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.