Food Finds
There are two types of travelers, the one that plans for everything including transportation, hotel, point of interests, and which restaurants (and sometimes what to eat) to dine in; then there’s the type who likes to have a bit of surprises and a sense of adventure. It’s not surprise which type is me, and luckily, my brother is pretty much the same.
pork offal soup with rice, breakfast of champions
One of those adventures brought us to this pork offal soup with rice place when we went to Bangkok over CNY with mom.
This little stall is located on Soi Sukhumvit 55, the road in which we walk by on the way from our hotel to the Thong Lo BTS Station (Bangkok Mass Transit System, not that Korean boy group thingy..)
What intrigued us was how busy the stall is, and that it is seemingly a slice of time capsule wedged in between two roles of shop houses in this increasingly modern city that is Bangkok. So we did a bit of pointing here and there and had our orders for brunch.
blood, intestine, kidney, liver, and meat
As it turns out, they serve only one dish – pork offal soup with rice, and yep, just like Klang, there are people who has rice and porky goodness as breakfast.
the stall is wedged between two buildings
The soup came with a good mix of coagulated blood, intestine, kidney, liver, and pork slices, the soup is quite flavorful if slightly too salty for my taste, there’s also generous amount of cilantro to provide some balance to those fatty bits. The chili sauce condiment accompanying the dish is rather spicy too, as you’d expect from Thailand.
It was overall a rather yummy dish and one of the best meals we had in Bangkok. For 35-40 baht per bowl, this was also one of the more affordable meals too.
there’s a coffee stall next to it too
Address:
Pork Offal Soup (Opposite El Gaucho)
Soi Sukhumvit 55,
THONGLOR KLONGTON NUA
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, Thailand
GPS: 13.730904, 100.581437
Penangites always love a proper plate of char kuih teow and would usually regards CKT prepared by non Penang Hokkien as a bit of suspect. So naturally, most of us probably won’t sample char kuih teow manned by a Malay operator, since it’s .. well, usually not at all similar to the “original” version in which we’re familiar with.
It’s a game of fire and showmanship
However, being a food writer, it is also very important to be open and be willing to try all sorts of food and dishes, including those that may looked to be going against my “cultural heritage”, a decision which brought me to many wonderful surprises and great experience, including this kuih teow basah stall at SS15 that I tried a short while ago.
The stall operates out of a van usually parked just outside the SS15 wet market on Jalan SS15/8a. There’ll be a few ad hoc tables set up right next it, comfort isn’t of any particular emphasis.
The cooking though, was a bit of a show, with flames threatening to blow up the entire operations, though any experienced hawker adventurer would find this a welcoming sight. And indeed it was!
simple looking kuih teow basah, but oh so delicious
The resulting plate of kuih teow was nothing like the type I’m familiar with, it came with kuih teow (of course), egg, bean sprout, cockles, and a couple prawns with shells still on. It was also really wet, and spicy in a way that’s different from what I’m used to, yet it was very delicious in its own way, with the sauce packing a strong sweet seafood flavor and the dish having its own “wok hei” if you will.
If you’re a fan of kuih teow, give this a try as well, you may be surprised.
Address:
Kuih Teow Basah Food Truck
Jalan SS15/8a (outside wet market)
Subang Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.074237, 101.587796
Hours: night
For those who stays outside of Klang and Shah Alam, Klang seems like a destination that seems to be quite.. far. However, there are two sides of Klang, before and after the Klang River, for destination before the river, it is actually just 15 minutes from Subang, so if you were to drive to places such as Medan Selera 128, it doesn’t really require planning ahead for 3 weeks and getting visa approved by your home minister.
And the best part is, you can find some unique dishes not easily found in other parts of Greater KL.
128 food court, Klang
For example, one of these unique dishes is Hailam Rice, as offered by one of the stalls located at the rear part of Medan Selera 128.
Yeap, you read it right, Hailam rice, and not Hailam chicken rice.
Hailam rice turns out to be a dish consists of the following different ingredients:
Hailam Rice @ Klang
The braised meat/egg/tofu skin side is quite a familiar taste that you’ll be able to find at any good teow chew porridge shop, and the intestine + pork blood soup not too different from a good pork stomach soup. Both these dishes were executed quite on point at this particular stall, with proper seasoning, and pork cuts that was perfect and well cooked.
