Category: Food

La La Land Again

He correctly noted that the original image of Lala or clams fried with bee hoon or vermicelli from the Asus phone (on Facebook) could do with more DOF or depth of field. It was his polite and tactful way of saying it was not perfectly focused. Nice guy. 🙂

I looked at the image back home on a big screen and try to figure out what went wrong. We sat at a table at edge of the restaurant, where there was too much sun spilling in. While the free lighting was appreciated, it also meant one thing.

The Lala Fried Vermicelli’s image on the phone was glared out on the screen. It was near impossible to judge focus. Good thing, I took a shot with the GM-1. This GM-1 image had better depth as it was running with a smaller (deeper) aperture, plus the camera has an array of audio and visual focus confirmation.

It was still not ideal as the GM-1 has no viewfinder either, only LCD. I was using the 12 to 50 mm OM-D 5 kit lens and the lens is still crazy sharp considering the abuse it received. In comparison, the phone was running at f2 and was too shallow for its purpose.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 320, f6.3, 1/250 sec.

Restaurant Seafood New Hock Heng Huat Tanjung Sepat.

#clams #lunch #lala #seafood #tgsepat #m43 #dof

Into A Top Secret Military Operation

After all, the building was rickety and at the verge of collapse. LOL. Inside, I was surprised to see her using big stainless steel steamers, shiny new stainless steel containers and even a conveyor belt system for automation. A crew of Indonesian women were deployed and they worked with military precision. Wow. Looks from outside can be deceiving. Mei Ling, an auditor by profession, scolded me for being naive. Surely they make money, she noted.

Now I am wondering if Teluk Intan had some techno clubs that justified such late closing hours (until morning). I like techno music but hate the loss of neck control induced by the pills. This was nine years ago when ‘feng thou’ clubs dominated many Chinese communities.

We were late because we spent the whole night looking for an elusive hotel room. There was a Hindu Festival the next day and every hotel in town was booked. Saw a sign advertising ‘Homestay’ hanging by the roadside and decided to call the number out of desperation. It was already 4am.

A lady came on a motorcycle and led u to a corner terrace house somewhere. Paid her, she handed over the keys and whispered where the towels were hidden. This was my first experience with the weird and bizarre world of independent Homestay.

#telukintan #telukanson #perak #liewkee #cheecheongfun #ricerolls #smalltown #kitchen #homestay

Liew Kee Of Teluk Intan

It is so famous that it spawned so many imitations in Klang Valley’s pasar malam stalls or the night markets. The imitations tasted lousy, having tried the original. The iconic stall, Liew Kee is as famous as the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan.

If it is your first time, you may be surprised to discover the restaurant to be a shack or a crumbling wooden house. There are maybe a couple of rickety tables outside for dine in. The main door is always locked and customers order takeaway packets through a gap. Things may have changed. This is based on my experience one late night, 9 years ago

The queue is always very long and I saw one guy buy 250 packs! Pity the hungry folks queuing behind him. The business started in the 1920’s when Port Anson was a thriving hub serving the whole of Perak. As with the old days, plain old newspapers (including the obituary sections) are still used as wrap.

The rice flour rolls are pockmarked with strange patterns because they are steamed with turnip, dried shrimp and fried onion crisps.

The delicacy is eaten plain or with pickled green chilies (instead of drowning it with yucky sweet sauce). I was there one night at 3 am. Since everything was so secretive, I was surprised the lady proprietor invited me in to photograph the kitchen from inside. Pics coming up next. No. It was not my charms. Maybe it was because I was with the MP’s special assistant. In a small town, people look up to the MP and will call him when there is a power failure or if a rubber slipper or flip flop was stolen. Life is such.

Are the CCF really that good? Yes and consistently so. Yumz.

#telukintan #telukanson #perak #liewkee #cheecheongfun #ricerolls #smalltown

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I was in Sungai Wang Plaza the other day. PuiSee Chu took me to Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts. I was excited at first. I have not tried them before, knowing it is a mega hipster rage even without duck egg yolk in it. I first saw them in a Ramadan bazaar in Singapore last year. Pui See knows her way around Sungai Wang Plaza. She knows the outlets, the corridors, the pink ladies parking and the lift location. Which was a good thing as we found our way around rapidly. I never understood the layout of this old and giant mall. All I know is one wrong turn, I will end up in a row of hair dressing saloons that emanate the most horrific rotten egg odour because Chinese people were perming their straight hair.

That’s Sungai Wang for you. I asked Pui See about her familiarity and she confessed she was a bohsia (or a female teen mall rat) during her Form 4 or Form 5 days. She’ll take a bus here after school. It was the only mall with a cineplex and an ice skating rink during its time. Also the only mall with a filthy food court in the rooftop car park. Tony Warren won’t like this but I met the other Tom Jones of Malaysia working at the garbage incinerator next to the food court. I think it was Mark Sylvester. Would you believe Sungai Wang Plaza is now buying a Harley and getting a man bun? It is now 40 years old, as it opened in 1977. I first met DJ Kenneth MC Zap here too. I think he was spinning at the concourse.

Pui See bought a box of tarts and left me to myself at the table because she needed to get her power bank from her car. Maybe I don’t have enough hipster DNA in my blood. My excitement turned to dismay when I accidentally crushed the tart with my fingers. An ugly mess of disgusting molten cheese spilled into my fingers. How can anyone eat this and not feel jelak? Jelak is a local word to describe over satiation or disgust with certain food that makes you want to puke or burp. Happens when Asians binge eat creamy stuff. This single piece made me want avoid Hokkaido for good!

Not Pui See’s fault though as I wanted to try it. One woman’s cheese is another man’s shit. YMMV. Now Sex Bomb is playing in my mind. All because I checked Mark’s FB and saw a video of him singing the Tom Jones hit. I first saw the Tom Jones of Malaysia Tony Warren when I was a kid when he was singing at Weld Supermarket. It was in a standalone building with a spacious open air car park opposite Weld Swimming Pool. Remember that area? There was Eden too. For hotels around Sungai Wang and the Golden Triangle, see Hotels In Kuala Lumpur. #cheesetarts #tarts #sungaiwangplaza #hokkaido #tomjones #nolstagia #review

4 AM Date With Suraya

She: Psst. Wanna go to this Malay dating place?

Me: WTF? Now? Is almost 3 am! Wait. Do the bouncers even let in interracial couples? Lol.

She: Of course, lah. You have been featuring late night eating places on your IG, kan? Nanti, u complain I tak ajak…

Me: Yeah, but 3 am is early morning, not late night. And it can’t be dating. I suspect those customers sneaked out of their homes. Haha.

She: I’m starving. I ‘ll go alone but I’m scared.

Me: OK. Only if you come get me, and you pay.

She: Deal!

So we ended up in this strange place in Kampung Baru. Is called Suraya’s and they serve awesome Kelantanese food. True enough, the place was packed with couples.

Surprisingly, for a place this popular, the service crew is exceptionally patient, courteous and friendly. Quite unlike that previously crowded nasi lemak place nearby.

Anyway, I’m happy I get to eat blue Nasi Kerabu at 4am. On the way back, sentimental me asked if she still has Headwind’s Suraya in her car’s USB stick.

She: WTF, man?

More pics to follow.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1000, f7.1, 1/60 sec.

#foodphotography #localfood #suraya #kampungbaru #nasikerabu #kelantanese #nasikerabu #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss