quality thick, black soya sauce which had been given enough time in the wok to slightly caramelize, bringing the signature smokey flavour to the dish. Well worth the RM8.90 price, since it also had quite a bit of sliced pork and prawns in it.

The future of fried kuey teow may be in Kenanga!

The fried kuey teow was as good. Again, the noodles were just moist enough, to give that slightly sticky feel which bonds the egg and flat rice noodles together. The bean sprouts were fresh and plentiful, and the cockles the perfect consistency for the dish, which is just about cooked and still plump and reddish.

Just ducky. And porky.

Roasted meat platter.

Dad ordered a combination of roast meats to share, and these were good too. The duck was succulent and not too fat or greasy; the roasted pork was right up Kit's alley, being mostly lean meat, and the char siew was sweet, with a slight sticky top. A really good mix of items for RM10.

The best Korean in any food court, ever!

I had some of the most delicious Korean food at this food court too. Sure, the food took time, but it was made from scratch, by a real Korean (okay, so the Korean took orders and assembled when the Myanmar sous did the cooking, but let's not split hairs!), with very good ingredients.

Delicious dol sot bibimbap.

The rice in stone bowl (dol sot bibimbap) set in beef and with kimchi soup was RM19.90, about the price of the dish in Kimchi Korean in Tropicana City Mall, but the flavours and the quality of the dish were so much better. There was a real, distinctive flavour of Korea, with the gamey beef, the sweet bean sauce, sesame vegetables and slightly crunchy rice coming together beautifully.

Tteok bokki (rice cake noodles).

The spicy, sweet, chewy rice cake noodles was another hit. Many places don't offer Tteok Bokki, as they feel it lacks appeal. But the Teochew in me finds synergy with this Korean ingredient simply because the Teochews have these rice sticks too. However, I much prefer the Korean style of preparation with the sweet, spicy sauce infused with blended chilli and chives. The vegetables are barely cooked, giving the dish crunch via the cabbage and spring onions, while the constant is the toothsome, quite calming effort of chewing, chewing, chewing the rice cake. At RM11.90, this is a dish I'll keep ordering if I can find enough people to eat it with since the portion though not large in size, is really filling.

Drinks were not the steepest in town, by far. Mineral water cost RM1.80 a bottle, and there are a few interesting drinks, such as homebrewed sugar cane and eight treasures tea.

Towering ice mountain.

The ice kacang was a heaping, towering mound of pink and brown ice, quite finely shaven, with the usual nuts, chendol and cincau interior. RM3.50 was pretty fair for the large helping, I think.

Pulut hitam.

The black glutinous rice soup was a tad too thick for me (possibly being from being kept on boil in crock pots all day), but had the right flavour, and was not skimpy on coconut milk. At RM3 a bowl, it is as filling as a full meal for small appetites.

If the quality of food at the rest of the stalls are as good as what we already tried, this place is going to be a hit. I have already ear marked the claypot rice, sizzling noodles and old fashioned toast and kaya to try on my next visit. It would seem it's looking that I will bypass the six floors of stuff in order to stuff my face on the seventh!

Kenanga Food Court
7th Floor
Kenanga Wholesale City

Jalan Gelugor

Kuala Lumpur

Get directions

‎

Tel: +603 9221-8081

KGNS' New Indian Foodstall

They didn't say goodbye! I was away from KGNS for a while, and when I returned there were new food display cases at the site of the Indian food caterer, no sign of my friendly server Ratna, and a new roti canai man! The last was was a good thing, as the previous caterer had had great difficulty in looking for a new roti maker when their old one had to return to Sri Lanka, and were then forced to pre-make rotis and send them to the club in warmers. Bluch!

I finally tried the new caterers this week, and I am glad to say the food is good. Their roti canai maker may not be as friendly as the old guy, but maybe in time he will learn my orders by heart. Meanwhile, we tested his wares with a paper thosai, plain roti and chappati.

Cone of delight: the paper thosai.

The paper thosai (RM1.50) could have been more crisp, but the flavour was good - it was both sour and nutty enough, and went really well with the fish curry, which was also very, very good. Again, there was the right blend of spices, the perfect balance of heat and sourness which makes one's mouth water and the appetite unfold like a hungry anemone.

Currying favour with ease.

The roti canai (RM1.20) was decent, though a bit ill-shaped. It tasted fine though, but could have been a bit more crisp. The same went with the roti telur (RM2), and I would have liked more onion as well as a few thinly sliced green chillies for bite.

Rather pale, but passable roti telur.

RM2 is a bit pricey for chappati, but this was good stuff.

The RM2 chappati was good - gut stickingly thick, very nice textured and with a clean, fresh flavour from the atta flour used. The big let down was the potato which accompanied it. The dish was seeped in ginger and parsley to such a degree that I could not choke down a bite of it. It sat completely untouched, and I probably will stick to dhall the next time I have chappati.

