On the Trail of the Phoenix – Penang Jiu Hu Char
Straits Chinese cuisine is a conglomeration of many other culinary disciplines, bringing together elements from traditional Malay, Chinese, Indian and even Thai cooking to create the eclectic spread of visually stunning and mouth-watering dishes, both sweet and savory, which bear testimony to the glorious cultural heritage and lavishly colourful lifestyles the Babas and Nyonyas of the yesteryears were so well-known for. Many Peranakan dishes are characterised by their rich and robust flavours, be it the tingling sourish hues from asam-based dishes, to the fiery heat from sambal belacan-inspired creations, or the collagen-packed soups. This is usually perpetuated through the liberal use of spices, herbs, condiments and seasoning, all aimed at pushing the limits of one’s palate sensations and experience. Once in a while, we come across a dish seemingly more “subtle” when compared to the others amongst its ranks. A pearl in tranquil elegance amongst the bedazzling glittering of the other gems. Jiu Hu Char must surely be one such dish.
一个人的午餐 – Belachan Bee Hoon 古晋峇拉煎米粉
This month’s Malaysian Food Fest brings us to Sarawak and this is really quite a challenge for me as I’d never been to East Malaysia, let alone sample the delicacies over there. From the more asli fanfare of Pansuh Ayam to the more familiar Sarawak Laksa, Sarawak is not short of good food. Problem is, I’d never had a chance to sample any of these. Unlike their Penang and Melakan counterparts, sarawakian cuisine isn’t very well represented over here in Singapore, with only a sparse speckling of shops selling Kolok Mee and even then, the authenticity of their renditions are in question, probably highly adapted and colloquialised to suit the local tastebuds. Alas, I turn to recipe books for help and thankfully, good recipes of Sarawak culinary delights are fairly well documented and published! Thus I embark on my Sarawak food journey with a popular hawker fare, Belachan Bee Hoon.
travellingfoodies 