Travel Post - Thanh Cao Lầu Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 14

I shall not give up! Here I am back again with another post ...still on Hoi An.  Yes, I'm still not done with it yet.  As mentioned before when I first started blogging on Hoi An, it is one of my fave places that I have visited (apart from Spain and of course...San Francisco).  Yes, so much so, that I just wanted to start blogging again just so that I can upload the travel pics taken (it would be such a waste to keep them only on a hard disk!).

Okay...after more than 6 months, I'm back with a quick post of the national noodles of Hoi An; Cao Lau! Having been not too impressed with the bowl we had earlier, TT did some internet research and we made it a point to have Cao Lau at  Thanh Cao Lầu.  Thank goodness for TT's impeccable sense of direction, we walked and found the place (we actually walked to wherever during our stay in Hoi An).  It is a rather inconspicuous looking place, we actually walked passed it and doubled back and finally saw the signage (which is an old looking one and isn't lit.. Look at the pic!). The place seems more like either a house or an auto workshop and had several tables placed on the front porch. The stall takes up a small area for food preparation.

We gave our order, with hand signals for two bowls and promptly sat down. The place had a steady stream of customers; mostly locals, coming in for dinner and this made us hopeful.  Sure enough, when our noodles arrived, it definitely looks more enticing that our first encounter with Cao Lầu earlier.  Having said that, not all will appreciate this noodles as in the case of different strokes for different folks.

The texture of the noodles was better - it was al dente and the soya pork broth sauce was more flavourful .  Each bite was a tasty crunch of vegetables and noodles in harmony.  The slices of pork was also tastier as they had drizzled fried shallot oil over it.  

Travel Post - Sau Restaurant @ An Bang Beach, Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 13

It's a brand new year and I'm still here, blogging (trying to blog).  Let's continue with my Hoi An trip back in 2016! Hahaha...

Though we had arrived in Da Nang, we had gone straight to Hoi An as we were told that there were more things to do and see in Hoi An.  Thinking that we would give the beach in Da Nang a miss, we arrived in Hoi An and found out that there is actually a beach here too.  Since our lovely hotel, Royal Riverside Hotel (more on this hotel in another post) provided free shuttle bus rides to An Bang Beach, we made it a point to drop by the beach and have lunch there.

Travel Post - Banh Mi Phuong, Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 10

As you would have read from my previous post of my eating adventures in Hoi An, Banh Mi was a daily feature in our meals during our entire stay in Hoi An.  Apart from this daily Banh Mi stop HERE , we went to the ever famous Banh Mi Phuong too (famous since it was "endorsed" by Anthony Bourdain!).

Yes, get in line! There's always a line when we were there on two occasions but fortunately the line moves quick. We had stood in line the first time we got there only to find out that it's for take-away orders.  

Travel Post - White Rose , Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 9

"White Rose (Banh Bao Banh Vac), a type of shrimp dumpling made from translucent white dough bunched up to look like a rose.
The recipe for these dumplings is a secret, held by one family in Hoi An who supplies all the restaurants.  At 533, Hai Ba Trung Street, Tran Tuan Ngai is a third generation secret keeper of the traditional white rose recipe".

We read these words on the printed menu with much excitement.  We had planned to make a stop at Lo Banh Bao Banh Vac (White Rose Restaurant),  to have a taste of the famous white rose. There are only two items on the menu at this shop, the other being Hoi An Pizza (VND100,000/USD5/ RM20) or Fried Wonton (Hoanh Thanh Chien) "Resembling tortillas due to their large size, these crispy wontons are filled with shrimp and topped with a tomato roulade".

We opted for just an order of the White Rose (VND70,000/USD3.50/ RM14) as we had to leave room for more food since our food quest was still in the early stage for the day!

It did look rather pretty, I could see why they call it White Rose.  Biting into one after dipping it into the light tangy dip, I wasn't particularly awed by the taste but was more intrigued with what was inside.  Apart from the shrimp, I couldn't pin the ingredients down.   It was similar to "gau chi" - turnip with dried shrimps translucent skin dumpling back in Malaysia and there's even a variety with chives too.  In my opinion, I rate the Malaysian "gau chi" better in taste and the White Rose better in looks! However, having said that... one must try the White Rose when in Hoi An.. just because! Then you can say "I ate a White Rose!".

