Gourmet Garden

Hunting For The Flavors & Texture Of Yesteryears'

Archive for October, 2010

After meeting our client in Belisa Row in Pulau Tikus, we decided to try out this “Roti Bak Kua” () business that is located just in front of a Hong Leong Bank branch.  When ask, we were told that the business used to be just on 2 wheels, but now  after years of hard work it has grown 2 more wheels and more space. That is what we call growth. Roti Bak Kua or bread & Pork Jerky are old favourites for movie goers back then when Cinemas were still monopolizing the big-screen entertainment industry. Those were the days where one could “smell” the cinema when block buster movies were screening. Other than roti bak kua, there are other street food choices accompany us during the screenings, like  ”real” peanuts, pumpkin seeds, roti bak hu (bread & meat floss), BBQ bishops’ nose, stewed chicken feet, BBQ chicken innards, grilled cuttle fish, street side hamburger and hotdogs, etc. Drinks you could expect local selections of sugar cane juice, soya bean milk, logan or lycee drinks, etc. In this modern society these have all disappeared and replaced with the western junk food of nuggets, popcorn, corn-in-cups, packed drinks, soft drinks, etc.

Even the way age old street food has taken a change from the usual norms in recent times. At this Roti Bak Kua stall you could expect to find tender grilled meat patties paired with egg, meat patties with cheese and egg, etc. It has modernised the trade to cater to the current taste requirement by the younger generation. It is also a way to diversify what was once an Asian food and infused with Western influences to provide “choice” to the customers. This stall cater to those who are looking for something that can “comfort” their soul or at least satisfy ones hunger with its selection of “meaty” items to choose from, bak kua, bak hu, luncheon meat, sausages, omelette, cheese, and sausages.

It is hard to neither explain nor narrate how the pork jerky tasted as it was some time back. But I guess tomorrow we have another excuse to eat at this stall again when we have our appointment with our client in Belisa Row again. One of the things that I could still remember about this stall was that the owner was not stingy on the fillings. The bak kua was neither thin nor short, the bak hu was abundance in every bite and the luncheon meat was cut exactly the way I like it.

Stay tuned to this post for how it would fare with us again when we patronise the business tomorrow for a sneak “QC” check to confirm our previous experiences.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Pei Pa Duck in Lunas, Kedah.

Posted by Jason Wong On October - 17 - 20105 COMMENTS

Sometime in early July(2010), we were in Mahang, Kedah to carry out a photography session on German Shepperd Dog training for one of our website projects that we were engaged to design and built. And after the session ended and while on the way back to Penang, we had the opportunity to try out this “Roast Meat” (烧腊) stall in Lunas, Kedah. I would not say it was the best “Pei Pa Duck” (琵琶鸭) that I have ever had because simply I haven’t tried all. But what can be said is that it is more flavourful, tender and succulent then the version I have tasted recently at Lorong Susu, Penang.

Before we plunged all the way, we first ordered a roast pork, BBQ pork and roast duck mix plater, a quarter pei pa duck with white rice and a bowl of soup. The stall was featured before in some new papers, but due experience we prefer to test the water first before we incur more “damage”.  We were skeptical when the first portion was served but after sampling the the meats that we ordered, to our delight they actually better than average.

The BBQ pork was tender to the bite and was nicely crusted with caramelized sweet marinate.   The sweet marinate though sweet, was not overwhelming. The roast duck that we had was not really exceptional, it was tasty and juicy. As for the roast pork, it was one of our favourites apart from the pei pa duck, in fact we had an extra serving of it after we had “kautim” (finished) our first order. The roast pork was tender although it was slightly burnt. The crispy skin of the roast pork was fine and had a hint of deep fried lard bit flavour which are normally often  masked by the after taste left by the bicarbonate or baking soda used to encourage the skin to crisp and fluff.

Tip: Don’t over indulge on the roast pork as it would be too much of a good thing.

Finally the pei pa duck! It had crispy skin and yet the meat was not dry nor rough in texture, in fact the meat was tender to the last piece we had. The skin’s crispiness was light and refreshing, unlike the dull feeling that we have felt on other pei pa ducks we have had recently.

Tips: The light sauce and accompanying green chili went well with the pei pa duck. Always ask for the rear end portion for more skin and juicier meat.

