Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels: YummY! - Raj Nyonya Kueh @ Fettes Park, Penang

Monday, January 7, 2013

YummY! - Raj Nyonya Kueh @ Fettes Park, Penang

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YummY! Jotaro's Food Review
NYONYA KUEH @ RAJ'S

Fettes Park, Penang, Malaysia - 7th January 2013

From left : Kueh Talam, Pulut Tai-tai, Choo-choo Kueh, Kueh Bengka & 9-Chan Kueh

In Penang, one can find street-side vendors selling it's well-known Nyonya Kueh (Peranakaan pastry).

They are very mobile, moving around on a motor-cycle with their wares on a unique carrier at the back of the motor-cycle. But they will normally park at distinct corners of the streets of Penang, so that their regulars will know where to find them.

My usual haunt for these delicacies is Raj, who parks himself at Fettes Road, Penang - in front of the Prima Tanjong shop-houses.

The unique contraption at the rear of his bike where his wares are put, is propped up by extendable telescopic legs.

Most of the kueh (and the Penang Nyonya Laksa ingredients) are efficiently packed and displayed in two large yellow trays.

Above can be seen (right, top to bottom) :

1. Vadek : these are actually Indian pastry, deep fried and spicy.

2. Kueh Talam : a two-layered cake. The bottom layer is springy and pandan flavored, while the top is a thin melt-in-the-mouth santan layer.

3. Pulut Tai Tai : a glutinuous rice cake, colorful in a mix of white & indigo. This is taken with the egg jam (seen on the bottom left).

4. Choo-choo (tapioca) cake : a tapioca-rice flour pastry with the top & bottom slightly burnt.

5. Kueh Bengka : a violet colored rice pastry, also with the top & bottom slightly burnt.

6. Kueh Lapis (9-layered cake) : so called because of it's alternating white & pink eight layers. The top is a bright red layer. It's also a rice pastry.

To the other side of the same tray are deep-fried prawn fritters (on left) and Vadeks of the crispy and crunchy kind.

Dip the prawn fritters into the unique Nyonya chili sauce, provided by Raj -

and YummY!

In the other tray are deep-fried popiah, curry puffs, deep-fried tofu, Kueh Kedok and the ingredients for the Nyonya Laksa.

Counter-clockwise from bottom left :

1. Kueh Kedok : Mashed banana is mixed into dough and the combination is deep-fried into these balls. It was sweet and full on banana flavor with the dough almost bread-like.

2. Deep-Fried Tofu (with prawns & vegetables insert) : This is also taken with Raj's unique chili-sauce - Fantastic!

3. Deep-Fried Popiah : This must be a favorite from the amount that is being sold. Dip this into the same home-made chili sauce and one will get addicted.

(Note : many confuse deep-fried popiah with spring-rolls; in Penang they are actually two different things. The deep-fried spring-rolls are larger with more ingredients (eg. crab meat) and are eaten with Worcestershire Sauce and not chili sauce.

4. Local curry puffs, spicier and with chicken meat.

In an extension of his carrier, is a large pot of laksa soup. The ingredients are at the top portion of the yellow tray.

It's a wonder how Raj can still maneuver his bike around with all of this at the back!

To add to Raj's acrobatic biking feat, there's even a charcoal stove at the back. This keeps the laksa soup warm.

Anyways, his Nyonya Laksa is good, very good. Add a little more prawn paste and it has even more oomph!

Note: Nyonya Laksa although almost similar to Penang Laksa, is slightly different. The soup is hotter and spicier.

On a table set on the five-foot way next to his stall are packets of Nasi Lemak, nicely wrapped in banana leaves and waxed paper. This is a basic Nasi Lemak that comes with either a small piece of fish or prawn in sambal.