Coffee Dreamers (Highly Starred Coffee)

I recently interviewed a really nice guy. The General Manager of The Royale Bintang Kuala Lumpur, Kamaruddin Baharin was completely 180 degrees from what I expected a local hotelier of a local hotel chain to be. In fact, he has had such an interesting life, and he certainly does more in his free time than most other expat GMs I know.

I got to know him as a person after the formal interview, when he bought me a drink at the hotel's own specialty  coffee cafe, Coffee Dreamers. As the name suggests, Coffee Dreamers brings together elements of good coffees, and mixes them up into dreamy creations. I had an ice blended drink called Fantasy, and it really was a good drink.

A Fantasy come true!

The coffee was a full bodied blend, with very nice caramel undertones. It was blended with cookies and frappe powder, swirled through with a chocolate sauce ribbon and topped with whipped cream. It had a gorgeous sense of completeness about it: akin to a real meal, and I was very glad that this was a Malaysian creation. At RM13.90, it is on par with Starbucks and the other gourmet coffees, and I dare say I would choose Malaysian over Big Green if push came to shove the next time around!

Coffee Dreamers
Lobby, The Royale Bintang Kuala Lumpur
17-21 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2143 9898

Pontian Noodles (Echoes Of The South)

It would see that the South of Malaysia can't shake its hold on me! Fresh home from Johor, my dad takes me out to dinner to a restaurant which has its roots in Johor. Famed for its wantan mee, Pontian Noodle Restaurant claims that it is one of the biggest sellers of wantan mee, citing its all-natural ingredients for the noodles' springy consistency and good bite.

Carb, protein and veggies - here's your food pyramid. Or something like that.

While not exactly blown away, I have to say the wantan noodles were quite good. And they were quite affordable too. Three helpings, which came with wantan dumplings inside the noodles, and a side bowl of soupy wantan dumplings, came up to RM11.70.

The laksa was so-so though.

The Singapore laksa was nothing to crow about. Having eaten really fabulous versions in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, I knew this was a washed out version, with nary enough fragrant spices as the original. The rice noodles were smooth and fine, and the fish cake fresh and crunchy, but the gravy, which is the crux of all noodle dishes, was watery and lacking in body. Not something I would recommend for RM6.

Found it, I have!

As though to mock my futile gastronomic efforts, this place served up a really good tao suan (mung bean porridge). It was everything that putrid concoction served in the Johor Baru tea house was not. It has soft, mushy to the bite beans, proving it had been cooked long enough, there was enough sugar, and the starchy base was clear, without being a  mucilage substitute. While one could count the pieces of yu tiao in the bowl, it was clearly a case of quality over quantity, as the yu tiao was still crisp and fresh. At RM3 it was cheaper than the one in JB too!

A cool way to end dinner.

My cold dessert was the honey dew sago (RM4. This was good too! The milk base was just sweet enough, but did not overpower the natural fragrance of the honey dew and watermelon. The sago pearls were as good as Kit's, and the overall combination of the elements was one of refreshing goodness.

Pontian Noodles
15 Jalan SS2/64 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Golfers' Terrace, KGNS (A Clubby Lunch)

Despite the recent FaceBook uproar about the way our club has different membership rates for different races, I continue to patronize the place. For one, I'm not sure how long we can hold the wolves at bay, since there is news that the government wants back the land the club is built on. For another, it is close to my residence, meaning I pollute less eating there as opposed to ranging far and wide for food. Thirdly, food is good (for the most parts) and economical. Plus, it is also a conducive environment to chat and host friends.

My friend to be fed today was bestie number three, Poh Gaik. This is what we had:

The best rojak in Selangor, in the comfort of the club.

Thai tofu, with the fabulously soft interior and the crisp exterior.

We also ordered from the Italian section, but sadly, the quality seems to have deteriorated.

The calamari rings were undersalted and insipid.

Kit said the pizza crust was stodgy.

The spaghetti arabiata was way too peppery, and the sauce was completely from the can, with very little done to personalize it.

Warung Nelayan Tanjung Piai (Southern Hospitality)

If you are ever in the vicinity of the southernmost tip of continental Asia, do pop into Tanjung Piai. Apart from the restaurant at Tanjung Piai Resort that provided us with breakfast and dinner at really decent prices, there is a humble little shack on stilts beside the resort.

Warung Nelayan Tanjung Piai is set up by the fisherman's association of Tanjung Piai, and provides good, cheap, homestyle Malay food catering predominantly to the fisherfolk and families of the cape. Run by Asmawi Bin Mohd and his wife, Lin, this little stall serves food from 7.30am to about 8pm.

