A Piece of Fried Fish and A Vegetable Dish

Fried Golden Pomfret with Ginger

All we need for dinner is a simple fried fish, a vegetable dish, and a bowl of rice each. Yesterday, we did just that for dinner. We were all so busy with our work that we did not even think of dinner until someone mentioned the word dinner. I quickly took out a golden pomfret from the freezer and immediately thawed it by submerging it in warm water. While waiting for the fish to be ready for the wok, I prepared the ginger that was to be fried with the fish.

Fried Golden Pomfret

And I also picked a vegetable from the fridge to cook a stir fry vegetable dish. Cleaned and chopped the vegetables for later. Meanwhile, got the wok ready and drop in four spoons of cooking oil and put the golden pomfret in the wok. And turn over after three minutes for another three minutes. Then, take the cooked fish and put in a serving plate. With whatever cooking oil left in the wok, drop in the thinly sliced ginger. Fry until the ginger turn golden brown and garnish on to the fish with the oil. To add taste, sprinkle a few drops of light soy sauce onto the fish then serve.

Sambal Ikan Cencaru Sumbat

Fried Sambal Stuffed Fish

I was doing monthly grocery shopping at Hen Long Supermarket in Surrey and came across the type of fish that my mom use for cooking the ikan sambal sumbat. The cencaru or scan fish is a popular fish used in ikan sambal sumbat which I have been searching among the supermarkets in Vancouver until I finally found it in Hen Long Supermarket. I first started using the black pomfret and then seabass for this spicy sambal recipe.

Fish Filled with Chilli Paste

After finding the fish in Hen Long Supermarket, I immediately asked my mom to do the sambal ikan sumbat. The sambal which was the key ingredient in the recipe was prepared from scratch. She put together lemon grass, red chillies, and shallots for the sambal. After chopping the ingredients and blending them together the sambal paste was simmered with cooking oil for a few minutes until the kitchen fills with the aroma.

Chilli Paste Stuffed Fish

Once the cooked chilli paste has cooled down, stuffed the chilli paste into the fish. Usually for this recipe the fish is cut with two deep cuts on the back of the fish on both sides to allow the chilli paste to be filled into the cuts. The chilli paste is filled right into the stomach cavity. Once the chilli is in the fish, Then, the fish is fried in the wok with cooking oil. It will take about five minutes on both sides to fully cook the fish.

Vietnamese Pho Noodle

Beef Pho Noodle Cuisine

This popular Vietnamese cuisine is served in almost if not all Vietnamese restaurants. In fact, the Pho noodle is the most significant cuisine of all food Vietnamese. So, when there is a mention of Vietnamese food, the Pho noodle cuisine is definitely associated. And with this strong interest in Vietnamese cuisines in Vancouver, one would think that the range of Vietnamese cuisines must be rather extensive. Actually, the range is rather small.

Lemon Grass Pork Rice

The reason that the Pho noodle is so popular among Vietnamese eateries is because patrons to Vietnamese diners usually orders the Pho Noodle and one of their lemon grass marinated meat (chicken, beef or pork) with rice cuisines. Originally, the Vietnamese diet include noodle and rice cuisines but during the French occupation of Vietnam, the sub sandwiches were introduced. And, today the sub sandwiches are widely recognized as a local cuisines.

Spring Rolls Cantonese Signature Cuisine

Crispy Spring Rolls

Spring roll is one of the cuisines that is synonymous to Chinese and particularly Cantonese cuisines. Whenever there is the mention of spring roll, it must be Chinese. And every Chinese type restaurant will have it on their menu. We like our spring rolls crispy on the outside and vegetable stuffed in the inside. Usually the vegetable that is used for the stuffing is a mixture of carrots, cabbage, and minced pork. Sometimes with shrimps too.

Spring Rolls

At home, we normally do not prepare spring rolls from scratch, which is actually a simple process to do. But we rather buy the ready to cook ones. The wrapping of spring roll does require some skill, if not wrapped properly the spring roll will be too loose and become soft instead of crisp. We found one Chinese grocery store in Richmond that sells really good ready to fry spring rolls. The grocery store is Foodly Supermarket on Sexsmith Street.

First Choice Hons

Roasted Chicken

The first diner we dined in when we first came home to Vancouver was HONS Wuntun House which serve some of the finest Cantonese cuisines in Vancouver. Although there are four different locations where HONS has a diner. Our most favorite in terms of authenticity, flavour and taste is still the HONS wuntun house which we dine-in most frequent, is the one located in New Westminster on sixth street. But the most favorable in terms of item price is the HONS diner in Chinatown.

