We rounded up a few noobs and went to Melaka for a half day (was supposed to be a whole day.. well) eating trip last weekend. In a span of less than 7 hours, we had 3 proper meals and plenty of snacks and dessert. One of the snacks we had while walking along the famous Jonker Street was this Poh Piah (similar to the now-retired Poh Piah at SS2).
this stuff is absolutely delicious
The Poh Piah (spring role) comes in two different varieties, the wet and the deep fried. You can get decent deep fried Poh Piah from many places, but the wet role is quite a bit harder to come by. In Melaka, the traditional ingredients for this item are scrambled egg, turnip, fried onion, lettuce, bean sprout, and some fried pork fat wrapped in the homemade Poh Piah skin. Chili paste and a type of sweet sauce are added too, you can usually customize your order to suit your tolerance for chili.
the hawker knows this particular customer for more than 20 years
The Poh Piah is best served right away, if you leave it for a while, the skin, vegetable, and fried pork fat tends to get soggy, and you’ll lose the contrasting texture that makes this snack such an awesome gastronomical experience. The secret ingredient gotta be the fried pork fat, it gives the role the aroma of animal fat that is hard to be substituted. With the freshness of lettuce, the sweetness of turnip, the smell of fried onion, this stuff is just fabulous.
secret ingredient – fried pork fat
If you head down to Melaka, don’t forget to grab some Poh Piah. This particular stall is at Jonker Street, a Poh Piah goes for RM 1.50. These is no discount if you mention Kelvin‘s name even though the old hawker has known him since before his puberty.
