The Malaysian Food Review

I rarely venture out to Cheras to whet my appetite. It just always seems a bit too far to go grab a quick lunch, and a bit too out of the way to go have dinner.

Even then, it was a surprise to my colleagues that I’d never heard of the famous Ong Kee Big Bun. “It’s THIS BIG!” he said, stretching his hands out to give me an idea of its size, which made me imagine it to be the size of a football.. “Inside you got chicken, pork, eggs, and some veggies.. come we go try it today”. So off we went.

Along the way he told me the story of how the pau maker came up with this oversized treat. Apparently some dude approached this simple pau maker and commended him on the quality of his paus, then asked him to create a big pau, as big as Amy Yip’s breasts! Amy Yip is some actress who was um… ‘blessed’ with a pair of enormous tits. Here’s a pic of her because I KNOW you all want it… courtesy of Wikipedia.

Ok back to the paus.

Above is the lineup of paus available at this stall, which sits just beside the main road. The prices are hard to read because Mr. Ong Kee has updated them with a pen over the years. I think it’s quite obvious that he’s very proud of his Big Bun creation.

These are the bamboo baskets where the big buns are made. I never knew paus were pink in colour before being cooked.

 Here is Ong Kee’s standard issue pau and loh mai kai display cabinet.

Back at the office, we unwrapped the big bun, to the wonderment and awe of bystanders in the pantry. The guy who held the pau in this picture was practically drooling all over it.

 The inside of the pau appeared to be exactly as my colleague described. Chicken, pork, eggs, and sengkuang (jicama).

 Personally, I didn’t think much of it, as it didn’t taste very good. The chicken was also still attached to the bones, which made it annoying to eat. Between 3 people, we couldn’t finish the bloody thing. I would therefore classify it as a novelty pau. It’s interesting to look at, and represents good value at RM4.50, but it tastewise it falters badly. But if you’re low on funds and really really hungry, go for it.

[Ratings]

I’ll be your guide for the tea-time snacks. After partially digesting our afternoon meal, we decided to head out and try the Ipoh tea-time eating scenes. We saw the usual fare of cakes, Coffee Bean, fried banana fritters before settling for a traditional kopitiam with a barely noticeable sign board.

What is it?
Hua Nam is a typical Malaysian Chinese Coffee shop serving hawker food.

Where is it?
It is located in downtown Ipoh, perpendicular to the popular Ming Court dimsum place.

What was reviewed?
We tried Ipoh’s famous white coffee, Ipoh’s famous toast bread and Prawn noodle.

How was it?

1. Hua Nam white coffee (7/10)
The term White coffee originated from the outlook of the beans. Traditional Malaysian coffee blends are roasted with sugar and margarine. Giving it the black roasted colour we are familiar with. White coffee beans are roasted with margarine minus the sugar, resulting in a roast that is less dark hence the term “white coffee”. The coffee served here both iced and hot are smooth and not too sweet. The coffee aroma is strong and great as a morning cuppa. View the cuppa here.

2. Toasted Bread with kaya and butter (Roti Kahwin/Yin Yong) (8/10)
Kaya is a sweet concoction of coconut milk, pandan and egg jam. The bread used here is not the typical squarish “Gardenia” type bread, but the traditional longish loaf. What’s so special about the toast here is that the bread is skilfully sliced in to half before both the thin slices are toasted. As a result you have a extremely crispy thin toast which was so good we ordered second helping for all. More pictures of it here.

3. Prawn Mee (7.5/10)
We chanced upon this prawn mee while Bottomless Pit was looking around to fill up his well… bottomless pit. Newspaper cuttings in chinese proclaiming its fame that decorated the stall’s walls drew immediate attention. Upon first bite, Bottomless Pit was impressed. I quote “the noodles are damn nice”. Smoking salmon liked the dish in whole but for the lack of sizeable shrimps. The chilli tasted mediocre and could have been improved. Perhaps the claim to fame does hold weight. More pics here.

How much does it cost?
1. White Coffee RM1.10
2. Toast RM0.70
3. Prawn Mee RM3.00 (small) RM3.50 (big)

Only slightly more than half a day here, and we already love the food found in this sleepy and dreamy town. Watch out for the continuation of DAY 1.