Clay Pot Seafood Tofu

This particular HONS diner always have discounts on our favorite Cantonese cuisines. The HONS diner in New Westminster on the other hand is the nearest to where we live and most friendly among all the HONS in Vancouver metro area. And whenever we dine at HONS, we have our own order list. Usually, because of our familiarity to the Cantonese cuisines in HONS menu, even before we reach HONS, we would have decided on our orders.

Honey Garlic Pork Ribs

So, like always we ordered half roasted chicken, stir fried ginger and honey beef stick, clay pot seafood tofu, and garlic honey pork ribs. Of all the Cantonese cuisines that we have eaten within the last few weeks, whether in Malaysia or Vancouver, nothing taste better than the cuisines we are familiar at home. My family and I enjoy these simple Cantonese cuisines anytime and anywhere. HONS, still serve our favorite meals.

Logenhaus Western Cuisines

Baked Halibut with Potato Salad

We joined friends at Subang Jaya's Logenhaus Restaurant, a restaurant serving german cuisines, to celebrate one of the friend's birthday. This was our first dining experience in Logenhaus, but they have been around over fifteen years in the same location and popular among the local Western cuisine diners. We were there on a weekday and the diner wasn't exactly full but it wasn't empty either. Opened and operated by a local Chinese Malaysian with passion in authentic German cuisines.

Beef Steak with Baked Potato

For the years this restaurant has been operating in Subang Jaya, it has not only established itself as a restaurant serving authentic German cuisines but built a strong following among its diners. Their menu too were overhauled several times over to cater for improvements on their cuisines. And each time the cuisines become better and tastier. Other than improvement on cuisines, the diner were redesigned and renovated several times too.

Seafood Salad

On that day, there were seven of us in our party and we ordered at least five different Western cuisines from the menu. The first Western cuisine which I ordered was the baked halibut with Potato Salad. The second was the beef steak with cream cheese on baked potato. Next, was the seafood salad which was actually serve in a large portion that could be shared. And among the seafood selections were large jumbo shrimp, large oysters in shell, and salmon fillets. The other orders were the roasted chicken with rice, and a bacon and shrimp salad.

One More Meal with Cantonese Cuisines

Curry Fish Head

Before leaving for Vancouver, we took the opportunity to enjoy one more Cantonese cuisine meal with the family in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of our scheduled flight home. Again, we went to one of those neighbourhood restaurants. This particular restaurant was selected by our family members and was their treat for us. Therefore, we were guests and we had previously been here before, several years ago when we came for a holiday.

Emperor's Four Cuisines

The selection of the cuisines were also left to them. And we get to enjoy slightly different types of Cantonese cuisines, such as emperor's four cuisine, fried butter crawfish meat, curry fish head, stir fried egg plant and long beans, and stir fried Brussel sprouts. We actually enjoyed the meal but if it was left to us to order, we would not have ordered the vegetable cuisines and the curry cuisine. Because the vegetable cuisines was not worth the value and the curry fish head is not one of their specialty cuisines.

Fried Butter Crawfish Meat

That particular meal was not exactly the best we have had so far in Malaysia, there were other restaurants in the neighbourhood that had much better selections and tastier cuisines. Overall the meal was just okay. We were definitely appreciative of the gesture for inviting us to dine with the family before our flight home. Personally, I had hope to at least eaten a unforgettable dinner with my family before leaving for home but it turned out to be short of expectations. But importantly, I was happy to have met family members.

Banana Leaf Curry Rice

Standard Banana Leaf Curry Rice

Went for banana leaf curry rice with a group of friends in Subang Jaya on Jalan Kewajipan. The coffee shop was called Banana Leaf and they have a full range of banana leaf curry cuisines. It was just a typical Indian style coffee shop serving authentic Indian cuisines but serve on a piece of banana leaf. I was looking forward to this meal all day long when the friend that drove us there told us about this place in the morning.

Whole Fried Fish

Although, there are several other such diners in within the kuala Lumpur area, serving the meals from banana leafs, this particular location was the nearest to where we were during the day. Once you are seated, the waiter will come with a new banana leaf to set you up. Then, rice will be placed in the centre of the big banana leaf. Next, the waiter will come around with the curries and vegetables. And a piece of the fried vegetable crackers. This standard banana leaf curry rice include choices of vegetable curries, fish curry, meat curry and also pickled vegetables.

