Pasar malam, or weekly night markets in Malaysia often offers unique dishes you can’t find at any other settings. This is especially true when it comes to stinky tofu, as so far I have yet to see any stinky tofu stalls outside pasar malam setting.
Black Tofu, SS2 Pasar Malam (every Monday)
And when it comes to this smelly delicacy, there are several different variations to choose from, all of which involves deep frying a particular stinky version of tofu and served piping hot with some condiments.
However, of all these, Black Tofu at SS2 is perhaps one of the more unique version out there. In this version, the tofu is pre-cut into smaller chunks before being deep fried instead of after, and then being served with some sort of soup, crispy bits, spring onions, and best of all – sambal!
the tofu is soaked in soup, and you can make it spicy!
As with most stinky tofu in Malaysia, this too isn’t particularly smelly, perhaps done so to cater more to our local taste. Nonetheless, black tofu carries a more complex taste profile and one that has more of a kick to it with the inclusion of sambal.
Each portion is priced at RM 7, so while they’re not cheap, it is less pricey than the equivalent at Hong Cha, which I find slightly less inferior than this one.
Happy eating!
Address: SS2 Pasar Malam Jalan SS2/61 Petaling Jaya 47300 Selangor GPS: 3.117366, 101.621668 Hours: Every Monday Night
For the fan of stinky tofu, there are a couple of stalls offering this dish in one of the bigger pasar malam in Klang Valley – at SS2 every Monday evenings. Let’s look at the stall by the name of Hong Cha, or “red tea” stinky tofu.
Hong Cha stinky tofu at SS2 Pasar Malam
Usually situated closer to SS2 McDonald’s, this stall offers a single type of stinky tofu for RM 10 that comes in a paper container. The triangle cut tofu comes with a side of pickled radish, sauerkraut, and some dipping sauce.
The single portion came with about two full piece of tofu cut into 8, portion wise it really isn’t a lot, and you could also argue that the asking price of RM 10 is rather high for what is offered. As for taste, I thought it lacked the tell-tale pungent smell that should be a mandatory characteristic of any stinky tofu, perhaps trying to cater to local taste a bit too much.
Additionally, the sauerkraut, or “almost kimchi” on the side was a bit weak too.
comes in paper box, but not stinky enough tho!
If you’re a huge fan of tofu or if this is the first time you’re introduced to stinky tofu, Hong Cha maybe a good point to start. For the true stinky tofu fan though, you will probably be disappointed.
Address: SS2 Pasar Malam Jalan SS2/61 Petaling Jaya 47300 Selangor GPS: 3.117366, 101.621668 Hours: Every Monday Night
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
