Two Fish Street Food Stalls in Sungei Petani

My wife and my in-laws are probably going to disagree with me. After the lost-count number of visits that I have made to this charming laid-back town, I have to say that in general, the street foods in Sungei Petani are not great in spite of its proximity to Penang. Except perhaps two. Both, coincidentally are fish noodles.

Along Jalan Kampung Baru in the middle of Sungei Petani town, is a coffee shop named Sin Her Pian (新河邊 - New River Side). Indeed the shop is beside a water way. But I wouldn't call it a river. Perhaps a stream. If I was less generous, I would even call it a big dirty longkang (drain).

A better landmark of this shop is that it is directly opposite the d'Vista Hotel.

In the extension of this corner shop is a fish noodle stall. It is opened only in the morning. At night, the coffee shop is kind of a mini hawker centre. But the fish noodle is not available then.

It is very popular, especially during weekends. When you get there you do not approach them to make your orders. You just find a table and settle down. When it is your turn, the boss lady would come to your table to take your orders. She remembers everything you want - no pen, no paper.

The food is prepared by this  boss man. He does so in individual pots over blazing stoves. He is super efficient. The food arrives within minutes of your order.

The fish noodle is delicious. Th soup is clear and flavourful. It is not at all like the fish head noodles we have in the Klang Valley. Here the soup is without hum choy (咸菜- salted vegetable) and without tomato. Thus the soup is not at all sourish. The fish is super fresh. It is cooked with some sawi (菜心- chou sum). You taste the freshness of the fish and the clear sweetness of the soup. It is a wonderful combination.

Most times, I go for the fresh fish. But you could also ask for the fried fish or the combination of both. The boss man is very generous with the serving of fish - a very sizeable portion.

You could also opt for the dry noodle - kon-lo (干捞). It apparently taste good with a spoonful of chilli sauce. The fish is served in a soup with your kon-lo noodles. The next time when I am back in S.P., I think I will give this kon-lo a try.

They also serve porridge. Fish porridge of course. But I do not like the look of the broth. More like rice in the fish soup.

Across town, it the northern end of Sungei Petani is a large hawker centre. It is known as Eupe Food Court.

It is a very popular makan place. They are many food stalls in this place offering a big variety of makan makan. The place is clean and conducive.

In the corner of the food court is this curry noodle stall. It is simple named Mee Kari.

This is the place where many local residents are willing to wait a long time for their fix of a good bowl of curry noodles. There is a always a long queue. When I took this shot, I was number 14 in the queue. It took me more than half an hour to reach the front. The queue actually can move quite fast if not for people who order large numbers of tar paus (打包- takeaways). 

This busy man is really quite a friendly fellow. When you get to the front, you make your order. He makes your bowl of noodles in a jiffy. He has a couple of ladies to assist him.

He has newspaper cuttings to attest to his popularity.

You have a choice of meat (curry pork ribs) or fresh fish to go with your noodles. I usually go for the fish. The curry is northern (Penang) style - clear gravy with minimum santan (coconut milk). For spiciness and colour, they give you a chilli paste. They normally give you a spoonful, but you can help yourself to as much as you wish.

The curry is superb. The pale listless colour of the curry belies it true flavour. It is really very good. I am a curry mee lover and I have tasted curry mee in a lot of places. This is definitely one of the better ones. The fish is very fresh and generous in portion. Fish is not a common accompaniment for curry mee. This one works very well.

Street food in Sungei Petani is still relatively cheap. The bowls of noodles with all the fresh fish was just RM5.00 each. For the same price, we cannot expect this in the Klang Valley. These 2 stalls are real good value for money.

Thai Street Food

I was really not sure what the name of this Thai restaurant was. It was variously known as Thai Street Food or BBQ Thai. Both names were prominently displayed on an old fibreglass water tank that was the branding signboard of the restaurant.

Located in Old Klang Road, KL, this Thai eatery occupied a big area of land, offering both outdoor alfresco dining and indoor compartmentalised air conditioned comfort. Since the Old Klang Road is such a long one - this is the exact address - 17, Lorong Jugra, Off Batu 3 1/3, Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur.

Everything in the restaurant seemed to be built out of re-cycled material - the old fibreglass water tank for the main signboard, tables, chairs, the toilet fittings, dining cabins - all made from re-used wooden planks, zinc sheets, old water basins, etc. Seemed like a darn good idea. Recycling is the way to go. It is so much cheaper. And if done properly, can be quite charming. The whole place looked very rustic. Everything was in good working order.

Except perhaps this old Fiat 500 on display.

The alfresco dining area was in the centre of a big compound. Surrounding it were individual dining cabins. 

