CRIZ BON APPETITE

Zongzi or rice dumpling is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Mandarin: Duanwu; Cantonese: Tuen Ng) which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar. The celebration happens to fall on today, 8 June 2008. These zongzi are wrapped with bamboo leaves and left to boil for several hours in order to get the glutinous rice to cook well.

I will show you the many types of zongzi which are easily available in Penang during this celebration. Firstly, let’s look at the traditional zongzi which has the glutinous rice pre-fried with soy sauce, dark soy sauce and pepper prior to boiling. The rice is then wrapped together with salted duck egg yolk, pork, mushrooms, water chestnut and dried shrimps.

The Nyonya Zongzi is totally different. It has pounded groundnuts, sweetened winter melon, some pork, dried shrimps and cooked with some spices. Normally, a small piece of pandan leave is added while wrapping to give it that special fragrance.

Another variety of the zongzi is the Green Bean Zongzi. It is normally filled with boiled beans and some fatty pork. Sometimes, the maker will also add in some salted duck egg yolk. Normally these zongzi will be eaten with chili sauce or fine sugar.

There will also be the Jianshui Zongzi where the zongzi are treated with lye water to get the yellowish color. These zongzi are eaten with Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) cooked with some santan (coconut milk). Some people will even fill the zongzi with sweeten red bean paste.

I happened to come across a new version of zongzi which is the Nasi Kunyit filled with Sambal Dried Shrimps from Lily Ng’s blog. She even provided us with the recipe for making them.

Popularity: 1% [?]

While I was down in Kuala Lumpur, I stumbled upon a stall in Low Yat Plaza selling soy milk and douhua (soy pudding). What caught my attention was the Tang Yuan served with soy milk. For your information, I love Tang Yuan and have been seen frequently patronizing the stall along Jalan Magazine in Penang.

The Soya Shop served great Tang Yuan with soy milk. It is a great dessert for the young as well as the old. Not only was the soy milk fresh and hot, you could freely choose either plain syrup or brown syrup of your choice, easily available on the table. This is a great idea for those, especially diabetics, who like it plain or not too sweet. The Tang Yuan comes in four flavors, namely Coconut, Chocolate, Red Beans and Pandan Lotus Paste. All of them were juicy soft and tasted great. Each bowl only cost RM2.80. The products served are completely halal.

I was too full from my lunch before this to try another bowl of douhua. I heard from Masak Masak that they do serve douhua with red kidney beans too but I did not see any publicity from this stall. Maybe they have it in another branch.

Photo Courtesy of Masak Masak

The Soya Shop has many branches in Hartamas Shoppig Complex (2nd Floor), Summit USJ (Ground Floor), Endah Parade (1st Floor), Low Yat Plaza (4th Floor), City Square Food Court (Lower Ground), 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Lower Ground) and Pasarakyat (Ground Floor), Giant Hypermarket, Bandar Kinara (Lower Ground) and many more to be set up soon. I managed to try out the one in Low Yat Plaza, so here is the map for the Bukit Bintang area branch.

Name: THE SOYA SHOP @ LOW YAT PLAZA

Address:
Level 4, Low Yat Plaza, Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-6275 8803 (Pasarakyat)
Website: http://www.thesoyashop.com/
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm
GPS: 3.143933, 101.709784

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 7/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 3% [?]

NOTE: Shifted to New Lane shop house (opposite Sunway Hotel Georgetown)

I thought other than the famous stall down in the town area selling Tang Yuan, there were no other stalls selling this yummy dessert, other than on some auspicious occasions. CK Lam from What2See pointed out that there is another stall down at Perak Road area. This stall is selling Hong Kong Tang Yuan, much cheaper than the ones we get from HK Wong Kok Restaurant.

Each bowl of Tang Yuan comes with two filled Tang Yuan (Peanut & Black Sesame) some smaller Tang Yuan and gingko nuts. You can opt for different soup base such as ginger, kooi hua, soy beans or red beans. All the soups are not too sweet. It is suitable for elderly people and children. The filling for the Tang Yuan is blended very fine, so is the red beans for the soup.

The pricing is very reasonable as each bowl cost only RM2.50. Other than serving Tang Yuan, there have a few varieties of Jelly for you to choose from. The shop is close on Monday and Friday. On Friday, you can get them at the Pasar Malam (Night Market) just opposite the stall as early as 6.30pm.

We ordered two bowls of the Tang Yuan with soy beans and red beans soup base. Here is how they look like.

Finding the stall might be a bit troublesome if you do not know the location well. If you are traveling through Jalan Dato Keramat into Jalan Perak, drive straight pass the Jalan P. Ramlee traffic light, straight again at the Sum Sun Primary School, Jalan Free School traffic light. As you pass the traffic light, you will see the Bomba HQ on your left. Move ahead about 400m and you will see another traffic light. The stall is in front of Kafe Aik Hwa right before the traffic light on your left. Parking might be a problem if you are driving a car but you can always try parking at the lane before the stall.