Fried Chicken

There are also plenty of side orders which anyone can add to the standard banana leaf curry rice meal. And the range of selection starts with three kinds of fish cuisines like fried fish fillet, whole fried fish, or fish head. Then, there are fried chicken, chicken curry, mutton curry, squid curry, shrimp curry, and beef curry. Other side orders include, fried squid, fried crab, and fried shrimps. There was just too much to select from and usually we will have to make a few trips to complete the menu list.

Shrimp Curry

Typically, restaurants of this kind serve very standard Indian cuisines. No matter which banana leaf curry rice restaurant one dines in, the flavours, taste and authenticity is very much the same. They all serve the same curries, the same fried seafoods, and the same selection of curries. Even their pickled vegetables and stir fried vegetables taste and look the same. The spices and herbs that is used in the preparation and cooking are also the same.

Missing the Wuntun Noodle with Chicken Feet and Curry Noodle

Wuntun Noodle with Chicken Feet

There are a lot of food that I missed while living in Vancouver and the moment I had the opportunity, I headed for the closes Indian coffee shop I can find. In this trip, the first taste of real authentic Malaysian cuisine was the roti chennai. After that, I went to the morning market and ordered the wuntun noodle with chicken feet and the curry noodle topped with char siew. These are the usual breakfast meal many Malaysians indulge in.

Curry Noodle with Char Siew

Wuntun noodle was my most consumed breakfast when I was working and living in Kuala Lumpur. The curry noodle with char siew was the alternative to the wuntun noodle. If both of these was not available in the coffee shop, I will then, settle for the roti chennai or nasi lemak. But in the morning market place, there are all kinds of breakfast meal that are available. So, I would eat one different favorite noodle cuisine a day.

A Bowl of Cendol and a Plate of Rojak

Rojak

While driving through Selayang on the way to Batu Caves, I stopped by the road side where a rojak food truck was operating on the Batu Cave Road to savour a bowl of cendol and a plate of rojak before continuing with my journey. And I was not the only person doing that. In fact, there were at least ten other drivers that did exactly the same. This seemed to be the rojak food truck operator's permanent business spot, attracting patrons on the busy Batu Caves road.

Cendol

Cendol and rojak are complements to one another. It just not right to have one and not the other. At every rojak food truck stop, it is common to find both these authentic Indian specialties. Rojak is a cuisine mixed with cucumber, jicama, bean sprouts, shrimp crackers, shrimp fritters, egg, and top with the thick sweet shrimp broth. Due to the cuisines' popularity, rojak has become a significant part of the Malaysian food culture. Cendol on the other hand is a concoction of sweeten coconut milk, palm sugar, shaved ice, red beans, and green noodles.

Yellow Spoon The Thai Restaurant

Lemon Juice Steam Fish

I had a pleasant surprise when I was introduced to one of the latest addition to Bandar Manjalara's famous streets of restaurants. Yellow Spoon Thai Cuisines serves a range of authentic Thai cuisines. The operators of the restaurant are actually my wife's cousin and his wife, who is the chef, with culinary skills in authentic Thai cuisines. We were treated to some of their specialty cuisines and unique beverages.

Pandan Fried Chicken

Yellow Spoon Thai Cuisines is especially unique being the only Thai cuisines restaurant on the street and may even be the only one in the area. Majority of the restaurants in the area are hotpot restaurants. In fact, these hotpot restaurants are so dominant that Bandar Manjalara is known for hotpot restaurants. But among these hotpot restaurants are some restaurants serving the best authentic cuisines, like Ulu Yam Taro Noodles.

Rice Stick PadThai

And along the streets there are durian stalls that provide some of the best local durians and other tropical fruits. In Yellow Spoon Thai Cuisine, we were served with a four course meal starting with the lemon juice steam fish. An excellent cuisine with steam rice. Then, we were served with the flavourful pandan fried chicken, keow teow padthai, and seafood tomyam. Ambiance in the diner was very comfortable and clean. So, the food served was tasty, flavour, and authentic in an air-conditioned diner.

Hand Knead Noodle

Fried Pan Mee

In recent years, the hand knead noodle has become popular among many Malaysians across the different ages. There are at least seven different coffee shops that serve primarily the hand knead noodle in the new Puchong township. And that, is not counting the hand knead noodle stalls in various coffee shops that sells these type of noodle cuisine. And seen as a new business opportunity, these hand knead noodle shops has quickly flourished to other townships like Subang and beyond.

