A Quacking Bowl Of Duck Thigh Noodles

FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG


A stall in Puchong wins hands down for the best Ngap Thui Meen

NGAP THUI MEEN or duck thigh noodles is a dish that you won’t find everywhere especially in the Klang Valley.

This noodle dish is made famous by the Pun Chun restaurant in Bidor, Perak. Now, I must say that I am a huge fan of the ngap thui meen and my quest for a perfect bowl had taken me to many places around the country.


The best: The duck thigh noodles stall at Ramai coffee shop in Puchong.

Well, many folks I come across hated duck. Why? It is an acquired taste. Some say it’s gamey while others simply do not know how to appreciate duck.

So, if you are still reading, that means you are interested. All right - for starters, this particular noodles comes in two variants. You can either have the kwon-lou (dry) or chee suay (soup).

In the soupy version, you will find a piece of double-boiled roasted duck thigh (at this point, the meat is tender and less gamey in taste) with Chinese herbs.

The soup base with its meat is double boiled for at least six hours before it is mixed with egg noodles. So, you are actually tasting the essence of the duck.

But don’t be confused with the use of herbs because as far as I know, there is little medicinal value in this soupy noodle dish. What I like, is the clear and smooth taste of the herbal soup and since the duck thigh is so tender, even toothless senior citizens can enjoy it.


Tasty duck: Pun Chun coffee shop’s ngap thui meen.

And just when I thought the Bidor duck thigh noodles are second to none, one contender from Puchong stands out.

My perception changed when I tasted what Puchong had to offer. This, in my humble opinion, is one of the best ngap thui meen around.

Best of all, the stall is located in a corner coffee shop called Ramai food centre near Tesco, which is about a 10-minute drive away from where I live.

I discovered the coffee shop by chance when I took my wife to a clinic there. The moment I saw the stall, my immediate reaction was to order a bowl.

And in no time, the lady owner of this stall came with a steaming hot bowl of ngap thui meen. Compared to the Bidor version, the soup base of my noodles was crystal clear.

Even the noodles were different. Instead of giving preserved green chillies as a dip for the noodles, this stall offered sliced chilli api.

Now, that gave it the required ‘ooomph!’ that got me sweating buckets.

Although the portion seemed small, the tasty and tender duck meat and excellent herbal broth made up for it.

I was also surprised to find out that both coffee shops charged the same amount. A bowl of ngap thui meen costs RM6.30. But if you want to compare the taste, then you will have to take a drive up north to find out whether Pun Chun can live up to your expectations or not.

The Ramai coffee shop in Puchong caters mainly to the local crowd while Pun Chun, once a thriving eatery from the old KL - Ipoh trunk road era is now experiencing a revival. Many tourists from out of town frequent this coffee shop in the heart of Bidor that also caters to wedding functions.

The Puchong coffee shop caters more to people working in the area and if you are around the Tesco hypermart, you might want to give this place a try.

Speaking of Pun Chun, a colleague of mine told me that the restaurant has a branch in Kota Kemuning near Klang.

You can find out more by accessing its blog at: www.punchun.blogspot.com. The Lat, Long coordinates for Pun Chun in Bidor, Perak, is Lat 04 06 693, Long 101 17 255 and the coordinates for Ramai coffee shop is Lat 03 01 995, Long 101 36 897.

Please note that the GPS coordinates works only with handheld and in-vehicle units. Google mapping software is not compatible with the position given, so, good luck and happy eating!

Fine Japanese Fare

Compiled by RENITA CHE WAN


Akamomiji is the latest addition to Ipoh’s line-up of Japanese restaurants that made its small debut about a month ago.

The place is almost fully booked every evening, and prior reservations seem to be the norm, lest you decide to casually waltz in and capitalise on the furore or chaos that is surrounding almost all newly-opened outlets.

Ipoh is one of the states where quality and quantity of the food comes first while dining experience comes a close (or distant) second so although the service wasn’t excellent, the staff were rather friendly and approachable, topping up their cups of green tea every now and then.