There were many of these cabins, and since they were made from recycled material, no two were quite alike. They looked very comfortable, cosy and air-conditioned. Some of the cabins were small, with single dining tables. Others were bigger with multiple tables.

We opted to dine in the open, even though it was aftermath of a shower. The tables and chairs were wet. I personally liked the outdoor. It was a reunion of sort from our European tour. In the party were Eddy, Bee, Benson and Nelly. My poor wife was could not make it because of work.

The BBQ pit was large and busy - and definitely hot. They were doing fish, prawns, squids, chicken, pork and all the usual stuffs. These were apparently very popular here.

Benson had always been the man in charge of F&B. He made the menu selection.

I guess BBQ was a must in this place. Benson ordered the pork. It was very well done. The meat was succulent. The flavour was delicious. It was served with a green sambal sauce. Very nice.

The kangkong was most ordinary. 

The seafood tom yam was served in a steamboat pot. I wondered why they did that. It served no purpose. They was no fire to keep the soup warm. Anyway, the tom yum was not great. There were some good size prawns, fish and squid. It was rather sour and spicy - not to my personal liking. 

I did not find the fish fantastic as well. It was a siakap (barramundi) steamed in a spicy Thai soup - not very dissimilar from the tom yam. The fish was fresh. But the flavour was not my favourite.

I like this plate of cockles (鲜蚶 - see hum). It was plainly boiled and not overdone. It was served with the same green sambal sauce. I liked opening them with my fingers. Messy, but finger licking good (apologies to KFC).

And of course, rice that came in a pot.

We had 2 types of desserts. The first was the "tub tim grob". It was red rubies (water chestnut covered with flour), with mango strips in coconut milk and shaved iced. Not bad at all. 

The other dessert was the local favourite - cendol, served with red beans and leong fun (凉粉 - grass jelly). Another good dessert. 

I would not rate the dinner very highly. I thought it was a very everyday sort of meal. The flavour of the food did not match the uniqueness of the place. And I really did not know why they call themselves Thai Street Food. They was nothing "street" about it - just normal Thai restaurant stuffs. I probably would had enjoyed more if there was some authentic Thai street fare. I was so looking forward to some deep fried grasshoppers.

Breakfast at Kanna

Before I start, a very Happy New Year to all the readers of my blog. 

I first featured Kanna Curry House about 3 years ago. And since then, I have been back there many many times and had never been disappointed. Today I write about their breakfasts.

Kanna Curry House in P.J. Section 17 had a major face-lift not too long ago. They moved one shop away from the previous corner lot, and they now occupy 4 shop lots - with air conditioned and non-air conditioned sections, and a much better ambiance.

To recap, their Section 17 branch is on Jalan 17/45, in a quiet secluded area of Petaling Jaya. I have also been to their branch outlet in Bandar Puchong Jaya, which was also very nice with a large outdoor dining area. And I understand they have a 3rd outlet in Bandar Sri Menjalara in Kepong.

Our recent visits to Kanna have been mostly for breakfasts. It has been almost like a new discovery, for the breakfasts there are so very satisfying.

I like their roti canai. They are wonderful - crispy (garing) on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. They taste delicious. I always go for the roti biasa (normal roti). Having an egg (roti telor) or onion (roti bawang), or any other ingredient in the roti would mask the original authentic flavour of the roti canai.

A single roti canai would not be enough for me. I normally would have a thosai as well. The thosai there is superb. Like the roti canai, it is crispy and fluffy at the same time. I think they got the floor mixture just right. But if I have to eat just one, I think I would still go for the roti canai.

Ah, the vadai. They are a must for breakfasts there. I think they make the best vadai in town. Every time we are there, we would pick up a few first and munch on them while waiting for our other orders. And believe you me, they are vadais like no others. The best vadais ever.

All these are eaten with some nice gravies and curries. I like their dhal very much. It is thick and cooked just right. The other gravies in the triple buckets are fish and meat curries.

Vadais and thosai are best eaten with some coconut chutney. The chutney here is thick and creamy. The chutney and dhal make are a good combination for Indian meals.

This is my perfect Indian breakfast - a roti canai, a thosai, a vadai with coconut chutney, dhal and meat curry. Salivate, no?

And of course, you can have other breakfast fares as well. Like a nasi lemak bungkus - which is really not bad at all.

Or some meats to go with your carbos. My favourite is still the deep fried tenggiri. The fish is always so fresh, it breaks up in flakes.

The fried chicken is another favourite in Kanna.

They all go wonderfully well with a nice glass of the teh tarik.

Just don't forget - kurang manis.