Pan Mee with Thick Vinegar Gravy

These coffee shops that only serve the hand knead noodles has reinvented the entire hand knead noodle cuisine by introducing new recipes to increase the range of offerings. On their menu there are easily twenty different types of hand knead noodle cuisines. In the morning market place where the hand knead noodle originated only have either the dry or soup type but today there are over twenty tasty flavours of the hand knead noodle.

The best in Mee Rebus, Mee Goreng, and Rojak

Mee Rebus

Among my wife's favorite casual Malaysian cuisines are the Mee Rebus and the Rojak or Persembur as it is called in Penang. These two cuisines can be found in Indian coffee shops where they often also serve roti chennai, mee goreng, dosa, curry puffs, briyani chicken rice, and many other Southern Indian cuisines. This kind of coffee shops are meeting place for all the different ethnic groups in Malaysia because it serves only halal food which is appropriate for mostly all dietary needs.

Rojak Persembur

So, these Indian coffee shops has become a place of congregations for Malaysians. Today, Indians coffee shops are so common that they considered a neighbourhood coffee shops. To every community in Malaysia, these Indian coffee shops has developed into a significant part of the growth and integration between the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. Therefore, these Indian coffee shops indirectly played an integral part to the peace and harmony in Malaysia bring the people together.

Mee Rebus Mamak

Although they serve only casual and simple cuisines, these coffee shops are often full with people. And the best cuisines these coffee shops can offer are the fried noodles (Mee Goreng) and the blanched noodles (Mee Rebus). And besides the noodles, they have special days where they offer all kinds of curry dishes and rice dishes. Among which are briyani rice, tomato rice, coconut fragrant rice, curry fish head, beef rendang, and honey fried chicken.

Breakfast in Royal Subang Golf Club

Roti Chennai Dipped in Curry

I was in the Royal Subang Golf Club for breakfast with some friends who had just completed their regular weekend morning golf session. I only joined them for the breakfast and did not participate in the golf session. The breakfast cuisines was not really out of ordinary cuisines but just the normal casual kind of cuisines we normally find in any Malaysian, that serve Muslim food, kind of coffee shop. Of cause the cafeteria in the club house also serves Western breakfast.

Curry Puffs with Eggs

Since back in Malaysia, I have not even thought of any meal that is Western yet. I still prefer to eat as much Malaysian as possible before heading home to Vancouver. My simple breakfast meal that day in The Royal Subang Golf Club was Roti Chennai with curry. That was good enough to satisfy my taste buds. The simplest meals are always the best. They are cheap, satisfying, and flavourful. Not always the healthiest but control is important.

Plain Dosa

Other than roti Chennai, there were also dosa, curry puff, and nasi lemak among the morning choices of food served in the cafeteria. These are all popular Malaysian breakfast choices and have been the traditional breakfast among the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. In fact since the first day of my visit to Malaysia, I have had the roti Chennai at least five times and still haven't had enough of it. I really missed this simple South Indian bread that was introduced into Malaysia by the Indian immigrants.

Typical Malaysian Breakfast Meals

Curry Noodle

In the dozen of days or so that was in Kuala Lumpur, I practically spend the mornings eating typical Malaysian breakfast like curry noodle, prawn noodle and even Hakka yong tau foo. They are very heavy meals in comparison to the much lighter breakfast meals I normally have for breakfast in Vancouver. In the morning markets, is where you find all kinds of vendors, including food carts vendors selling all kinds of popular Malaysian rice and noodle cuisines.

Penang Prawn Noodle

In Vancouver we consider these rice and noodle meals to be meals worthy for dinner or lunch but people in Malaysia eat these for breakfast. So, to avoid over consuming, I always order a smaller portion. And that too seems a lot for me. It is not that I don't enjoy curry noodle, wuntun noodle, or prawn noodle for breakfast. I just want to avoid putting on the extra pounds which I will eventually have to work on taking off later.

Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Of the twelve days in Kuala Lumpur, I ate roti canai and nasi lemak breakfast at least twice each. Therefore I had eight days of breakfast to try the more Chinese kind of breakfast. So, I picked curry noodles, prawn noodles, wuntun noodles, and yong tau foo for breakfast on at least one of the days. I could not exactly remember which day it was but that I ate what but I have eaten these noodle cuisines at least during one of the breakfast.

