Things you've never dreamed of

October 28th, 2009

Malaysia 2009: Banana Fritters

This is my last Malaysia post for this year, promise.

I miss banana fritters when I’m Sydney, because we don’t get the right sort of bananas and I can’t be arsed deep frying anything. Thankfully deep frying is a large part of any Malaysian household and is one of the easier things that my mum makes for breakfast. You read that right. DEEP FRIED BANANAS FOR BREAKFAST.

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The batter is just plain flour, a bit of rice flour, water and a pinch of salt. Sometimes my mum adds a bit of turmeric for colour.

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My mum has mad bling.

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They start out healthy and end up DELICIOUS.

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The bananas were “kelat” – there’s no exact word for this in English but it means bitter-ish… kind of – so I had it which chilli sauce. Ohhhh yeahhhh

Bonus picture:

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Malay kuih made with glutinous rice flour.

October 13th, 2009

Malaysia 2009: Lunch in Damai

My suburb is home to some delicious eats. One Sunday, my friend and I went out in search for things get fat on.

A buzzing food court (more like a food alley). Things start getting busy at around 9 AM.

A buzzing food court (more like a food alley). Things start getting busy at around 9 AM.

How the fuck does this picture get blurry? Idgi. Anyway, we had this takoyaki...

How the fuck does this picture get blurry? Idgi. Anyway, we had delicious takoyaki…

...prepared with love by this uncle. Dodgy angle because I was trying to get a sneaky photo (too shy to ask).

…prepared with love by this uncle. Dodgy angle because I was trying to get a sneaky photo (too shy to ask). The takoyaki was pretty much perfect, crispy outside and pillowy inside. The tako piece was tiny and a bit chewy, but you can’t have everything – certainly not for the price we paid (cheap as, brah).

We also had chee cheong fun - the rice noodle is made to order! I wish I had a photo of the noodle-making process but the dude looked at me funny when I pulled out the camera. This was good, but the sambal that came with it wasn't hot and was way too sweet.

We also had chee cheong fun – the rice noodle is made to order! I wish I had a photo of the noodle-making process but the dude looked at me funny when I pulled out the camera. This was good, but the sambal that came with it wasn’t hot and was way too sweet.

October 11th, 2009

Malaysia 2009: Various Eats

Braised chicken and rice from La Manila.

Braised chicken and rice from La Manila.

Wat tan ho, my favourite noodle dish. Also known around Malaysia as Cantonese style kuey teow and kuey teow siram.

Wat tan ho, my favourite noodle dish. Also known around Malaysia as Cantonese style kuey teow and kuey teow siram. From La Manila.

Ngiu chap mee hoon, from a little coffee house in my suburb. That day we had a different uncle that serves up the ngiu chap and he was a bit stingy with the meatballs.

Ngiu chap mee hoon, from a little coffee house in my suburb. That day we had a different uncle serving up the ngiu chap and he was a bit stingy with the meatballs.

Nasi campur ("mixed rice") from Restoran Seri Malindo. Clockwise from bottom left, kerabu mangga (green mango salad), sweet potato leaves cooked with chilli and peanuts, sambal eggplant and ikan masak lemak (fish in spicy coconut milk).

Nasi campur (“mixed rice”) from Restoran Seri Malindo. Clockwise from bottom left, kerabu mangga (green mango salad), sweet potato leaves cooked with chilli and peanuts, sambal eggplant and ikan masak lemak (fish in spicy coconut milk).

Bad photo but I mainly posted this here to show you the green stuff on the right of the plate - edible ferns or pucuk paku, my favourite vegetable ever. Here it's cooked with chillies and a bit of belacan.

Bad photo but I’m posting this here to show you the green stuff on the right of the plate – sayur manis or “Sabah vegetable”, my favourite vegetable ever. Here it’s cooked with chillies and a bit of belacan. I forget where I ate this, it was some random cafe at 1 Borneo.

October 4th, 2009

Malaysia 2009: Eid ul-Fitr Celebrations

It’s a custom in Malaysia to have an “open house” during the Eid ul-Fitr holiday – basically you have a giant spread at home and people come over. For my family’s open house this year, my mum cooked some food for the family and everything else is catered.

Breakfast of my mum's nasi himpit, peanut sauce and chicken rendang. Damn right, it's better than yours.

Breakfast of my mum’s nasi himpit, peanut sauce and chicken rendang. Damn right, it’s better than yours.

Eid cookies, ready for guests. My favourite is the one in the bottom right - buttery pineapple tarts.

Eid cookies, ready for guests. My favourite is the one in the bottom right – buttery pineapple tarts.

Spring rolls.

Spring rolls.

Setting up the main food table. Notice the gazillion sticks of satay on the left.

Setting up the main food table. Notice the gazillion sticks of satay on the left.

