KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

How was your Chinese New Year Celebration? We travelled home (Kuala Terengganu & Ipoh) to visit friends and families. Traditions remain strongest in small towns, a big reason why we look forward to join our families to to celebrate the most joyous holiday of all.

The Chinese New Year holiday has always been a quiet time in Terengganu, the state where Chinese made up a mere 2.6% of the total population.

However, things are a little bit different this year as the Chinatown of KT took on the look of the famous Temple Street of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Even the usually quiet KT town is suffering from traffic jam during the festive period. Definitely a rare sight!

The street of Chinatown has been decorated with lanterns and other ornaments to usher in the new year.

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Few months back, MAS flew some of the bloggers up north for a FOOD TRIP. A day trip can’t get any cooler than this – fly to Penang in the morning just to eat a meal or two and fly back in the evening itself.

Pretty air stewardess greeted us with a wide, pretty and an attractive smile.

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Pho (pronounced fuh) refers to Vietnamese national soup.

Hoa means harmony in Vietnamese.

Pho Hoa is essentially a family style restaurant that takes pride in their pho and affordable prices.Do you know that Pho Hoa is also the largest Vietnamese restaurant chain in North America but not Vietnam?

Thanks to Richard, we were given the opportunities to sample some Vietnamese favourite such as pho and spring rolls at Pho Hoa. The restaurant’s setting is simple; with murals illustrating the life of a typical Vietnamese and colourful lanterns hanging down the wall.
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Read also:

Bangkok, The City that Never Sleeps (I)
Bangkok, The City that Never Sleeps (II)
Bangkok Shopping Post

Pattaya walking street is relatively quiet during the day but most boutiques selling “kinky” outfits are open for business.

Pattaya is also most famous for its go-go and beer bars. The whole street seems to come alive at night.

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It was a beautiful Saturday morning, perfect for reading the papers, drinking a cup of aromatic coffee that awakes our senses while enjoying a full English breakfast. We found ourselves at Jarrod & Rawlins (again & again); courtesy of Elaine who invited us over.

There is an enclosed yard with shade trees, a beautiful garden and patio behind the J&R premise.

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Betty’s Midwest Kitchen
Where (is it):
A-G-40, Jalan PJU 1/43,
Aman Suria Damansara,
47410 Petaling Jaya.
Phone: 03-78800196
Opens from Tues – Sun: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Why (here):
Betty’s Midwest Kitchen is a family run restaurant. Betty, the chef, picked up the recipes from her daughter who is married to an American and lives in Iowa for years. Oh, and did I tell you that it is all about porky goodness?

Bread & Olives Cafe
Where (is it):
No. 7, Lot Perniagaan Komplex Pelancongan,
Menara Tinjau,
Jalan Ampang Hulu langat,
68000 Ampang.
Tel : 013-2506119
Why (here):
From the cafe’s terrace, a breathtaking view of the Ampang Jaya skyline is stretching into Kuala Lumpur, that meets the eye with the multitude buildings, houses and skyscrapers dotting the landscape! Prominent in the background are Menara Kuala Lumpur and Petronas Twin Towers with the growing city and its suburban areas in plain sight.

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I wanted to write about some other “remote places” around the island, but it’s probably too far away or too unexciting for some of you. So this is truly, probably my last post on Taiwan (unless I’m going there again )

Yong He Dou Jiang is almost synonymous to a traditional and authentic Taiwanese breakfast. However, as I googled around, I was shocked to read about Yong He Dou Jiang’s history.

*clear phlegm and start my grandmother’s story*

In 1950’s, there was an influx of China Chinese immigrants to Taipei and most of them settled down at Yong He, a small town in the Taipei county. To make a living, most of them set up stalls that sells soya bean products and staple food such as you tiao and shao bing. Business usually starts as early as 3am because a lot of preparation need to be done.

It wasn’t until the baseball fever that these stalls got a lot of businesses and attentions. It was a nationwide thing to watch Taiwan baseball team in Little League Baseball, Williamsport during the 1970s. As the nationals stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning watching and listening to the live broadcast due to time differences, everyone is hungry by the time the game ended. These stalls were the only eateries that starts business early. So everyone  flocked to Yong He area to cure their hungry pangs. Through words of mouth, the Yong He area is booming with identical soya bean shops which created a trade mark issue.

Most people referred Dou Jiang shops around Yong He area as Yong He Dou Jiang. In 1985, a Taiwanese businessman registered a trade name under Yong He Dou Jiang and manufacture the soya bean drink and manage it as a brand. However, there are still other similiar names like Yong He Mei, Yong He Tian Xia etc that exist.

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A year ago, Ken from foodpoi told us, “You must try this stall call Ah Khai at Section 20! Their char siew is simply divine! Ah Khai, the Bangla look alike stall owner used to work in Hong Kong to master the technique of roasting.”

A month ago, David from Nuffnang told us the same thing. He described the char siew as fork tender with crispy burnt bits, and its cut into large chunky pieces.

Their words kept repeating in my mind but we are always occupied during the weekends. It wasn’t until last last Saturday that we made a detour to Restoran Simon’s Delight for Ah Khai Char Siew instead of going to our favourite breakfast haunt at O&S.
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