Chicken Teriyaki Jyu

It has to be known that the owner of Akamomiji is from the management of Kizuna, and incidentally the restaurant is situated just a stone’s throw away from it.

Somehow, their orders got mixed up and they were served more dishes than they initially ordered. But being the hungry souls that they were, they relented and gobbled up everything that was put in front of them.

The appetisers of marinated seaweed, (Chuka Wakame) and marinated baby octopus (Chuka Idako) came in dainty portions, but served their functions as appetisers well.

The baby octopus on the other hand were crunchy to the bite, served on a bed of julienned cucumbers and it was refreshing.


Ninmiku Chahan (garlic fried rice).

“We were told by the staff that the fish are flown in from Japan every Tuesdays and Fridays and although it was a Sunday, the slices of fish remained fresh, sweet and succulent.

“Especially tempting was the crunchy roes. Every bite of it released squirts of juices and they are a far cry from Sushi King’s, believe me.”

They were then served with the Una Jyu (grilled eel with sweet teriyaki sauce on rice) but it was only after they have stuffed themselves with it that they realized the dish wasn’t in their order list.

“Oh what the heck, the thick, juicy and well-marinated slabs of eel were perfectly grilled, with its juice retained and none of the cold, fishy taste. Thumbs up to the unagi with complementary miso soup!”

The chicken, succulent and tender, was simply served with strips of seaweed and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, which came with a bowl of miso soup. This motormouth from Ipoh wrote that this meal is sufficient to be a complete meal, or perhaps a light lunch.

The garlic fried rice was good; fluffy and fragrant from the garlic cloves, perfect as an ala carte order to complement your salads, grilled meats, hot pots or even the kushiyaki.

“On the whole, the meal was above-average, with rather reasonable prices to boot. But of course we didn’t go crazy with the orders and did not order any sashimi, given the fact that it’s two days too late to sample their freshly flown supplies from Japan.”

Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant is located at 36-38, Medan Ipoh 1E, Medan Ipoh Bistari, 31400 Ipoh, and the number to call is 05-546 8368.

Top Favourites

Text by FARIDAH BEGUM

The first anniversary of Sunday Metro is on May 6 and to celebrate, we reveal our top 10 foods for the year!


1. Egg Tart

Recommended:
Choy Bee Biscuit or Simee in Kampung Simee market, Ipoh;
Fung Wong Biscuits, Jalan Hang Lekir, KL;
Tong Kee Confectionary, Jalan Tun HS Lee, KL;
Nam Heong Restaurant, Old Town Ipoh;
Yuen Garden Dim Sum, Jalan Kenari, Bandar Puchong Jaya, Puchong, Selangor.


2. Ais Kacang

Recommended:
Swatow Lane Ice Kacang, Penang;
Mustafa Cendol, Jalan Teluk Sisek, Kuantan;
Men Kee Food Court, Jalan Tun Ismail, Seremban;
Berkeley Garden Restaurant, Berkeley Roundabout, Klang;
Penang Village, Putrajaya and Hartamas Shopping Centre, KL.


3. Banana Leaf Lunch

Recommended:
Krishna Curry House, Jalan P.P. Narayanan (formerly Jalan 222), Petaling Jaya;
Ashoka, Perak Stadium, Ipoh;
Passion of Kerala, Brown Garden, Gelugor, Penang;
Sri Paandi Restaurant, Jalan Cantek, Section 5, Petaling Jaya;
South Indian Aiyengar Restaurant, Pines Condominium, Brickfields, KL.


4. Nasi Kandar

Recommended:
Line Clear, Penang Road, George Town;
Nasi Kandar Pelita (Headquarters: Taman Chai Leng, Prai, Penang; 21 branches in Malaysia, Chennai, India, and Australia);
Nasi Kandar Kudu, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, KL;
Kampung Melayu Nasi Kandar, Jalan Kampung Melayu, Penang;
Restaurant J.S. Maju, Presint 9, Putrajaya.


