Favourites from The Star Street Food Guide
Malaysians simply love street food and are constantly debating which outlet serves better Hokkien-style noodles or whether this Mamak stall or that restaurant serves better Roti Canai.
Penang
LAM MEE
LENG NIA COFFEE SHOP
Taman Lip Sin (Off Jalan Sungai Dua), Bayan Baru. Open 7.30am-12pm. Closed fortnightly on Thursdays.
The Lam Mee stall in Leng Nia coffeeshop uses rice sticks instead of the usual beehoon.
Lam Mee is also known as “birthday noodles” because it is often served during birthdays in Peranakan households.
Interestingly, the omelette is often coloured pink as a sign of auspicious tidings.
Crab meat is also part of the ensemble, though many hawkers find it too expensive to be included in their daily offerings.
Lam Mee seller Yeang Suan Heoh gets around this snag by substituting Japanese crabsticks for crab meat; the red markings on the crabsticks serve the double purpose of symbolising good tidings.
She also uses thick rice noodles instead of the usual yellow noodles or beehoon.
The noodles are served in a soup made with chicken stock, mushrooms, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, rock sugar, salt and seasoning powder; stir in a dollop of sambal for more kick.
Klang
GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS
STALL NEXT TO ECONSAVE
Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Port Klang. Open 8pm-11.30pm. Closed on Sundays.
The glutinous rice balls at this stall are served in either a ginger or palm sugar syrup.
Sandwiched between two wantan mee stalls, this stall has been selling glutinous rice balls (tong yuen) for the past 20 years.
The tong yuen (RM1 a bowl) comes plain or with crushed peanut filling, in either ginger or palm sugar syrup.
The plain version comes with two ping pong-sized balls.
They also sell an almost-forgotten Hainanese cake called bek tak buak (50 sen each), a plain boiled dumpling, eaten with grated coconut cooked with palm sugar, or ground peanuts and sugar.
Kluang
KLUANG TRAIN STATION CANTEEN
Jalan Station. Open 7am-12pm, 2-6pm. Closed on Thursdays.
There is something romantic about train stations, even tiny ones. And a train station with good coffee to make the waiting pleasant is a sure formula for love.
The fame of the Kluang Train Station Canteen has been carried far and wide, and many have been bowled over by its charms.
The wooden building with wired windows is the scene of much activity, as waiters dart in and out of the kitchen to meet the orders.
Lim Jit Chiang, 34, is the thirdgeneration owner of Kluang Rail Coffee shop.
Opened in the 1940s, the canteen offers simple fare - coffee, toast, curry puffs and nasi lemak bungkus - with one major difference: the bread and buns are toasted over a charcoal fire.
The runny kaya for the toast is made three times a week and the TV brand coffee powder is supplied by a local dealer. Jack LIm Jit Chew is from the third generation of his family to take charge of this remarkable canteen.
If you want to see harmonious Malaysian life in all its glory, this is the spot to head for - people of all races and walks of life sit side-by-side, trading gossip and stories over a cuppa or two.
Lim also provides food for thought on a long journey; he has a white board where he pens his “quote of the day” every other day.
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