Friends swooping down on the food. In this picture you can see chicken curry, roti jala, two types of achar (pickles) and the spring rolls.

Friends swooping down on the food. In this picture you can see chicken curry, roti jala, two types of achar (pickles) and the spring rolls.

My plate. From bottom left, curry chicken, achar, chicken satay, glutinous rice in banana leaf, nasi himpit, spring roll and nasi minyak.

My plate. From bottom left, curry chicken, achar, chicken satay, glutinous rice in banana leaf, nasi himpit, spring roll and nasi minyak.

October 4th, 2009

Malaysia 2009: Iftar at Le Meridien

Holla, bitches! I am back from my food fest in Malaysia and have heaps of photos to share. We’ll start with iftar (breaking of fast at sundown) at Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu. They had a Ramadan iftar buffet throughout the fasting month and it was ridiculously huge. Seriously the floor space for the buffet is about the size of a flat.

What you can see in the picture is 1/3 the size of the actual buffet.

What you can see in the picture is 1/3 the size of the actual buffet.

Table for cold Malay-style salads.

Table for cold Malay-style salads.

Dried salted fish. I'll have to apologise for all the blurry photos - the place was kind of dark.

Dried salted fish. I’ll have to apologise for all the blurry photos – the place was kind of dark.

Roasted chicken.

Roasted chicken.

1/6 of the dessert table.

1/6 of the dessert table.

The Chinese food station.

The Chinese food station.

Roti jala and various curries.

Roti jala, roti canai and various curries.

Fresh seafood, ready to be grilled. You heard right, a grilled seafood station.

Fresh seafood, ready to be grilled. You heard right, a grilled seafood station.

Various steamed dumplings.

Various steamed dumplings.

Grilled lobster, squid and fish with chilli soy sauce.

Grilled lobster, squid and fish with chilli soy sauce.

Clockwise from left - rojak, sambal eggplant, roasted chicken, chilli kangkong and spicy okra salad.

Clockwise from left – rojak, sambal eggplant, roasted chicken, chilli kangkong and spicy okra salad.

Noodle station. The dude was a bit stressed about me taking his photo.

Noodle station. The dude was a bit stressed about me taking his photo.

Laksa condiments.

Laksa condiments.

Finished laksa.

Finished laksa.

September 13th, 2009

Remembering Malaysia

I’ll be off for a two-week holiday in Malaysia on Friday. It’ll be the first Aidilfitri celebration I’ve been able to participate in since migrating to Australia 7 years ago and I’m very much looking forward to it.

The last time I was in Malaysia was two years ago – a short trip to Kuala Lumpur and then a longer stay in Kota Kinabalu, my hometown. I pretty much ate my weight in dishes I can’t get out here. Some highlights:

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Breakfast with my partner and a friend in Kuala Lumpur – roti canai with curries, dhal and sambal. My friend had this disgusting concoction of tea and coffee with condensed milk (I forget what it’s called).

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A must-have for me every time I’m back in KK – chicken soto. I love it with hot chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime. Chicken soto in KK is very different from the sort that you get in West Malaysia. Here, it’s a light, clear broth with vermicelli. In West Malaysia it’s a heavier broth similar to Indonesian style soto served with nasi himpit (“pressed rice”).

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Selection of Malay kuih at Bits & Bites, one of my favourite places to get a quick snack. I always get the rightmost kuih on the bottom shelf – glutinous rice flour mochi-like thing stuffed with peanuts and sugar.

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Friday lunch at Restoran Seri Malindo. You can get lunch here for about AUD $2, and this place is the more expensive one around.

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I had ikan asam pedas (hot and sour fish), stir fried long beans and bamboo shoots in chilli coconut sauce.

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Another must have – ngiu chap mee hoon (beef soup with rice vermicelli). It has beef balls, tendon, liver and miscellaneous cow bits. Kind of similar to pho.

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Sneaky photo of the ngiu chap mee counter. This is just down the road from my family home.

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Durian stall – this is in the same area as the ngiu chap mee place. Fuck I love durians. These are proper ones that actually smell like how durians should smell (I know some of you bastards will say “awful” but I love this stuff OK).

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Sunday lunch. Food bought from Restoran Seri Melaka. We’ve been going to this restaurant since I was about 10. Clockwise from top left – deep fried squid, Chinese beef steak, stir fried veggies with black fungus and lemon chicken (no yellow food colouring in this one, bitches!). Not shown: sweet and sour fish.

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Beef rojak for breakfast. Yellow noodles, cucumber, beef slices, hardboiled egg and tofu topped with spicy peanut sauce.

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Mee bandung at the Marina Resort. Yellow noodles in tomato-based spicy sauce.

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Curry laksa at Marina Resort.

I can’t wait to be back!