5. Nasi Lemak

Recommended:
Zam Zam Nasi Lemak near St Michael’s school in Alor Star;
Nyonya Nasi Lemak at Jin Hoe Café, Jalan Cantonment, Penang;
Nasi Lemak Tanglin at Kompleks Makan Tanglin, Jalan Cendasari, Kuala Lumpur;
Lido Nasi Lemak, Klang, Selangor;
C.T. Garden (C.T. Roses) Nasi Lemak, Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman, KL.


6. Tau Foo Fah

Recommended:
Pasar Malam Jalan Templer, Seremban;
Hawkers Centre, Taiping;
Funny Mountain Tau Foo Fah, Jalan Osbourne, Ipoh;
Small lane next to Wisma Hanifa, Jalan Masjid India, KL;
Stall on Petaling Street across Hong Leong Bank, KL.


7. Murtabak

Recommended:
Murtabak Mengkasar, Pekan, Pahang (also known as the royal murtabak);
Padang Tembak, Penang;
Hameediyah Restaurant, Campbell Street, Penang;
Bismillah Restaurant, Klang;
Fresh and frozen murtabak from sisters Nik Sri Emas & Nik Sah at Jalan Merbau and Banggol, Kota Baru, respectively.

8. Roti Canai

Recommended:
Sri Melur Jaya, SS19, Subang Jaya;
Restoran Miria, Kota Baru;
Zam-zam Kopitiam, Jalan Teluk Sisek, Kuantan;
Vello Villas, Penang Street, Penang;
Buharry Bistro, Asian Heritage Row, Jalan Doraisamy, KL.


9. Char Kway Teow

Recommended:
Pun Heong Coffee Stall at Tebing Tinggi, Jalan Bendahara, Ipoh;
Side of Tin Wah Coffee Shop in 4 1/4 Old Klang Road;
Hai Beng Coffee Shop (Old Man Lim), Jones Road, Pulau Tikus, Penang;
Kedai Goreng Kuey Teow Tong Shin, off Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL;
Kedai Kopi Sin Guat Keong, corner of Kimberley Street and Cintra Street, Penang.


10. Roti Bakar

Recommended:
Kluang Train Station Canteen, Kluang;
Kedai Kopi White House, Jalan Sultanah Zainab, Kota Baru;
Kedai Kopi Hai Peng, Kemaman;
Tong Nam Bee, Jalan Tun Razak, Raub;
Hainan Curry Rice, Bukit Tinggi, Klang;
Kedai Makanan Sun Sun, Jalan Merdeka, Ampang.

Great Perk

By FARIDAH BEGUM

Nothing lifts the appetite like a spoon of chicken curry on your rice or bread.

MENTION chicken curry and you have everyone’s eyes lit up. A great perk to waned appetites, chicken curry in a bowl with steam billowing is set to get fingers itching to work on the mound of rice on any plate.

For many, chicken curry is a dish for off-days and weekends when the whole family congregates and it is equally good with the humble roti canai, white rice and even buttered rice, pilaf and briyani.

Every home has a secret recipe and every restaurant, stall and hotel has its own well-kept yellowed book of ingredients to make the perfect chicken curry.

In Indian food establishments anywhere in the world, each outlet has its own variations and it is not wrong to say in the land where curry was concocted, wars have even been started between households as to what makes an unforgettable chicken curry.

Suffice to say, there are no winners as each variation is special in its own way and every husband and child swears by their own wives and mothers!

In Malaysia, the varieties of chicken curry are endless as you have the Indian, Malay, Punjabi, Chinese Nyonya, Thai and even the Indonesian types.

The most common is the Indian style, which is redolent of spices and lots of secret ingredients if it is home cooked. In retail establishments, the test is in the taste and presentation.

It is a difficult task finding the best chicken curry in the country as it would need gourmets and celebrated cooks and chefs to try and give their comments on the chicken curry presented at a competition or gathering.

Every mother would get votes from her own children and every individual who has chicken curry outside their home will vouch for the one that meets his or her own expectation.

For those who want to try their hand at making a good chicken curry at home, the most important criterion is using your personal favourite of chicken parts. In many homes, it has been observed that the drumsticks and the wings are the parts that create petty quarrels, so it would be wise to get enough of these parts to satisfy every plate on the table.

A secret to getting good chicken curry is in not forgetting to add the concoction of pounded young ginger and garlic.

This ingredient will make a world of difference in lifting the taste of the chicken curry and in giving it the kick that would otherwise be smothered by too much curry powder or coconut milk.

A simple chicken curry can be made with a couple of spoons of meat curry powder, some sliced onions, curry leaves, tomatoes, the ginger and garlic paste, salt and pepper along with some yoghurt and coconut milk.

For the health conscious, substitute the coconut milk for low-fat milk and add natural yoghurt for a touch of the authentic curry flavour.

Potatoes are a must if you have children and young adults and don’t forget to add a sprig or two of coriander leaves, which adds to the flavour and colour of the dish. Please skin the chicken, although some would argue that it is the skin that adds to the flavour of the curry.

Ask any cook and they will tell you that letting the curry mature for a few hours or overnight helps make the curry taste even better!

Since chicken curry is often an indulgence, forget the doctor or dietician’s advice and let a little oil float on top of the curry.

Good accompaniment to chicken curry is fried chicken in any style, salads and stir-fried vegetables, especially sweet Beijing cabbage and French beans.

Of late, chicken curry that can be had in stalls and restaurants have actually failed to meet the exacting standards that KLites approve of but of the few that have met the mark, Sunday Metro recommends Tanjung Puteri in Sri Hartamas, Syed Restaurant in Petaling Jaya and Bangsar and in the various Nasi Kandar restaurants along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

SMS SENDERS’ PICK FOR BEST CHICKEN CURRY

> The best chicken curry sitaram curry house in brickfields same row with 7 11.

> I think de bst cicken cury can be tasted at fok heng restaurant in bercham, ipoh

> Green curry chicken (boneless drumstick) at chilli corner thai restaurant no: 10 jln nagore pg. (behind dorsett hotel)

> The best chicken curry in the country availabe at Maj Stall no.47 ah-quee st 10200 pg. The curry chicken called Chicken Kapitan.

> Lotus Restaurant, Jalan Gasing.Superb curry. Shalini.

> Parames chicken curry in Taman Chi Ling, Klang

> Nair chicken curry occupying a Chinese coffee shop in Jalan Station, Klang over 40 years

> The Best chicken curry @ Vinni Jeyaa Banana Leaf Curry House opposite of Pasar Seni lrt stn, sunther, kl

> Finger licking good chicken curry at Sri Paandi Restaurant in Jln Chantek,PJ

> The best curry chicken can an be indulged at rest. Nts nasi lemak sri muda n k.Kemuning. Taste nice. Absolutely Delicious

Hock Chew Specialities

By CLARA CHOOI
Photos by LEW YONG KAN and SAIFUL BAHRI

When in Sitiawan, do not miss out on the opportunity to feast on Hock Chew food and biscuits.

WHEN the Hock Chew migrants from China settled in Sitiawan in the early 1900s, they brought with them a host of interesting specialities.

Today, this bustling coastal town of Perak is known for its signature “sweet and sour” Hock Chew or Fuzhou cuisine that tastes delightfully different from most other kinds of Chinese cooking.

Some of the best Hock Chew food can be found in the Bei King restaurant on Jalan Raja Omar, right smack in the middle of Sitiawan.

Restaurant proprietor Ching Kin Eng has more than 20 years of experience behind the wok, whipping up the very dishes her ancestors used to prepare.


Signature dishes: Ching with some of the Hock Chew specialities she serves at her restaurant in Sitiawan.