The sticky curry sauce though, was something quite unique, it’s almost like a cross between Japanese curry and Loh Mee’s “loh” soup, something that I haven’t really acquired the taste on just yet. If you’re new to this dish like me, I’d suggest asking for this sauce to be served separately and pace it out. Good thing is, their sambal is hot and really adds to the whole experience.
egg, pork, tofu, blood, intestine, curry rice
For RM 10, this was a rather sumptuous and satisfying meal, and it won’t be the last time I order a serving of Hailam Rice.
Address:
Medan Selera 128
Jalan Mantin, Kawasan 18,
41400 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.053676, 101.448358
Several weeks ago when my family was in town, we decided to meet up my cousin & extended family for a bit of a catch up session, and when you stay near Klang, the obvious option is bak kut teh, so that’s how we ended up at Ki Heong bak kut teh.
Ki Heong Bak Kut Teh, Bukit Tinggi Klang
Ki Heong (not to be confused by Kee Heong at Taman Eng Ann) is located at Bukit Tinggi, occupying two shop lots with one side fully air conditioned.
This is perhaps one of the best things anyone’s done to bak kut the – having it served in climate controlled environment! I mean, hot soup and hot weather doesn’t work so well together otherwise, right? Perhaps this is why bkt is often preferred as breakfast when it isn’t sweaty hot out.
The bak kut teh here comes in either soup or dry versions with a variety of different cuts to choose from. For those who loves pork fat, “pua pui chiak” (half fat, half lean), “tua kut” (big pone), and “seh kut” (small bones) are some of the cuts you should go for.
Additionally, you can also order innards such as stomach and intestine here. You can have these on a separate bowl in case some may not want them next to their meat, which is a bit of a shame, really!
dry bkt, soup bkt, and innards
The dry bkt here is certainly competent, rich in flavor and as usual, comes with a bit of dry chili and some okra slices to gives it a bit of character. Soup version is pretty decent here as well, while it isn’t the thickest, there’s still good herbal note, and they are happy to refill the clay pot as much and as often as you like.
As for the meat, I thought they are just slightly firmer than some of the best ones in Klang, though by no means anywhere close to “tough” territory. Overall this is a pretty decent bkt outlet that’s made better by having air conditioned dining area and unlimited soup. Not a bad choice really.
Bak Kut Teh is always best with a big group
Address:
Ki Heong Bak Kut Teh
Bukit Tinggi No. 28,
Jalan Bayu Tinggi 2A,
Batu Unjur, Klang
41200 Selangor
GPS: 3.011611, 101.439157
Quite a few moons ago I went up to Cameron Highland for the second time in my life, and as with the last time, I was not entirely prepared by how long the winding road was, and how tiring a drive that can be, not to mention how frustrating it can get when you’re stuck being a vegetable laden lorry going at 30 km/h.
So, Cameron isn’t as much about the journey as it is about the destination, and one of the destinations to check out would be Water Cress Valley Farm & Restaurant.
Water Cress Valley Steamboat
Water Cress Valley, like the menu stated, is both a farm and a restaurant. Right beneath the semi-alfresco (the only way to dine in Cameron Highland) is a beautiful water cress farm. I suppose the water cress served here at this restaurant is right from the farm, and other vegetables most likely from the highland as well, but I’m just guessing.
Since Cameron Highland is many hours away from the closest fishing village, ordering seafood at this part of Malaysia would be a pretty silly thing to do. Hence we went with their vegetarian charcoal steamboat set to complete the farm to table experience.
They do offer chicken, deer meat, lamb, and seafood options, I believe this establishment is pork free.
Cameron Highland is famous for vege so..
The fancy charcoal pot did take a while to heat up, but once it got going that thing was ferocious. There’s no such thing as “turning down the heat, aunty” option. In a way, this sorta forced you to eat at a pace dictated by dead wood.
The watercress based soup was quite interesting in its taste, it was light, subtle, and perhaps lack sophistication. To be honest I thought we could also use a bit more leafy vegetables than what was provided, but there’s plenty of mushroom though so that’s a plus.
vegetarian steamboat set
Overall, the experience of dining in at Cameron Highland climate and freshness of produce makes up for the lack of fancy flavor and different condiments. If you’re already on the highland, this would be a place to visit, I wouldn’t suggest a 4 hour drive from KL just for this though.
Address:
Watercress Valley
Lot UT/KF/F 160, 159,
Batu 44, Jalan Besar, Tringkap,
39100 Tanah Rata, Pahang
GPS: 4.508113, 101.416869
Tel: 012-506 3252
