Re-Acquainting Myself with Tesse

Tesse was the second dog I got to train. I had many fun years with her, and I enjoyed getting to see her in her waning years. Here, she is all fluffed up after a nice bath!

While I will miss her, I hope she will get to move on soon so that she will not suffer.

~ Shien

Uncle Steven The Yong Tau Foo "Boy"

Long ago, my father developed a relationship with a man who sold Yong Tau Foo (Fish Paste stuffed into Tofu, vegetables and fishballs). He started out with little more than a couple of pots slung over his shoulder with a bamboo pole. His son would follow him on his rounds, hawking his food. Over time, the business grew, and the boy grew with it. Now, Uncle Steven has a coffee shop dedicated to his food, and his Yong Tau Foo is as good as ever!

My dad has always invited himself into the restaurant of a kitchen. This is certainly no exception, and Uncle Steven humors my father as he pokes his head into the various pots and boxes and tubs, inspecting the goods to whet his appetite and satisfy his curiosity. Sometimes, Uncle Steven would have a prized fish to steam for dad, or even a Shovel Nosed Shark Head to braise!

~ Shien

Welcome Home Dinner

Mom simply can't help herself! What was advertised to be a simple dinner when I arrived in Singapore because the food was cooked a head of time and re-heated was a really an exquisite spread of cooked food! Beginning with a fish maw (swim bladder) soup with napa cabbage and hand rolled pork meat balls (which she made "huge" for less work) and lovely broth... mom could not help herself but berate the soup because she had used pork rinds that turned out to be rancid.

Truth be known, the soup was so good, you could hardly tell that the broth was tainted with rancid pork rinds!

But wait--there's more! Much More! She also cooked one of my all time favorite dishes "Tau Yu bak" with Tofu, Pork Stew Meat and Bones in a lovely salty-sweet soy marinade.

She had to garnish it exquisitely, of course!

And then there was the chicken-mushroom stew with carrots and potato. Another legitimate meal in itself that has been devoured with large crusts of warmed baguette. But no, not tonight--it was merely another side dish to a feast made to honor my return.

The stew broth was simply delicious enough to drink. But we have to press on. The feast continued... with a lovely Papaya Salad Thai Style and amazing Fried Chicken.

How do you not continue eating yourself to harm with such a spread to do justice to the effort and care imbued in the food?!!

Thank you so much mom for throwing a feast to welcome me home, and not "killing a live animal" meanwhile.

~ Shien

Farewell for Now

The cousins had so much fun together, and it had been so long since we had seen each other that we had to part ways with much unsaid.






We celebrated a brief but meaningful trip with dinner at the Indian Restaurant below the Gurney Hotel where they stayed.







Now that we live in Penang, and the flights are short and far less expensive, it is see you later and a shorter good-bye!

~ Shien

Fresh Durian is Tough to Open!

I never knew that there is a correlation between how difficult a durian is to open and how recently it dropped from the tree (prime ripeness). That is until I tried to pry open the durians that we bought for my dad and Vincent to eat while they were here.

These are the same specimens that were purchased for the New Staff Orientation. Only this time, we were ready to enjoy them immediately.

But first, I had to get them open. The vendor had thoughtfully cut a notch in the bottom of each fruit--just enough to get a grip. But I could barely exert enough pressure to pull the husks apart.
 

I about punctured the palms of my hands and spiked my thighs as the fruit slid under immense effort and frustration.

At long last, success! And the superficial wounds and sweaty effort was well worth it!

The next day, Ju and Vince came over to help us finish the rest of the uneaten durians. By then, the fruit were very easy to open, and the flavors had mellowed and were flat.

~ Shien

Progressive Breakfast along Penang Street

We met Vincent at the hotel at 8am, and had him bring our family and Kong Kong to his breakfast run on Penang Road.

We began at this quaint coffee shop at the North end of Penang Road. It was famous for 2 things--Char Kway Teow and Beef Ball Noodles.

We sipped strong Kopi Kau (silty coffee with sweetened condensed milk) while we waited.

The Beef Balls were snappy with loads of flavor--very similar to the Vietnamese/ Thai variety.