However, even the skilful Ching has to admit the Hock Chew cuisine may not suit the palate of every Malaysian, whose taste buds have already been sullied by the spice-packed foods of the country’s various cultures.

As such, the shrewd businesswoman has successfully concocted her very own “special brew” of the Hock Chew food.

“What I’ve done is modify the dishes according to taste. This is to make sure every dish is special on its own; people who eat it will know immediately that I was the one who cooked it,” she jokes during an interview at the air-conditioned restaurant recently.

One of Ching’s bestsellers is an all-time Hock Chew favourite – red wine thread noodles cooked with tender chicken.

Served steaming hot in a huge bowl, this dish can be found in most restaurants that serve Hock Chew food.

Ching’s version, however, is probably one of the popular ones among the locals.

Why?

“It’s obvious, really. I make my own wine here. And as popular belief suggests, homemade food tastes better than commercialised food,” she says.

For the dish, Ching uses “long-life” noodles, which are white in colour and has a slippery softness and a milky flavour when boiled.

“The noodles, too, are handmade. That’s why they taste better,” she says.

To make the tangy-tasting red wine, Ching, declining to elaborate further on her secret recipe, says: “Plenty of materials are used.”

“I use only quality products to make the wine. The pulut and yeast used are the expensive ones.”

As a result, the dish has a myriad of tastes – sour and tangy, a dash of saltiness and a sweet aftertaste.

Another of Ching’s delights is the fried oyster egg.

The oysters used for the dish come from the day’s morning catch and are always fresh and fragrant.

The eggs are beaten to a fluff then fried with onions and chillies before the oysters are added in.

The result is a golden brown omelette, stuffed with loads of juicy, slightly salted oysters, still glistening with the taste of the ocean.

“This is always a favourite amongst our customers. After all, everyone loves their omelette,” says Ching.

One must-have dish is the sweet and sour sea cucumber thick soup cooked with fish maw.

This dish is partly spicy and is addictive to say the least.

“Hock Chew food is known to be mostly sweet and sour. For this particular dish, we make it slightly spicy to suit Malaysians,” says Ching.

The sea cucumbers are cooked until tender with a blended concoction of fish maw, chillies and ginger.

If one is not already satisfied with the first three dishes, do not forget to try another Hock Chew favourite – the homemade fish balls.

These fish balls are different from most as they are stuffed with salted minced pork and prawns.

“We make them here ourselves and customers just love them.”

Besides that, customers could also order other specialities of the outlet such as fried soft shell crabs, sliced sweet and sour fish, and chicken with salted egg.

Another mouth-watering Hock Chew creation found in Sitiawan is the “Gong Pian” biscuits.

Hard and crispy on the outside, these savoury biscuits are one of the oldest favourites brought by the Hock Chew settlers from China.

Where can you find them?

A hop, skip and jump away from Bei King will lead you to the Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian shop, located behind Wisma Ganda, on Jalan Tok Perdana.

The age-old family business is just booming. Come rain or shine, the rather unsuspecting looking shoplot is in a constant flurry of activity.


Special ingredients: Cheong Hiong Koh preparing Gong Pian biscuits for the clay oven.

In the midst of this, one will find proprietors Cheong Hiong Koh, 41, and his brother Heong Poh, 33, who took over the business from their granduncle over 10 years back.

The two successfully tweaked the original “Gong Pian” recipe to create what you will find sold at their shop today – biscuits stuffed with sweet “char siew” or slightly salted fried onions.

They may not look like much to the naked eye but take a bite into one the moment it is taken out of the clay oven and your taste buds will convince you otherwise.

“The original recipe is very plain and the biscuits have no fillings.

“People love the new recipe of “Gong Pian” that we have created. In fact, some customers come in and buy over 300 pieces per order to take away,” says Hiong Koh.

The biscuits are made from wheat flour, yeast, salt and lard. The dough is kneaded carefully by hand before it is put into a machine to be rolled. After that, it is flattened and rolled into smaller pieces, stuffed with the fillings and rolled again with a rolling pin.

