Malaysian Food

Jan 27, 2009 | Post by: Phil Lees 4 Comments

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Rendang

Another year, another chance for lion dancers to molest the unwary. The risk of a lion dancer catching aflame grows each year. The hanging iceberg lettuce attracts them. Welcome to the Chinese New Year. I had a vague plan to hit up some dumpling joints but was derailed by a

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Feb 15, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees No Comments

Great balls of chicken rice

The apparent simplicity of Hainanese chicken rice is what makes it an addictive comfort food. It looks like simple steamed chicken and with fatty, chicken stock-cooked rice but is so fecund in people’s memories at it is impossible to begin to judge it. There are objectively bad plates of chicken

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Feb 07, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 7 Comments

The last ditch

Saturday night market in Little India, Kuala Lumpur If you could choose your last meal in a country, what would it be? It’s a much more concrete question than some imagined last supper: unless you’re on death row or about to commit suicide then chances are you’ll have no power

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Jan 31, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 3 Comments

Satay and fondue, together at last

I never tire of regional novelties like cooking a skewer of something in a boiling pot of satay sauce, which constitutes something of a specialty in Melaka (Malacca), Malaysia and is the raison d’etre of Capitol Satay. This style of satay, satay celup, was (as far as I can find)

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Jan 28, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 4 Comments

Cendol and pearls

These green worms are cendol (pronounced chen-dul), made from green pea flour flavoured with pandan leaves. They’re essential for making the dish that is their eponym: a combination of the worms, shaved ice, santan (the first extraction of coconut milk), gula (palm sugar) and often red beans. With a dish

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Jan 24, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 6 Comments

Kota Bharu’s Central Market

The central octagonal hall of Kota Bharu’s central market (Pasar Siti Khadijah) opens up like a cathedral devoted to the veneration of fresh Malaysian produce. A skylight illuminates the scene in a dull sepia glow throughout the day; upper levels providing a birds-eye view of the myriad proceedings below. By

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Jan 16, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 8 Comments

A sea of tea

I know very little about tea, apart from what you learn by osmosis from your Anglo-Australian grandparents. I can make a decent cup of black tea but tend to regard it as a sort of beverage bycatch; something that fits well alongside pho or yum cha or fruitcake. I have

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Jan 11, 2008 | Post by: Phil Lees 3 Comments

The Wok Hei Economy

One of the great mysteries of eating in Penang is the economics of the hawker center. A group of vendors cluster around a kedai kopi, a cafe serving drinks and work almost independently of the cafe. Some pay rent, others are owned by the cafe, some seem to have agglomerated

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