Tag / pasar malam
Stinky tofu (臭豆腐) is one of those delicacy that probably make certain Westerners think we are savages from the 3rd world, but truth is, these stuff are just as sophisticated as blue cheese, beer, and that Scandinavian fish that’s berried in the ground before consumption (OK maybe not that one)
stinky tofu stall at Pasar Malam Meru
In any case, most of these food shares a similar crucial step in their preparation – the magical process of fermentation. Through this method, bacteria releases certain type of byproducts that gives birth to the unique smell and taste which some of us learn to appreciate.
For those who lives at Klang or Shah Alam, perhaps one of the closest place to sample a good dish of stinky tofu would be at the Thursday night pasar malam at Meru, located just across the road from Klang Parade.
the stinkier the better, right?
The stinky tofu truck is almost always with a queue so you do have to be slightly patient to wait before your portion of piping hot deep fried stinky tofu is served. The taste of the tofu is really pungent and mixes well with those sourish pickled cabbage.
freshly fried, super stinky, yummy!
So if you’re a fan of stinky tofu, this is one to check out, besides, this very same pasar malam also has a pretty decent spread of other hawker delights – including salted chicken, popiah, lok lok, and char kuih teow.
Address:
Pasar Malam Meru
Jalan Kedah (Off Jalan Meru)
Meru, Klang
GPS: 3.065763, 101.450976
Hours: Thursdays 5 to 9pm
SS2 Monday night pasar malam is probably the 2nd largest pasar malam in Klang Valley, with Taman Connaught’s on Wednesday being slightly larger. There are well over a hundred different stalls offering anything from handphone cases, cloths, to fresh produce, and of course, food.
It’s always an adventure to go there and hunt for food every once in a while, as with most pasar malam, there are always new food offerings from time to time. After all pasar malam is probably the best place to gauge a new (al cheapo) trend, isn’t it?
Here are a few dishes we tried last Monday.
yakitori with pork, shishamo, and even smoked duck
There are a couple stalls offering yakitori, and this one we tried is situated closer to McDonald’s (nearby Taiping char kuih teow stall). We had a stick of smoked duck and a couple sticks of pork and shishamo yakitori each. The pork was succulent and delicious, smoked duck more than passable, but shishamo could be more crispy. RM 12.50 in all.
grilled scallops on stick, choose from five flavors
Next was scallop teppanyaki at this Sea King Teppanyaki stall that goes for RM 5 per stick of 3 scallops. You get to choose from 5 different flavors (bonito, black pepper, garlic, chili powder, or seaweed). We opted for original with teppanyaki sauce. It was pretty delicious too.
Less than RM 2 per scallop? Sign me up anytime.
Abang Jeff’s fried oysters omelet was actually pretty good
Then there’s Abang Jeff’s fried oyster. Being from Penang and got burnt many times ordering fried oysters in Klang Valley, I’m usually pretty skeptical with this dish, but since I was feeling adventurous anyway, we gave it a try.
The version here is a bit different as the oysters and eggs are prepared pretty much separately, but the end result turned out to be pretty decent nonetheless. RM 10 gets you 8 pretty good size oysters with more than edible omelet, so that was good. We really enjoyed this.
banchang kuih anyone?
To cap off the night, we had a crispy ban chang kuih each (RM 1.40) with plenty of sugar, corn, crushed peanuts, and even a bit of coconut inside. Perfect ending for a night of fried/grilled food. Now why don’t they serve beer at pasar malam to go with all these?
Address:
SS2 Pasar Malam
Jalan SS2/61
Petaling Jaya
47300 Selangor
GPS: 3.117366, 101.621668
Hours: Every Monday Night
The pasar malam at Taman Megah operates every Sunday evening from about 6pm to almost midnight and conveniently located only about one kilometer away from where I stay, hence eliminating the pesky problem of having to find a parking spot when one goes to pasar malam.
Even then, it is not a pasar malam I often go due to the relatively lack of good food.. or so I thought.
Evidently, things have changed for the better, and here are the three stalls we found from the visit last Sunday that I thought worth a try for any foodie.
char kuih kak at Taman Megah Pasar Malam – legit!
First and foremost, there’s char kuih kak!
Char Kuih Kak is one of the Penang dishes that aren’t easily found in Klang Valley. There isn’t many stalls out there, and prior to this, my only go-to char kuih kak stall would be the one at Jalan Sayur in Pudu. So when I saw the stall here, I had to give it a try.
finally I found a good version of char kuih kak outside Penang
The RM 3.50 worth of char kuih kak turned out to be rather good, perhaps the best version I’ve tried in Klang Valley. The radish cake is chopped to tiny pieces with the two metal spatulas so that it’s well coated with oil and dark soya sauce. There’s also plenty of “choi pou” and chili, I love it.