Awesome and Authentic Thai Cuisines

Squid Curry

One of the places I got to dine in Malaysia was a neighbourhood restaurant that specializes in authentic Thai cuisines when a long-time family friend invited us to dine with the family. This restaurant was not easy to find if one is not familiar with the surrounding road system in Kepong as it was hidden in between two adjacent neighbourhood of Kepong and Maluri atop an elevated parcel of land at the edge of the industrial park in Kepong.

Large Prawns with Petai Curry

And to make directions even more complicated, the restaurant does not have a name nor a sign outside its business location. I guess the people that come to dine here must have been referred by someone that had enjoyed the cuisines here. When we finally located the restaurant, I realized that we have been here many years before. And next to this restaurant, is another Chinese restaurant that also does not have a restaurant name displayed outside its' business premise.

Stir Fried Water Spinach

While waiting to be served, I noticed that the ambiance in the diner was not pleasant at all with smell of incense and joss stick burning creating excessive smoke in the diner. But most of the diners did not really care, they just went on with enjoying their dinner. As for me, my eyes were burning up with the excessive smoke. When our orders were finally served, we forgot about the smoke and the smell. We just ate as fast as we could so that we can get out of the restaurant.

Otak-Otak in Coconut

The diner might be a torment for some people but the cuisines were really good, tasty, flavourful and unique. I am not sure if the cuisines were authentic as I am not familiar with all of Thai cuisines. But I am sure everyone that have eaten here will agree that, they serve some pretty good Thai cuisines. I wish, I could have said that I truly enjoyed the meal there. The ambiance in the diner needs to be improved and comfort for diners should be a consideration.

Two of the most popular Cantonese Fried Noodle Cuisines

Cantonese Fry Thick Rice Noodle

Among the many different types of noodle cuisines that I have eaten, there are two types of Cantonese style noodle cuisine that are among my favorite noodle cuisines. I really love a good plater of the thick rice noodle fry with thick egg and chicken broth gravy. This is a popular noodle cuisine in Malaysia among Chinese diners. This popular Cantonese noodle cuisine is served in nearly all Chinese type eateries in Malaysia.

It is also a noodle cuisine that is

Cantonese Dark Soy Fried Egg Noodle

easily copied as the ingredients and style of cooking are common among restaurants, food carts, and food stall throughout the country. The second most favorite in my list of Cantonese noodle cuisine is the fried egg noodle with seafood and thick dark soy sauce gravy. These two noodle cuisine although commonly found in Malaysia but in Vancouver there are no similar noodle cuisines. I have come across somewhat similar noodle cuisines but yet to find really similar in taste and flavour yet.

Yaw Lee the popular neighbourhood Chinese Malaysian Restaurant

Honey Garlic Pork

There is this neighbourhood Chinese restaurant, Yaw Lee Chinese Restaurant, in Kuala Lumpur that we frequently dine in when we visit Malaysia. In fact, there are many of such neighbourhood restaurants in the Kuala Lumpur area where they have become family diners. Most of these popular restaurants are usually pack with family diners on the weekends and holidays. And no matter which of these Chinese restaurant we chooses, they serve the same range of popular cuisines.

Garlic Ginger Steam Fish

Due to popularity demand and diners' need for choices, there are many of these Chinese restaurants in each neighbourhood. But in the neighbourhood where my mom lives, Yaw Lee Chinese Restaurant is our favorite. On the popular cuisine list, Yaw Lee serves many of the Cantonese type cuisines that can also be found served in many other such restaurants but the menu listed prices at Yaw Lee Chinese Restaurant is the most appropriate.

Soy Sauce Clams 

Some of these neighbourhood restaurants can be very expensive to dine in if given the opportunity for them to make a quick profit. Other than cooking up some real awesome authentic Cantonese cuisines, these neighbourhood restaurants are also very good in taking advantage of their patrons by charging exuberant prices for specialty cuisines, like unique seafood cuisines. So, this is the reason we seldom order specialty cuisines when dining at these neighbourhood restaurants.

Fried Crawfish with Salted Eggs

If we wanted specialty seafood cuisines, we will go to a restaurant that serve specialty seafood cuisines. In neighbourhood restaurants such as Yaw Lee Chinese Restaurant the common Cantonese cuisines such as Honey Garlic Pork, Garlic Ginger Stream Fish, Soy Sauce Clams, Fried Crawfish with Salted Eggs, and Clay Pot Tofu Pork in Soy Sauce are some of the most popular and awesome cantonese cuisines that the entire family love.