Food Finds
A couple months ago we took a short driving trip to the winding roads that led us to Bentong, and while at Bentong, I thought why not check out the famous tofufa shop at “Bentong Tau Fu Sdn Bhd“?
Bentong Tau Fu Sdn Bhd
The shop is located within walking distance from the wet market where all the action is at. Like the name suggests, they offer homemade tofu for anyone who is handy in the kitchen, but additionally, they also server tofufa and soya bean drinks.
The tofufa, or tofu pudding, soya beancurd if you like, is what we were here for. While the smooth texture is really good, what stands out here is the unique ginger based syrup made from the famous Bentong ginger which really adds to the overall flavor.
tofu and tofufa (tofu pudding) with ginger syrup
We also bought a couple squares of tofu home with the intent to make a steamed fish dish out of them, and obviously proceed to immediately have the purchase erased from our minds, resulting in zero review of the tofu & a slightly heavier trash bag weeks later.
peanut kuih
Oh, and if you’re dining the famous wantan mee at Yuen Kee restaurant and someone comes up offering you these peanut kuih, get them! They’re abslutely delicoius, and you’d end up having a lot of flour all around the mouth too. Good stuff.
Address:
Bentong Tau Fu Sdn Bhd
Jalan Pasar,
28700 Bentong, Pahang
GPS: 3.522974, 101.906858
Tel: 012-988 5112
In Malaysia, when the weather is hot, the answer is always Cendol or Ais Kacang, and today, we’re going to talk about one of the better Cendols here in Shah Alam – Cendol Pak Akob
Cendol Pak Akob, Seksyen 16 Shah Alam
Located outside the mosque at Shah Alam Seksyen 16, Cendol Pak Akob is no stranger to the locals and students of UiTM, the huge university nearby.
The cendol is operated from one of those original food truck that’s been around for decades (one where the operator stands by the side instead of INSIDE the truck). Thankfully, they also prepared a number of tables and chairs complete with giant umbrellas for your convenience.
cendol is always perfect for hot weather
Pak Akob offers basic cendol (RM 1.50) with a few additions:
love my cendol with pulut or tapai
Of course, you can also mix & match from the above “extra” ingredients as you wish. My favorite is tapai, the fermented glutinous rice that carries a slightly sourish taste that matches really well with the sweet nature of cendol.
On a hot day just after you have a good meal of bak kut teh in Klang, this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Address:
Cendol Pak Akob
Persiaran Selangor
Seksyen 16, Shah Alam
GPS: 3.060802, 101.507710
Tel: 012-604 0757
Hours: after lunch
Looking to expand my bak kut teh experience just a bit more, I took little Chaly on a bit of an excursion and came upon this familiar little corner extension by the name of Ah Soh Bak Kut Teh by Jalan Batu Tiga Lama the other day.
Long Version in Chinese – 东南京瓦煲肉骨茶与芋头饭
Then it dawned on me that this was actually one of the first bak kut teh places I had over a decade ago, on one of the last trips my late dad made to Klang Valley. We were wondering around Klang looking for this famed dish during the CNY holiday season and this happened to be one that was in operation. Brought back the memories, sadly there’s no pictures taken that day.
Ah Soh bak kut teh is operated by none other than Ah Soh herself (I assumed), offering clay pot style of this classic dish with a unique offering that’s not common in Klang – yam rice is on the menu if it suits your fancy.
single serving claypot bak kut teh
The bak kut teh itself is right about middle of the pack, the meat and fat bits could be a little more tender, soup has a strong herbal note, with their intestine done really well. Additionally, the yau char kuih is one of the better ones around as well.
you can have it with white rice too if yam rice isn’t your thing
If you are one of those who loves more soup, Ah Soh is more than happy to comply to those request as well. If you love yam rice, this is one of the few BKT places to visit, even though this option is quite common in Penang if I remember correctly.
Address:
Ah So Bak Kut Teh
145, Jalan Batu Tiga Lama
Pusat Bandar Berkeley
41300 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.053743, 101.466913
Hours: Breakfast and early lunch
While Indian makes up for one of the big three ethnic groups in Malaysia, when it comes to Indian food, the Northern variety is definitely one of the least represented. There’s a 24/7 mamak restaurant in every commercial areas, but a true Nothern style cuisine, or in case of Big Singh Chapati, a Punjabi restaurant, is much less common.
