Simply Smashing Samplings
There are moments. And fulfiling moments. The palate has to be teased and lovingly cared for at times. We need not take much, but an opportunity to sip, savour and relish is all I ask.
Every American knows beef jerky. What about the pork versions. Throughout East Asia, especially in the bustling cities of Taipei, Hong Kong, Singaporeore and Kuala Lumpur, you can find delight in those with pork. Pork jerky is traditionally served flat, oily and munched well with bread. Recently, in my sojourn back to South-east Asia, I found a new fangled version to taste - pork jerky suasages. Only about two to three inches, they look less fatty, are in perfect size for cocktails and are absolutely delicious. I shall never get those standard sausages from Woolworths or Coles again.
Sashimi, South Indian mee rebus, roti pancakes, bottled birds nest soup, arrowroot flavoured chips, hazelnut-tinged white coffee, Indonesian-styled ice kacang, wok-ky good stir fried hor fun noodles - I went through all of them to find that special specimen of an experience. Mum offered her home made char koay teow (stir-fried rice noodles) when I wanted to try the latest sensational stall selling a similiar dish on Penang Island. In the heritage city where I grew up, everyday offers possibilities for snacks, meals and suppers, a consequence of the blending of different migrant cultures, an easy attitude to survive the weather and the great propensity to go out at night. There are street vresions of such food, hotel offerings, glorified versions served up at charismatic bungalows turned into tropical garden ambience - but home made food is always the best. Aunt Kuchai's prawn curry and lobak meat rolls stood out at my annual binging at her dining table around the Lunar New Year.
Then there was inevitably the rare serving. This time it was thnih kuo with fine coconut shavings - thnih being sweet glutinous, kuo being the resulting pudding, soft, freshly steamed and enhanced with the topping of white delicate coconut flesh bits.In Australia, such a delicacy, originally made as prayer offerings, tend to be hard, maybe because of preservatives, perhaps because of the dry climate. In Penang, they are enticingly made with the right texture, not too soft nor too chewy.
Kay Seang and his wife May Wah offered English-syled cakes at their hideaway. I could hear the quiet soothing waves of the Andaman Sea not far away, and the wooden furnsihings blended well with songs from Edith Piaf. Light egg batter over steamed gourd cuts is an old fashioned dish that hardly anyone makes these days, but was delightfully rediscovered at an unassuming kopitiam (or coffeeshop) in a tucked corner of Transfer Road in old Georgetown - this same eating outlet also makes finger licking chicken deep fried with belachan powder, belachan being dried shrimp paste beloved in ASEAN towns from Songkhla to Makassar. Aunty Kuchai had come up with a home made version of chicken deep fried with tau joo, a bean paste flavour.
One may not consume much. The often oppressive afternoons can discourage appetite, but a work out at the air-conditioned gym or a run amongst shady tropical forest foliage can do otherwise. After a well deserved sudden downpour of rain following a duration of humid heat, it is time to start the evening casually in open air food courts, accompanied by easy-going mates and winding up with a beer into the wee hours of the early morning listening to a live band. It may seem timeless doing that, but it also brought me back memories of a lifestyle long ago on my home island. Whether sitting in a heritage mansion once the family home of a prominent island lawyer, or feeling the light seaside breeze on an easy afternoon looking out at placid scenes of resting fishing boats, these are samplings of experience to cherish and revitalise my thoughts and gratitude.
Every American knows beef jerky. What about the pork versions. Throughout East Asia, especially in the bustling cities of Taipei, Hong Kong, Singaporeore and Kuala Lumpur, you can find delight in those with pork. Pork jerky is traditionally served flat, oily and munched well with bread. Recently, in my sojourn back to South-east Asia, I found a new fangled version to taste - pork jerky suasages. Only about two to three inches, they look less fatty, are in perfect size for cocktails and are absolutely delicious. I shall never get those standard sausages from Woolworths or Coles again.
Sashimi, South Indian mee rebus, roti pancakes, bottled birds nest soup, arrowroot flavoured chips, hazelnut-tinged white coffee, Indonesian-styled ice kacang, wok-ky good stir fried hor fun noodles - I went through all of them to find that special specimen of an experience. Mum offered her home made char koay teow (stir-fried rice noodles) when I wanted to try the latest sensational stall selling a similiar dish on Penang Island. In the heritage city where I grew up, everyday offers possibilities for snacks, meals and suppers, a consequence of the blending of different migrant cultures, an easy attitude to survive the weather and the great propensity to go out at night. There are street vresions of such food, hotel offerings, glorified versions served up at charismatic bungalows turned into tropical garden ambience - but home made food is always the best. Aunt Kuchai's prawn curry and lobak meat rolls stood out at my annual binging at her dining table around the Lunar New Year.
Then there was inevitably the rare serving. This time it was thnih kuo with fine coconut shavings - thnih being sweet glutinous, kuo being the resulting pudding, soft, freshly steamed and enhanced with the topping of white delicate coconut flesh bits.In Australia, such a delicacy, originally made as prayer offerings, tend to be hard, maybe because of preservatives, perhaps because of the dry climate. In Penang, they are enticingly made with the right texture, not too soft nor too chewy.
Kay Seang and his wife May Wah offered English-syled cakes at their hideaway. I could hear the quiet soothing waves of the Andaman Sea not far away, and the wooden furnsihings blended well with songs from Edith Piaf. Light egg batter over steamed gourd cuts is an old fashioned dish that hardly anyone makes these days, but was delightfully rediscovered at an unassuming kopitiam (or coffeeshop) in a tucked corner of Transfer Road in old Georgetown - this same eating outlet also makes finger licking chicken deep fried with belachan powder, belachan being dried shrimp paste beloved in ASEAN towns from Songkhla to Makassar. Aunty Kuchai had come up with a home made version of chicken deep fried with tau joo, a bean paste flavour.
One may not consume much. The often oppressive afternoons can discourage appetite, but a work out at the air-conditioned gym or a run amongst shady tropical forest foliage can do otherwise. After a well deserved sudden downpour of rain following a duration of humid heat, it is time to start the evening casually in open air food courts, accompanied by easy-going mates and winding up with a beer into the wee hours of the early morning listening to a live band. It may seem timeless doing that, but it also brought me back memories of a lifestyle long ago on my home island. Whether sitting in a heritage mansion once the family home of a prominent island lawyer, or feeling the light seaside breeze on an easy afternoon looking out at placid scenes of resting fishing boats, these are samplings of experience to cherish and revitalise my thoughts and gratitude.
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