sllɐqǝʎǝʎzznɟ

I grew up in Malaysia and now that I’ve settled down in Singapore … the only thing I miss much is definitely the food. Not that we do not have any yummies here in Singapore but those local food here (in my opinion) ain’t as good as those available there.

During our trip there last week, of course we did not have to think twice about adding some inches to our waists by shoving some of those food down our throats. Many thanks to my brother and buddies in KL for the time (and hangovers) … I’m begining to miss you guys and the food already!!!

Here are some snapshots of some of those food that are now permanent residents around my waist. Sorry if they look bad because I usually just take a snapshot without much thinking before the food is gone for good.

One of my favourite … ‘bakuteh’ (pork rib in herbal soup) in Klang. Love the thick herbal soup version which is way different from those here in Singapore. Most local versions here tastes more like clear pepper soup although there are a couple of them who offer versions a little bit similar to those in Klang. It was quite a long drive from my brother’s place but well worth the trip …

We had ‘nasi lemak’ at a Penang-style food restaurant on the 2nd day before attending a buddy’s wedding dinner. For those who do not know … the Chinese wedding dinners here usually start after a long wait (and starts around 8pm or even sometimes later!), so it is a safe bet to eat something before that to avoid waiting in hunger. Hahaha!

The ‘ngo hiong’ (fried meat rolls) were great!

Breakfast was pretty ‘heavy’ one morning because we woke up late (in hunger!) and needed something to ‘cure’ our hangover. Hahaha. There wasn’t a night without booze!

The ‘popiah’ (spring rolls) …

Prawn noodles … I’m allergic to seafood so I didn’t get to eat this, but I was told that it was yummy!

‘Chee cheong fun’ (steamed flour rolls). The version they have there is a little different from those we usually eat. The flour rolls were a little more chewy and the gravy contains prawn paste (usually found in ‘rojak’ aka local fruit salad). It is strange that although I don’t take prawns … prawn paste is okay to me. Haha.

I enjoyed the other version of the ‘chee cheong fun’ better. This other version has curry chicken gravy and I was tempted to go for a 2nd portion but decided to save my tummy for other yummies later that day.

‘Yong tau foo’ (stuffed beancurds and vegetables). Something I sometimes miss a lot when I’m in Singapore. Somehow … those we have here has very minimal stuffings compared to the Malaysian versions.

Fried dumplings! Fitzand absolutely love these!

I ain’t a fan of fish noodles but this next place my brother brought us made me change my mind. Instead of the usual fish noodles, this shop serves noodle soup with fried cod and salmon fish chunks! The chunks of fish are crunchy outside and tender on the insides. The soup seems to have some Chinese wine thrown in for that extra yummy-ness. It ain’t cheap though. Four of us spent about RM100 just for 4 bowls of noodle soup with fried cod fish … but it was worth every cent.

They also have this other version with prawns instead of fish …

Fried ‘Sotong’ (squid) balls …

At night, we took another long (argh!) journey to Port Klang for seafood dinner. I can’t take seafood (except fish) but it’s always fun joining my family and buddies there … seeing them enjoy the seafood. Me? I always end up eating fried rice and some meat … and waiting for them while gulping down some booze. This place we went is a little different from those we used to go. This one is not near the seaside but hidden somewhere in some industrial area. The way to it is a little creepy … having to drive thru narrow dark roads etc. Ain’t a good place to drive after some booze but thank God my sister in-law was driving. Hahahah.

I was told that this place serves home-brewed booze made from coconut flowers. Hmm. At first it sounded a little scary because I thought it will be pretty ‘lethal’. Haha. I was wrong. These coconut flower booze are served in mineral water bottles … has a white-ish color that looks like barley or … ermmm … nevermind.

Anyway, I initially tried gulping down some of it and … it is sweet! A little sweet and smells a bit weird. Hahaha. Then I was told that people usually drink it … mixed with Guinness stout. Oh well … whatever. So I tried it mixed with stout and it wasn’t long before I realised that we have all downed a few bottles of them. Hahaha. It’s pretty delicious and I think it doesn’t contain too high alcohol level. We were not really stoned by the end of that dinner.

These are some snapshots of some of the food we (or rather … ‘they’) had that night …

It wasn’t local food all the way of course! We went shopping at Pavillion in KL city and stumbled upon this German bar … gulped a few pints of ice cold beer and of course … sausages!

Cheesecake!

Sausage platter!

We left for Batu Pahat (in Johor) to visit my parents after some eat-and-drink-too-much days in KL.

This is my all-time favourite wanton (dumpling) noodles since I was a kid. The version we have in our hometown is a little different from those in KL or Singapore. You don’t see soya sauce being used in this version. I think it is only delicious if you can take chilly. The chilly sauce used is what makes the noodles have an orange color appearance.

The shop has been around for ages but in the recent years, one of their younger relatives (a friend of mine) took the same noodle and opened a couple of new outlets with a more updated image. Check out www.wantanmee.com for more info.

Last but not least … the ‘laksa’. Noodles in spicy coconut milk gravy/soup. My dad loves laksa. I think it is a little bit crazy but he told me he has these for breakfast more of the morning! Duh!

It has been quite a crazy week in Malaysia with all these eating and drinking. There were nights when my brother will drag me out of the house for ‘supper’ just because he couldn’t sleep. I’ve not been eating supper for longer than I can remember and his definition of supper was … 2 large bottle of beer, satay (BBQ meat) and fried Hokkien noodles!!! All those at around midnight!!!

Now that I’m back in Singapore … I think I should be glad I’m away from all these yummy temptations. If I were to spend another week or two there … my tummy (or maybe liver) will be sure to explode.