Asmawi Bin Mohd making his super roti canai.

Asmawi has worked in the food business since he left school, and has progressed from dish washer to cook, learning all the tricks of the trade on the way up. He makes a really good roti canai, which is available throughout the day.

Great roti canai for under a Ringgit!

The roti is crisp and fluffy, with really good texture and bite. And for less than a ringgit, it is one of the cheapest meals to be had in the vicinity. Be informed, however, that the cats who roam the stall also think highly of Asmawi's roti and will paw your leg in hopes of a share!

My gift from a fisherman!

The kilah is the size on my hand, and is considered a small specimen!

Asmawi and Lin were nice enough to prepare a meal from a big shell which was given to me by a fisherman who caught it in his net while I was at sea with some of his friends. This large shell, called a 'kilah' is beautiful when  pulled from the sea. It is vividly striped, dark brown and ochre yellow, and can reach up to a kilogram in size.

The kilah curry was a killer! It was super good!

The one I was given is a smaller one, yet it was about as large as my palm. Lin cleaned it by steeping it in water, then Asmawi cooked it is a curry of garlic, onion and fish curry powder. It was really delicious. Any food is best eaten fresh, and this was only out from the sea for 20 minutes before it was devoured. The meat is chewy - a much more leathery version of escargot, but with softer parts at both ends of the snail.

Lokan from Tanjung Piai.

Lokan in garlic, chilli and ginger broth, made by Asmawi.

Another shellfish that calls Tanjung Piai home is the 'lokan'. The locals say that those found in Piai are the best tasting - a lot more sweet and tender, because they feed on the rich mangrove mud. Lin was able to get some local boys to dig for a batch for me, and Asmawi cooked these as well, in a simple ginger and chilli soup. Man, they are good! Salty sweet from the sea, with a burst of flavour in the soft centre. I tipped the boys RM10 for the lot, which they said was way too much, but it was worth my experience!

I was charged a mere RM9 for a plate of rice, the cooking of the two shellfish, and the five or six glasses of iced lime juice Kit and I downed that afternoon. Yum, yum, yum!

Last Night at Tanjung Piai (Greed & Punishment)

Flush from a successful day, where I managed to get the local fishermen to take us out to sea in order to photograph other fishermen at work, I was ready to celebrate. I fancied crab, and of course the resort's restaurant would have it. Unfortunately, I forgot that the crab I wanted was the kind forbidden to Muslims. Mud crabs live in two worlds, the sea and land, and in the Koran, creatures of two habitats are anathema, unkosher or haram.

Butter crabs, RM24.

Sweet and sour crabs, RM24.

As such, the crabs the Muslims do eat are the sea or flower crabs. And that is what were served up. Kit dismissed both styles. The butter crabs were too salty, and the sweet and sour too chilli hot. Which left me to crack and dismember, until I got a cramp in my hand. I won't be wanting to eat this kind of crab for a long, long time! While I thought both styles were okay, I found that the crabs were cooked way too throughly. The meat was shriveled, specifically at the extreme ends like the claws and pincers, which are normally the best, most meaty part of the crabs. Also, the crabs were not cut properly, coming up whole on the dish. It was impossible to break through the sharp ridged claws, and most of them were left abandoned. The kitchen should have cracked them open before serving, or given us some nut crackers or even a small hammer.

Crab eating is thirsty work, and Kit had a pineapple juice for his labours. I really like how the restaurant staff did not try to push more bottles of mineral water on to us, but suggested a carafe of iced water instead. I was again very pleased to see that there was no charge for the water. Only in Tanjung Piai!

Our drinks at the last dinner.

We opted for noodles for dinner, and I chose the Kung Fu style noodles for Kit. He deemed it 'good', and it certainly was a bountiful helping, with lots of seafood and veggies. For RM4.50 it was real value for money, and prompted Kit to lay down the law that from our next trips, I was to order just one plate dishes for him and nothing else. Gulp! Boredom looms!

Kung Fu style yee mee.

 I opted for tomyam noodles with rice vermicelli and I was surprised at the variety of seafood that was packed into this RM4.50 bowl. There were crabs, prawns, squid, fishball, not to mention vegetables. It really was worth the price, and nearly made me despair of finishing the meal!

Tomyam noodles were the best deal of the night.

Also on the table at this last supper was a big plate of kangkong (morning glory). It would seem that veggies are cooked in this one style at the resort - with minced red chillies and garlic and stock. I don't mind it at all, but Kit, for some reason did not take to it at all, so I ended up polishing off the whole RM9 plate by myself!

By some twist of fate, it was not me who woke at one am complaining of food poisoning. Which proves that selective eating is not the surest way to keep travel illnesses away. Sometimes luck is the biggest factor!

If this was not my entire daily recommended serving of veggies, I wonder what is!