“Once done, we put them into the heated oven (tandoor) where they are baked for a few minutes until they are hard and crispy,” says Hiong Koh.


Hot stuff: The Gong Pian biscuits sold at the Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian shop.

The onion-filled biscuits cost 60 sen each while the “char siew” ones cost 90 sen each.

“We make at least 1,000 biscuits a day. The first batch is ready for sale at about 10am every day.”

Three batches are made and every single biscuit is snapped up even before the shop closes for the day in the evening, he adds.

“It’s a bit hard for us to make so many biscuits because the preparation and baking for each batch takes about one and a half hours,” he said.

In fact, business is so good for the family that the shop is closed during public holidays.

“As it is, the orders are for more than we can make every day. If we open during public holidays, I don’t think we can keep up with the demand,” says Hiong Koh.

So when in Sitiawan, do not miss out on the opportunity to feast on Hock Chew food, including the delicious “Gong Pian” biscuits.

Oozing Sweetness

By CHAN LI LEEN

A bite of the Sing Eng Heong kaya puff can put a smile on your face.

ALMOST anyone who emerges from Sin Eng Heong, a tiny biscuit shop on Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri in Ipoh, has some sort of a jubilant look on his or her face.

The satisfied looks are telltale signs that they have just successfully “secured” boxes of the shop’s much sought-after kaya puffs.

Crispy on the inside, yet the flaky pastry underneath crumbles as you bite into it – that is how some fans describe the bite-sized puffs.

Others swear by the generous amount of steaming hot homemade kaya that oozes out when you sink your teeth into it.


Hot off the oven: Ng Lian Pin removing a tray of freshly baked kaya puffs from the oven at his shop.

Sin Eng Heong owner Ng Lian Pin says the kaya puffs are made on demand to ensure freshness.

True enough, there is always a long line of people waiting at the shop for the 74-year-old biscuit maker to take them out of the oven.

And before there is time for the kaya puffs to cool down, they are already sold.

“Customers have to pre-order for weekends and holidays,” Ng cautions against any disappointments.

Ng had started out as an apprentice in biscuit and pastry making at the age of 16, learning the tricks of the trade from various “sifu” in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“I didn’t go to school and didn’t have a job.

“That was in the 1950s and I’ve been baking biscuits and pastries since,” he says, modestly.

Ng also makes traditional wedding cakes, ham tan sou (lotus paste and salted egg yolk puffs), Hong Kong wife biscuits, heong peah, and variations of everyone’s favourite dragon ball biscuit.

Sin Eng Heong opens daily from 9am to 8pm but go early if you intend to get your hands on some kaya puffs.

To play safe, however, call 05-243 9659 to place orders.

Beancurd Skin Expert

By HAH FOONG LIAN

BEANCURD skin producer Goh Chin Leng is a hit among his friends as a karaoke singer, crooning love songs at restaurants at Bercham in Ipoh during the night.

But by day, the 68-year-old Goh slaves away over trays of soya milk to produce beancurd skins for a living at his factory in Jalan Bercham.

Using wood fire to heat up the milk, Goh, who has been in the business for the past 40 years, and his workers produce beancurd skins from some 500kg of soya beans a day.

“We soak the beans for at least six hours and we start producing the skins from 8am to 5pm,” said Goh, who learnt the art of making the skins from his late uncle.

He said he and his workers would start work at 6am to grind the soya beans into a paste and to squeeze out the soya milk.


'Skin' specialist: With his 40 years of experience, Goh Chin Leng knows the art of making beancurd skins like the back of his hand.

After that, they will pour the soya milk into trays for boiling. Layers of beancurd skin then appear on top of the milk, which Goh will remove to be dried under a fan.

However, he said the beancurd skins could not be made on rainy days because it would not be hot enough to dry them well.

“If the skins are not well dried, they will turn bad,” said Goh, who does not use preservatives to make the skins.