BIG Singh Chapati, Subang SS15
So for the Nothern Indian cuisine fans like myself and Haze, we were quite delighted to stumble upon this place while visiting Jyu Raku, one of our favorite Japanese restaurants just a few doors down from Big Singh Chapati.
The menu at Big Singh Chapati is pretty extensive. There’s soup, salad, various types of chapati and naan, tandoor, chicken, mutton, fish, briyani, paneer (punjabi cheese), vegetarian, and even desserts.
love the butter & cheese naan here
On our two visits there so far, we tried four different dishes to go with butter naan (RM 5), garlic naan, and white rice (Basmati?).
The butter naan (RM 5) was my favorite, freshly made and packed with generous amount of buttery goodness. Use it to wrap with any of their dozens of dishes and you’ve got yourself a winner.
palak mutton, aloo gobi
Palak mutton (RM 22.9) is a bit different from the palak paneer (spinach + cottage cheese) dish I’m more accustomed to, but they got the muttonsoft and flavorful as well as the spinach on definitely on point here.
Aloo gobi masala (RM 12.9), one of my go-to Northern Indian dishes did not disappoint here, the symphony between potato, cauliflower, onion, and various spices worked wonder.
naan, masala chicken, baingan bharta
Masala chicken (RM 16.9) was again a more than decent dish here, and I was really happy that they have baigan bharta (RM 11.9)a type of smashed eggplant dish), the very first Nothern Indian dish I first had over a decade ago as a student in US, I probably had this in Minneapolis, certainly brought back the memory.
Overall, we rate Big Singh Chapati pretty high, and would definitely return again rather often in the future.
Address:
Big Singh Chapati
41, Jalan SS 15/5a, Ss 15,
47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.080102, 101.592701
Tel: 012-601 6130
Last weekend when we stopped by Langkawi for a short work trip, we took the opportunity to visit the biggest aquarium in Malaysia – Underwater World Langkawi.
Underwater World Langkawi
I’ve always been a fan of fishes and aquariums from a young age. In high school I joined the aquarium society and was in fact the president of the club for a year (interesting trivia, I know)..
As for big aquariums, I’ve visited Aquaria KLCC (even dived in it), Siam Ocean World in Bangkok, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and at one point, I even held the yearly pass for Newport Aquarium at Kentucky, so clearly I wasn’t going to miss the chance to visit Underwater World Langkawi.
As it turned out, the decision was a correct one, what we got to enjoy was well worth the RM 36/pax entrance fee (for Malaysian). Check out the short 3 minute video above.
rockhopper and black-footed penguins!
The aquarium covers some 60,000 sq ft separated in several sections, starting with reptiles and some freshwater fish right after the entrance area. Here you get to see the biggest freshwater fish species – Arapaima Gigas, among others such as the freshwater stingray, red tail cat fish etc.
getting up close with the sharks, and the mesmerizing octopus
Next up is the tropical rain forest, which houses not only fish but birds and and small animals. Our favorites being the marmoset, which looks a bit like super tiny Chinese opera actors if you ask me. There are also flamingos, swan, mandarin ducks and more.
The temperate and sub-antarctic sections are the main draws here, cos for many this would be the first time being up close with seals & penguins. There are in fact two penguin areas, one of each for rockhopper and black-footed penguins.
giant garupa, mud skippers, jellyfish and more
Like many big aquariums, there’s a tunnel at Underwater World Langkawi as well. Here you’ll see several species of sharks, giant grouper, turtles, stingray and more swimming about merrily. To be honest, I thought the tunnel at Aquaria KLCC was a bit more impressive, but this is a much bigger aquarium with more to see otherwise.
After the tunnel, there’s still yet more sea lives on showcase at the various tanks, including spider crab, octopus (very mesmerizing), jelly fish, reef fish, trevally, batfish, mudskippers, shrimps, and of course, clown fish.
Overall I thought it was a very fun experience and I’d recommend it to anyone, but especially those who loves the ocean.
Address:
Underwater World Langkawi,
Zon Pantai Cenang,
Mukim Kedawang, 07000 Langkawi
GPS: 6.287737, 99.728655
Tel: 04-955 6100
Hours: 9:30AM-6:30PM weekdays, 9:30AM-8:30PM weekends
