Metro

Sunday March 8, 2009

Eat on this street


Sitiawan

CENDOL

JAMES CENDOL

In front of Maha Mariamman Temple near Fajar Supermarket.

Open 11am-7pm. Days off not fixed.

JAMES’ cendol comes with a huge dose of character. Both James and his wife Devi sport white, long-sleeved shirts and trademark red bow ties – inspired by KFC’s Colonel Sanders, it seems!

James cendol has been around since 1974 and one taste of the soft, homemade cendol served with shaved ice will make you realise why.

A few metres away, another popular cendol seller – sporting a block bow tie – commands his own loyal following!

P.S. Look out for the photograph that graces James’ stall – it is of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, enjoying the cendol. What a coup!

Pudu

EAT STREET

WAI SEK KAI

Jalan Sayur, off Jalan Pudu (opposite Sek Yuen Restaurant on Jalan Pudu).

HAWKERS have been plying their trade on this street for over 50 years; many of them are now second- or third-generation hawkers, who remember helping their parents at the stalls.

The street is abuzz at night, but there are some stalls open in the morning and throughout the day.

Head here for one of the few Hakka mee stalls in KL. Chun Kee Hakka Mee has a 70-year-old history, and Yong Jiun Haw now carries on the business started by his grandfather. His noodles are firm to the bite, and coated with a gravy made from lard and soy sauce that is delicious in its simplicity. The Hakka mee is generously topped with barbecued meat. Chun Kee opens from 6.30am to 2.30pm, and closes on the first and 15th days of the Lunar Calendar.

The best find on this street is the dessert stall next to Winners Fried Chicken. This 50-year-old stall offers only five types of dessert, including the usual tong sui, Chinese-style sweet broths with ingredients like longans, lotus seeds and gingko nuts. The gem here is the steamed egg custard – sweet and creamy, and so smooth that it glides down the throat. The aromatic egg in the herbal tea is also delightful. The stall is open from 2pm to 10pm, from Mondays to Fridays, and 10am to 10pm on Sundays.

In the evenings, head for the chee cheong fun stall – here, they do not serve the usual assortment of fishballs as accompaniments. The rice rolls are simply doused with sweet sauce and garnished with crunchy bits of fried dried shrimps – an amazingly good combination. The other way to enjoy the chee cheong fun is to drown it in curry with spongy, crunchy bits of deep-fried pork skin. The curry has but a hint of coconut milk, and is aromatic from the smokiness and depth of the rempah used. Customers can also opt for the pak ko (rice cakes) with soy sauce or curry. The stall is open from 6pm to 11pm.

Another dish to try here is the pork and offal soup brewed with Chinese herbs and salted vegetables; the offal is added when customers place their orders. Hawker Loke Ah Kam says the soup is good for detoxifying the body. Customers can have the soup with either rice or porridge.

The stall opens from 6.30pm to 11pm, and closes on Mondays.

Malacca

MEE KAHWIN

RESTAURANT MING HUAT

Shop opposite the turning to the Portuguese Settlement.

Open 9.30am-3pm. Closed on Fridays.

THE shop may not look like much, but it has been around for more than 50 years and the mee mamak here is truly special. The “fusion” noodle dish, mee kahwin, is the result of marrying mee rebus with Indian rojak. It came about as a result of customers asking to mix the delicious fare so that they could have a bit of everything.

The dish is an exotic explosion of sweet, sour and spicy flavours enriched with curry powder and crushed peanuts. It is at once soft (thanks to the noodles, bean curd, potato and boiled egg) and crunchy (fritters, onion crisps, raw cucumber and yambean). Don’t forget to eat it Malaccan style – with a dash of vinegar and kicap manis. Ask to “tambah kuih” to load up on the crunchy stuff.

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