Goh said the beancurd skins that he produced were supplied to regular customers around the city.

“I have my regular customers who will come here to pick up the beancurd skins every day. They like the skins fresh from the pot,” he added.

The beancurd skins are used in vegetarian dishes, desserts or to make various types of fish paste products.

Goh said his customers liked to wrap fish paste with the beancurd skins because they would be crispy after frying.

On why the beancurd skins he makes are popular among customers in Ipoh, Goh said: “Just use first grade soya beans and make sure the soya milk is thick.”

Make A Beeline For This Broth

Story and photo by RASLAN BAHAROM
sundaymetro@thestar.com.my

Many are drawn to Bee Hon Sup Railway for its delicious soup made from the meat of ‘ayam pencen’.


Soupy goodness: One of Shahrin’s workers scooping out the steaming chicken broth to go with the tray of dishes for a customer.

THE wooden shop located in front of the railway station in Taiping is packed with people from all walks of life and creed. They are here just to enjoy a breakfast of bee hon or koay teow immersed in chicken broth.

But unlike the usual chicken broth, the one sold at Bee Hon Sup Railway (the name of the outlet for the past 20 years) is not made from the normal tender chicken meat.

The soup is actually made from the meat of ‘ayam pencen’, as Bee Hon Sup proprietor Shahrin Ahmad calls it.

“The normal chicken meat which we get from the market is too tender and will disintegrate when boiled for a long period,” Shahrin explains.

“Hence I have to use ‘ayam pencen’ as its hard meat can withstand prolonged boiling over the stove,” he says.

Shahrin sources his ‘ayam pencen’ from the various chicken farms which produce eggs in the district of Larut Matang and Selama.

“After a certain period such chickens no longer lay eggs, hence they are called ‘ayam pencen’,” he says.

Every day, Shahrin and his five workers check into the shop at about 5am where the broth is made – usually boiled for over two hours based on a recipe passed down from his late uncle Baharuddin Hashim or better known among his customers as Din Hong Kong.

Shahrin uses 10 spices, including bunga cengkeh, bunga lawang, jintan putih, jintan manis, lada putih, and lada hitam, for his chicken broth.

By 9am, his customers would have begun flocking to his shop but the day’s supply, enough for about 250 customers, usually goes off the shelf before noon.

“Since the business began about 20 years ago, we have never indulged in making broth from red meat as chickens are more universal and all races can enjoy my bee hon or koay teow,” Shahrin says.

His ketchup, laced with grounded chilli padi, is a must-have if one really wants to enjoy Shahrin’s ‘ayam pencen’ broth which costs only RM2.50 per bowl, with an additional 50 sen for an extra plate of boiled chicken meat.

Shahrin says he has no plans to increase the price as yet.

However like any other businesses, there are setbacks too, says Shahrin.

“A few years back when Bukit Merah near here had confirmed bird flu cases, my business took a dip.

“But now things are back on the right track,” says Shahrin, who plans to relocate his business to a proper restaurant some day.

Like any other aspiring businessman, Shahrin hopes to become a franchise owner so that his ‘ayam pencen’ broth can be savoured by more people.

From Boat To Wok

By CLARA CHOOI
Photo by LEW YONG KAN

AS any discerning seafood lover will tell you, seafood is best eaten when the catch is fresh from the sea.

In the town of Sitiawan, located some 88km from Ipoh, this is the only way seafood is eaten; the morning haul goes straight from the boat to the wok.

In fact, a typical day of any restaurant owner at the town’s many coastal villages begins before the crack of dawn on a fishing boat out at sea.


Scrumptious: Ling Hock Ping showing some of the seafood specialities at his restaurant.

One such person is Ling Hock Ping, 50, whose restaurant Ah Pek Lee Kou Hock Seafood is one of the town’s most frequented open-air eatery.

The outlet is just one of the many popular restaurants located along Jalan Pasir Panjang in Kampung Cina.