Name: HONG KONG TANG YUEN @ KAFE AIK HWA
Address: Perak Road, Penang, Malaysia
Contact: 019-476 3618 (Toh), 012-594 9892 (Ch’ng)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 11.00pm
(Closed on Monday and Friday at Pasar Malam)
GPS: 5.399784, 100.315164

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 3% [?]

This is one type of hawker food that you would not find anywhere else in Penang – the Oriental Chicken Mushroom Hor Fun. The stall has been operating there for two generations ever since it moved over from Jalan Siam. Most of the patrons are regulars as the stall is way out of the view from the main road. You can either order it dry or soup with Hor Fun, Bee Hoon or Mee. Both will come topped with yummy, tender juicy chicken meat, mushrooms and wood fungus.

What make this dish unique is that the boneless chicken meat cubes, mushrooms, wood fungus are stewed until all the herbs and spices had gone right into the meat. One bite and you will taste the mild herby taste of Dong Quai (Chinese Angelica or Female Ginseng), a traditional herb used in some Chinese dishes for strengthening the blood circulation, gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Women should know better how this herb will help. 😛

Price wise, a small bowl will cost RM3.00 and a big one RM3.50. Here are the two big bowl of the Hor Fun that we had ordered. If you plan to eat something heavier such as dinner, Tuck Sai Café does provide ala carte dishes with rice. The dishes are quite tasty but the pricing for the food and drinks could be pricey a bit.

If you are moving from town area along Jalan Dato Keramat towards Greenlane / Air Itam, you will see the Dato Keramat Police Headquarters at the traffic light. Drive further about 800m and you will see a big Nasi Kandar shop on your left. Turn into the road, Jalan Singapura (next to the road, same stretch as the Nasi Kandar shop is Honolulu Bistro & Café – formerly an old cinema) and turn right into Jalan Bukom. The stall is prominently located on the ground floor of the Sri Pelangi Apartment on the right.

Name:
ORIENTAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM HOR FUN @ TUCK SAI CAFE
Address:
Ground Floor, Sri Pelangi Apartment, Jalan Bukom, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 6.00pm – 11.00pm (Close Sunday & Monday)
GPS: 5.411768, 100.319059

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 6/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Maybe some of the foreigners may not know what is Tang Yuan but I can assure you that this dessert is very delicious. Tang Yuan is made out of glutinous rice flour mixed with water and form into small balls, either plain or colored. They can also be eaten unfilled or filled. You can opt for plain syrup or brown syrup cooked with or without old ginger slices. The most common filling would be red bean paste, black sesame paste or peanut paste. My grandmother used to fill them up with minced pork, cook them in boiling water and served them with chicken soup and vegetables. I really missed that and could not find anyone else selling it this way. I guessed the recipe went with her as well.

Anyway, Tang Yuan was originally served only during Lantern Festival, Winter Solstice and Chinese New Year. Today, they can be found easily in the frozen food section of any Asian supermarkets around the world. No matter what, I would still prefer those made fresh as they are softer. It has always been a tedious job and time consuming rolling the glutinous rice flour into balls but now you can just get them easily throughout the year. Where would you find the best Tang Yuan shop in Penang? The stall is right in the heart of Georgetown.

Recently, I visited the famous stall to savor the yummy dessert. My friend and I ordered two different combinations just to show you what Tang Yuan looked like. One bowl was filled Tang Yuan in gingered brown syrup whereas the other was unfilled Tang Yuan in plain syrup.

Just look at the fully filled Black Sesame and Peanut Tang Yuan. Don’t they look yummy?

Do not miss the opportunity to try out this wonderful dessert when you are in town during dinner time. The stall is situated by the roadside just diagonally opposite Traders Hotel, Magazine Road as well as Lebuh Lintang leading to Sushi King Prangin Mall. It is right after the second traffic lights on your left if you are coming from Jelutong Expressway towards town.

Name: TANG YEN HAWKER STALL
Address: Magazine Road, Penang, Malaysia. (Opposite Traders Hotel)
Opening Hours: 7.00pm – 12.00am (Closed on Wednesday and Sunday)
GPS: 5.413039, 100.330603

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: 3% [?]

After having the cut fruits and juices, I would always go for the best rojak in town. Most people would go for the mixed fruit rojak (spicy or non-spicy) but for me I love the fruits/vegetables in thin slices topped with the yummy sauce and sprinkled with pound groundnuts and dried shrimp powder.

You can opt for the turnip, pineapple, mangoes, pink guava or even baby cucumber slices. I ordered the turnip and pineapple and it cost me only RM2. It was so tasty that I bought the sauce (RM2.50 for 220gms & RM4.00 for 440gms) home for another fiesta later on. It also came with nuts and shrimp powder. I even saw many people buying by tens of bottles home. If you are along that area, do not ever miss this stall. You will surely regret not trying it out.

It is just along the Esplanade. There are ample of parking spaces.

Name: HO WEI JENG ROJAK (STALL 46)
Address: Esplanade Food Court
Opening Hours: 6.00pm -1.00am
GPS: 5.422822, 100.340688

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Popularity: unranked [?]