The fact that the operator spoke perfect Penang Hokkien definitely help too, I think. 😀
BBQ oysters and seahum? yeap!
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw there’s oysters at pasar malam, so obviously we had to give it a try.
A set of 3 oysters go for RM 10 here, and you can choose from any combination of three flavors – spicy, cheese, and garlic. The oysters took some 10-15 minutes before they were ready, and tasted more than decent.
RM 10 for three oysters, RM 6 for those juicy cockles
Of the three, I prefer the garlic version, and will probably avoid the cheese next time around unless I bring my own cheese.
The BBQ cockles go for RM 6 per portion. They were rather juicy and certainly went well with the accompanying homemade chilli sauce.
steamed chicken with chrysanthemum, pretty satisfying
Last but not least, there’s the steamed chicken with chrysanthemum. Since it was something I’ve never even heard about before, we gave it a try.
The steamed quarter chicken (RM 8) came with plenty of mashed garlic, ginger, and chrysanthemum flower. The skin smooth and chicken meat was well salted. The flower certainly gave it a unique taste but not something that is overpowering, worth a try, and certainly fills the stomach.
Address:
Taman Megah Pasar Malam
Jalan SS 24/8
Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.113745, 101.611061
Hours: 6-11pm every Sunday
A couple weeks ago I was invited to participate in a little promotional shooting for Oriental Daily with Ernest Chong (张顺源) on NTV7 Foodie Blogger (愛食客) TV program. The TV show was actually shot earlier and yours truly was featured in the Klang Valley segment which will be aired in a few weeks time on NTV7 Thursday night 10 pm.
Anyway, that explained why I ended up in Connaught Pasar Malam, a place I don’t often go, but glad that I did cos we got to try this pretty awesome smelly tofu (臭豆腐)!
smelly tofu truck at Taman Connaught Pasar Malam
The smelly tofu truck is usually parked at the end of the long stretch of pasar malam at Taman Connaught closest to McDonald’s, or more specifically, on Jalan Pantas. This is rather convenient since you don’t need to navigate through 5,000 people just to get to it.
we got our hands on preparing the smelly tofu too
The process of making smelly tofu starts with fermentation using tofu, fresh amaranth vegetable（苋菜）and brine (卤水) . The fermented tofu is then cut and deep fried with vegetable oil. If you prefer to have it with more pungent taste, you can request the tofu to be fried as a whole.
smelly tofu with chili sauce and “sauerkraut”
The smelly tofu is priced at RM 3.30 for four pieces and served with a sort of home made sauerkraut (but fresher) and chilli sauce on top. The flavor isn’t overly intense and I find myself really enjoying it!
The last I had stinky tofu was actually in Hong Kong, and I like this version more. If you happen to be at Taman Connaught Pasar Malam, check it out!
Chou Wei Xiang Tou stall is located at Connaught only on Wednesdays, their other location is as follow:
- Monday – Serdang pasar malam
- Wednesday – Connaught pasar malam
- Friday – Leisure Mall (Taman Segar), The USJ 19 City Mall
- Saturday – Setia Alam, The USJ 19 City Mall, Taman Midah near Shell
- Sunday – Taman Muda, The USJ 19 City Mall
Address:
Chou Wei Xiang Tou
Taman Connaught Pasar Malam
Connaught Highway & Jalan Pantas
Cheras, Selangor
GPS: 3.081564, 101.734068
Tel: 012-359 2895 (Mr. Koh Lian Ying)
Hours: Every Wednesday Evening
If you’ve been to any pasar malam, I’m sure you would have seen the Uncle Bob Fried Chicken stalls. They seem to be operating like a franchised business, like McDonald’s or KFC, but at pasar malam level, following the success of fatty guy’s lok lok, I guess.
the prominent uncle bob stall
Uncle bob fried chicken’s tag lines:
1. remove skin
2. remove fats
3. making breast tastes like drumstick
I’m not sure if it does taste like drumstick, but the end result was pretty good. I usually have a piece whenever I go to the SS2 pasar malam on Monday night. The chicken breast meat is flattened and boneless, with a crispy outer layer from the breading, stopped with a choice of spicey or non spicey seasoning that reminds me of Old Bay seasoning.
the 4 steps – fry, season, cut, pack
The chicken is cut into bite size and you are given a stick ala rojak style to get access to the chicken so you don’t even need to get your hands dirty and having to lick your fingers afterwards. There’s no basin at pasar malam, just so you haven’t figure that part out.
RM 4.50 for a pretty big piece of chicken, give me Uncle Bob anyday over the KFC chicken chop please. By the way, the stall also claimed that they are halal certified.
this is the usual location of the stall during pasar malam
Address:
Jalan SS 2/61
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.117344, 101.621754
