Category Archives: LOCATION: PERAK

The Nirvana Bus Tour – The Tanjung Tualang Chapter

Posted on by
22

road trip

One baby to another said,
I’m lucky to have met you
I don’t care what you think
Unless it is about me
It is now my duty to completely drain you
A travel through a tube
And end up in your infection

– Lyrics from Drain You, Album: Nevermind, Artist: Nirvana –

map of malaysia

This is my beautiful Malaysia.  I’ve lived here all my life, but I still don’t know how to freaking draw it.   The Nirvana Bus Tour started from the city of purity also known as Shah Alam and headed north towards Tanjung Tualang, a tiny little town in Perak known only for its freshwater prawns.

Kelly's Castle
What’s with the white paint??

Along the way, our driver (aka Bald Eagle) insisted on making a stop at Kellie’s Castle, a structure built by a Scottish planter in the early 1900s.   This was the only non-food pit stop in the entire journey.   Other than pee breaks, of course.  I thus felt a need to record it.

IMG_6109
We saw Kurt Cobain

With eyes so dilated,
I’ve became your pupil
You’ve taught me everything
Without a poison apple
The water is so yellow, I’m a healthy student
Indebted and so grateful –
Vacuum out the fluids

– Lyrics from Drain You, Album: Nevermind, Artist: Nirvana –

tanjung tualang

We observed the owner fish out 30 freshwater prawns from the tanks situated outside the restaurant.   They were a sight to behold; my momentary pity upon seeing them leaping helplessly in the tiny green pail was soon replaced by intense hunger at the anticipation of feeding on them.   From the moment I put the first prawn (cooked “kon cheen” style, i.e. dry fried with soy sauce) into my mouth, I knew that we had made the right decision to detour to Tanjung Tualang for dinner.   The prawns (with oozing creamy roe), were sticky and tasty, the flavour coming entirely from the sweetness of the flesh with the aid of just soy sauce.  This dish was quickly followed by prawns cooked in oats, a style of cooking that I can only call genius.   The oats were flaky and crunchy, and it almost felt like I was eating festive cookies.  The third style of preparation was the ubiquitous butter prawns.  The prawns came shrouded in very fine fried egg floss.   Very, very tasty.   At this point, we thought we’d balance our meal with a serving of crabs which were steamed in egg white.  Delicious.

Chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth in a passionate kiss
From my mouth to yours because I like you.

– Lyrics from Drain You, Album: Nevermind, Artist: Nirvana –

IMG_6208
I love small town fashion

Sloppy lips to lips
You’re my vitamins because I’m like you

– Lyrics from Drain You, Album: Nevermind, Artist: Nirvana –

.

We’ll be back, Tanjung Tualang.

The prawns cost RM65 per kg.  Pretty good value considering the freshness of the prawns.

.

Lung Seng Restaurant
10, Jalan Besar
Tanjung Tualang
Perak

Tel: 05-360 0735

Opening hours: 11.30am to 9.00pm. Reservations recommended!

Also check out: Masak-Masak, Precious Pea.

The Nirvana Bus Tour continues……to Penang.  Watch this space.

From Kampar With Love

Posted on by
44

chicken curry bun In the early days before the North-South Highway existed, every time we travelled from Penang to Petaling Jaya to visit my maternal grandmother, we’d make a pit stop at Kampar.

Kampar holds special memories for my parents as it was one of the places where they spent they dating days eating ABC at the corner kopitiam. And so, it only came naturally for them to stop at one of their favourite towns to fuel up both the car and our little tummies.

I used to throw up pretty often in the days before airconditioning was introduced in our cars, and my stomach would be ready for replenishing by the time we arrived at the sleepy old town. Thus, until the day this town got virtually obliterated by the superhighway, I shared my parents’ love affair with Kampar.Despite having sampled quite a bit of Kampar’s unique cuisine, I discovered the chicken curry bun much later in life when I visited my friend from Kampar, Pretty Pui, during Chinese New Year.

chicken curry bun

Chicken curry is wrapped up in a greaseproof paper and then baked in a bun. To eat this bun, one has to cut through the bun and and unwrap the precious package. The curry is creamy and extremely tasty, and by this stage, this chicken would have absorbed the flavours of the spices. What bliss to dip the pieces of bread into the curry and savour the tasty morsels!

chicken curry in the bun
Yau Kee Restaurant
No. 55, Jalan Idris,
31900 Kampar, Perak.
Tel: 05-465 1738

120E & 120F, Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun,
30250 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel: 05-241 6504

Thanks, Pretty Pui, for the wonderful treat!!

Eat Work Shop, Glenmarie, Shah Alam

Posted on by
17

eatworkshopWhen I first heard of Eat Work Shop, I laughed. What workshop? A workshop with food? It certainly sounded like one of the many car workshops in the city which had chap fan (mixed rice) stalls parked right in front of them to cater to the blue-collar workers in the area.

My imagination was further fueled when I found out that Eat Work Shop was located in the industrial area of Glenmarie. I concluded that it was definitely a food stall in a workshop.

I have a knack for spelling. When I was 5, I was given a sweet for spelling rhinoceros. It was a proud moment for me. And so, when I saw the spelling for Workshop spelt “Work Shop”, I laughed again. How typically Malaysian, I thought to myself. Trying to be creative, I bet!

Well, as you can imagine, the last laugh was on me. Eat….Work….Shop. Duh. ALTHOUGH, Yang Ariff, there is no shopping in this place, so why “shop”?Finding this restaurant in the middle of the night with nary a soul in sight within a 2km radius felt like an achievement. As we climbed through a tiny gate attached to a wall that looked like it was still under construction, I suddenly knew what it felt like to be Aladdin when he first chanced upon the treasures in the cave. Before me, there stood a restaurant in the middle of nowhere with warm lights peeking out through huge glass windows, welcoming a hungry stranger in. There didn’t seem to be many customers that night, though, but perhaps it was the location or the misleading name!

panfried seabass

I love the pan-fried seabass which came creatively presented on a couple of risotto pancakes. The flesh was firm and the segments came apart easily as I cut through the fish. The accompanying passionfruit sauce added a tangy, yet sweet, flavour to the entire dish and did not compete with the flavour of the fish. (Note: this dish was not on the menu and was recommended to me by the lady serving us.)

chicken

Bald Eagle had the chicken with cubed potatoes and asparagus in a mango sauce (RM22.80/US$6.70). Again, I applaud the chef for his creativity in matching the uniquely created sauces with the meats.

dessert chocolate cake

For dessert, I had the chocolate fondant (RM12.80/US$3.70), which was essentially a moist chocolate cake that was served with pineapple confit and vanilla ice cream. As I sliced through the cake, warm melted chocolate oozed out to my delight and I quickly lapped it up together with the side servings. Perfect.

I’m rather lucky that Eat Work Shop is located so close to home in Bukit Jelutong, but even if we weren’t living in BJ, I’d gladly make a trip here despite the distance.

Also check out:

Eat Work Shop
No. 9, Jalan Peguam U1/25
Glenmarie Business Park
40150 Shah Alam
Tel: 03-5569 7763