“Whatever food I serve for the day comes from my morning catch. That way, everything is always fresh,” he said when met recently.

Hock Ping, who took over the restaurant business from his late father Ling Loo Loo 25 years back, goes out fishing every morning for six days in a week.

“We leave at about 5am every day when the sea is calm. My men and I will load up my sampan and spend a few hours fishing until our haul is big enough,” he said.

Once a sizeable amount of ikan kerapu, senangin, ubi, jenahak, bawal putih, oysters, mantis prawns, kerang, siput manis (sea snails) and tiger crabs are caught, the haul would immediately be brought back to the restaurant and business begins at 10am.

Hock Ping’s wife, Beh Ah Luan, 54, does most of the cooking at the restaurant and is helped by the couple’s three children, Keong Seong, 30, Siew Hiong, 27, and Siew Ing, 23.

Now, though the freshness of the seafood is important, the style it is cooked in is really what creates a scrumptious dish.

Here is where the restaurant earned its reputation for serving some of the town’s tastiest seafood creations.

Anything that gets steamed, fried, or grilled in Beh’s wok is always “drool-worthy” and customers there would vouch for that.

“I think what makes our food special is the fact that we created all the recipes.

“Everything was by trial and error. We taste the food at other restaurants, pick up the kind of taste that we find best and try to recreate it here by improvising,” said Hock Ping.

One of the restaurant’s most ordered dish is its steamed mantis prawns.

“People love this dish because it is steamed with butter and served over steamed egg,” said Hock Ping.

Steaming it, he added, brings out the natural juices of the mantis prawns and the butter lends the dish a slightly salty flavour.

Another delicacy and a favourite among many patrons is the siput manis (sea snails) dish.

“The snails are naturally sweet. All we need to do is steam them,” said Hock Ping.

To eat the snails, a toothpick or a fork is used to pry the snails out from their shells.

Some may find this a little distasteful but the sweet and juicy taste of the snail is enough to convince anyone otherwise.

Crab lovers, in turn, will not be disappointed when eating at Hock Ping’s restaurant.

Whether cooked in assam curry, sweet and sour chilli sauce, spicy black pepper gravy or steamed with butter, his fresh flower crab dishes will have you planning your next visit to the outlet.

The bright orange palm-sized crabs are so fresh that they are easily pried open and the slightly salty taste of the sea still drips from its tender meat.

Another seafood favourite at all of Sitiawan’s restaurants is the fried oyster omelette dish.

At Hock Ping’s outlet, the eggs are beaten to a fluff and fried together with the oysters, chillies and onions until they are brown and crispy on the outside and soft and fragrant on the inside.

“Besides this, I also have another oyster speciality – the bihun soup with oyster,” he said.

Instead of using the regular bihun, Hock Ping uses thick, white rice vermicelli imported from China.

“The taste of the bihun is different and it affects the soup by giving it a milky taste,” he said.

The bihun is boiled together with ginger, onions, lots of fresh vegetables, prawns, mussels and, of course, oysters.

“We make sure the soup is boiled long enough so the taste of the seafood comes out in the soup,” he said.

Besides that, the restaurant also serves all styles of prawns – buttered, steamed or cooked in tamarind and chilli padi.

Its fish dishes, too, are mouth-watering, whether cooked with ginger or deep-fried and laced with soy sauce.

“Still, at the end of the day, what’s most important to the customers is how fresh the seafood is.

“One way of knowing if your fish is fresh is by looking at its eyes. When they (the eyeballs) come out of their sockets when they are cooked, then you know it is fresh,” he said.

Of course, like all eateries in Sitiawan, the best way to wash down a wholesome seafood meal is by drinking cool toddy (coconut flower wine).

In fact, if you are lucky, you may just be just in time to taste the sweet and sour alcoholic beverage just as soon as it is made.

“Here in our shop, we buy our toddy from the local brewers. But everything is fresh, as usual, and made on the very same day it is served,” said Hock Ping.

So seafood lovers, take note.