The complimentary soup broth also had a few links of Lor Bak--the ubiquitous Penang Sausage stuffed in dried beancurd casings.

We headed South towards the Wet Market and stopped at the Char Kuih Kak (fried Chinese Carrot/Radish Cake pieces that were previously steamed) stall. There, we stood and sampled the product moments after it left the massive griddle!

Monica was too full to consider tasting the mouth-scalding Char Kuih Kak, so she followed Kong Kong into the Wet Market with Ian to look at the fish.

Along the way, they passed this vendor at the entrance of the market. Tubs of brined and preserved product sat beside mounds of pre-measure and pre-bagged versions of the same.
Next, they passed the pork meat vendors. Kong Kong did not even pause for a glance--he was headed straight for the fish. Looking at fish and talking to the vendors offers Kong Kong enough amusement to be considered a pass-time.

Finally, they arrived at the damp and stinky fish stalls. The large, torpedo-like fish are Tenggiri (similar to King Mackerel). Cut into steaks, these fish are delicious when dredged in tumeric then fried and served with lemon. The soft center-bones make this fish very easy to eat!

The red and blue totes on the floor are ice-chests that stack in the ice-holds of the trawlers. The totes are universally sized so that they will fit efficiently in the ships and marked with prominent paint to identify where they need to be returned when done.

This is a round platter of Selar (smaller than Horse Mackerel). This is the fish that is universally used in Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) and other fried fish application because it is very inexpensive, plentiful and mild-flavored.

Here is another look at a vegetable vendor--see the massive taro/yam roots in the tub on the floor?

On the way out of the market area, we saw this massive Jackfruit Half laying on the street.

I used to like eating Jackfruit and Cempedak (its smaller, more pungent relative), but neither Monica nor the kiddos like its flavor, and I have developed a mouth allergy that causes my mouth to itch when I eat it.

We walked past the throng and followed the lovely aroma of fried bread.
 
There was a vendor who was deep frying dough stick pairs, sweet butterfly bread flecked with sesame seeds and flat round discs filled with red bean paste. 

 

Stuffed to the gills, we stumbled to the South end of Penang Road and chanced on these icy monoliths! I found out later that these ice blocks were used daily by the Chendol (shaved ice with coconut cream, sweetened with palm sugar and served with sweetened red beans and pandan jelly "worms") Vendor nearby.

Kong Kong turned his attention to buying treats to bring home to friends. As we stepped away from this shop, a scooter zoomed down the sidewalk and turned down the alley next to us!

~ Shien

Nasi Kandar Lunch on Transit Lane

Vincent hinted very strongly that he really wanted to eat Nasi Kandar before leaving Penang. Nasi Kandar is rice served with assorted meat, seafood and vegetable dishes prepared with Indian Flair. The spices are strong and sometimes hot, and the layers of flavors very complex.

This particular coffeeshop specialized in serving quail and squab. When we first arrived, Ian and Aria were feelign hot and uncomfortable, so Ian focused on playing his DSi.

Towards the end of our meal, mom persuaded him to eat something to ensure that he didn't suddenly feel his hunger when we left. When Ian tasted the curry, he realized how good it was and started lapping it up as quickly as he could with his spoon.

Eventually he gave up all modesty and drank from the bowl.

~ Shien

Welcome to the Bali Hai...

...you can check in, but you can't check out! No, that's not the kind of restaurant this is, but it is touristy and very pricey!

Nevertheless, we had an amazing steamed white pomfret here Teochew Style. Kong Kong discovered this place when Vincent's Aunt threw a massive, decadent birthday party here.

We ate pretty good seafood throughout the night...

The kids were happy!

We had pepper crab.








Plain fried fish. Vegetables in sambal

 

But that white pomfret. First of all, it was steamed perfectly--center bone still pink, and flesh next to it still slightly translucent. 

Then the broth that the mushrooms, preserved vegetables and salted plum produced as it steamed was a heady elixir that we drank it up! 

Of all the steamed pomfret dishes eaten over the decades, this was easily in the Top 3 best!

Ian and Aria were happy to gawk at the live seafood after their meal.

 

Finger licking goodness!

 

~ Shien