Taste & Texture:

  • 3.5/5
  • Like the tender juicy meat and crisp skin of the pei pa duck and the fragrant roast pork. BBQ pork was well marinated and not overwhelmingly sweet.

Money Value:

  • 3.5/5
  • Surprisingly the cost of the big meal that we had considerably cheap compared to those that we have had in Penang alone.

Service:

  • 3.0/5
  • Service without much hiccups.

Cleanliness:

  • 3.0/5

Atmosphere:

  • 3.0/5
  • warm during sunny days.


Name: Roast Master Village (鄭又强)

Add: Stall 7, Jalan Market, 09600  Lunas, Kedah, Malaysia.

Tel: +60 (13) 4491883

GPS: N05̊25’47.8”  E100̊31’59.9”

Popularity: 8% [?]

An Accidental Author, The Journey

Posted by Jason Wong On October - 11 - 20103 COMMENTS

This coming Tuesday, that is 12 of October, there will be a talk on the composition/writting of fiction and non-fiction books by 68 year old Penang-Born Singaporean author, Joan Hon. The talk will be hel at 56, Lorong Selamat, Penang. She has won the High Commendation Award from the Book Development Council of Singapore in 1986 for the book she wrote, “Star Sapphire”. And in the same year, she was awarded the Commendation prize for her book “Relatively Speaking” that talks about her father, Mr Hon Sui Sen a Penang-born former Finance Minister in Singapore, her family, the Japanese Invasion and her childhood memories in Penang.

The multi-talented Ms. Joan Hon was a Physics teacher who have taught and mentored many “Junior College” (a.k.a Form 6 or A level) students became an “accidental” book writer and now she will be sharing  her journey as a book author and the experiences of overcoming the obstacles of publishing books. The talk will cover some of the areas that would encourage wanna be book writers to achieve their dreams:

  • How to overcome the difficulties of publicising a book. and the options nowadays.
  • How to to sell books in schools and libraries, and book signings in bookshops.
  • “Publish On Demand” publishing.
  • Her attempts at printing her own books.

To register for this free talk, please email info@womenbizsense.com. And as a show of appreciation for those that will be attending the talk on the 12th of October, will be offering a 10% discount for all books autographed by Joan on that day itself.

Title: A Writer’s Journey by Joan Hon
Date: 12 October (Tues)
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: 1st Floor, 56, Lorong Selamat, Penang.

Popularity: 1% [?]

香港网络电台 之 美食博客分享录音

Posted by gill gill On October - 6 - 20101 COMMENT

你们有听网络电台的习惯吗? 有没有跟随一些播客-PodCast 的部落呢?

踏入2000年后, 网上竖起部落热潮, 令整个网络文化有新突破. 大多数部落格是以文字和图片表达, 也有些是影像(Video)和声音(Audio)呈现.

在马来西亚, PodCast是非主流, 皆因需要少许”主持人的天份”条件, 所以很少人会去尝试.

一个月前, 有位播客 (PodCast Blogger) 邀我们做了个跟饮食有关的专访, 并在2星期前在香港网络电台上播放. 这个消息放上面子书 (facebook)后, 获众友人祝贺. 我们心感荣幸, 能够续上报后, 仍然有连带的效应.

多谢各位支持! 好让”真实食评精神”万岁!

由我来为大家做个简介, 访问我们的播客资料如下:

部落大名: 寂寞教室 www.lonelyclass.com & 香港网络电台 www.mobileradio.hk

部落台主: 寂寞老师 – 威吏 (Willy Wah)

部落主打: 广播 PodCast, 做专访, 诉心声, 偶尔献歌, 讲鬼故事

部落语言: 广东

受访内容包括:

  • 为何当上博客.

  • 对本地美食的见解,观点和热诚.

  • 怎样成为美食博客? 有何条件?

  • 食物评论和技巧

  • 美食博客要注意什么?

有兴趣听我们的声音吗? 寂寞老师的嗓子很温文尔雅, 具有DJ风范的耶!

我们诚意邀请你到寂寞教室收听
“寂寞教室 Lonely Classroom – 第109集 我要做Food Blogger!”

贴示: 前15分钟是寂寞老师的报道, 广告后访问才开始. 整个专访长达一小时.

你可选择 “Download” or “Play” – (Life Streaming)


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Popularity: 3% [?]