Travel Post - Nuong Nieu BBQ Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 8

A quick short post ... was busy filling up the income tax form! Hahaha... During one of the few nights when we visited the night market, we wandered around looking for a dinner spot.  We came across Nuong Nieu, a no frills BBQ joint.  It was quite packed with locals and we thought that we should eat where the locals eat!  Sitting by the sidewalk, with a little table and on little chairs, a small charcoal grill was placed beside us. We ordered from a simple picture menu - bacon, prawns, eggplant and we could not resist ordering our first bowl of Cao Lau from the stall next door.

Good decision to nurse the stomach first with the noodles as the BBQ would need some time and work to get the food cooked!.  Having no basis of comparison for the Cao Lau (noodles made with rice flour, water and ASHES from firewood, see pic of fresh Cao Lau from my visit to the market earlier HERE) , I ate the noodles with a bit of apprehension for the fact that I was eating something with ashes! We found the noodles alright, no wow factor to it.  The noodles has tiny grey specks (presumably the ashes) and is served with slices of pork, lots of vegetables and small deep fried wantan skin with a little bit of soya pork broth.  As we expected more satisfaction from the national dish of Hoi An, TT made it a point to lead us to another spot later on in the trip, hopefully for a delicious bowl of Cao Lau, more on that trip in another post! :o)

Travel Post - Thuan Tinh Cooking Tour in Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 6

I had very much wanted to keep to my blogging schedule but the sudden death of my laptop derailed my plans.  But yes, now I am back, after a quick and rather painless mournful period as my laptop was resurrected! It lives! Hahaha...

So, what else can one do in Hoi An apart from taking in the lovely scenery and eating the local food? How about enrolling in a cooking class for a change?  TT came across this website and sent me the link to Thuan Tinh Island Cooking Tour.  Priced at USD34, the tour consisted of pick up from Hotel, trip to the morning market, coach ride and then a boat ride to the island for the cooking action to begin.  It was one of the more interesting cooking class that we came across and the plus factor was that they teach only a maximum of 10 participants and 4 dishes (most of the others only taught 3).

So, off we went to the morning market! The morning market is really amazing!  Hustle and bustle of people everywhere, our senses were working overtime...the vivid colours of the scene around us, the noise of people chattering, the smell of raw greens, spices and meat permeated the air.  You will find quite a number of Caucasians in the sea of Asians, as these are the very same Caucasians who are making a pit stop here as part of the cooking tour. Well, most of them were as we could identify them by the shopping basket given to us participants to carry the purchased ingredients.  Hahaha... Our guide took us around the stalls and picked up all the ingredients needed for us to cook with and each of us helped out to carry the items boiught.

Travel Post - Banh Mi Delight in Hoi An, Vietnam - Part 5

While in Hoi An, most of us would look forward to eating the local bread delight, Banh Mi.  Since Anthony Bourdain endorsed Banh Mi Phuong in one of his No Reservations episode, it was definitely on the "must eat" list.  However, the visit was delayed when we came across a particular Banh Mi stall while we were walking around.  Located in front of the Quang Nam Tourism Promotion and Information Centre at 51 Phan Chu Trinh Street, we observed that this stall had a steady stream of customers and it piqued our interest enough to give it a try. For the lack of communication skill, we just ordered two (once for each of us) and didn't ask for a specific variation or what was inside. We promptly sat down on the plastic stools and gleefully waited while relishing the thought of having the satisfaction; eating our first Banh Mi since arriving in Hoi An.

At just 20,000 VND (RM4 or USD1), the Vietnamese Sandwich really satisfied our palate. It was a myriad of taste with the combination of meat and pate; sauces and condiments, ensembled within the baguette with generous garnishing of greens.

Ask the friendly folks to add green chili into the sandwich.  It will definitely kick things up a few notches.  WARNING : Approach with caution! SPICY!

Travel Post - Hoi An, Vietnam - Part Two

One of the most important thing to enjoying one self in Hoi An is to actually throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating.  TT and I ate at sidewalks often, trying the local food and snacks during the 5 day/4 night stay there. Staying at a hotel at a convenient location also makes a lot of difference too.  I booked the accommodation via Expedia.  It's been my go-to site for travel arrangements lately as I find it fast, easy and the prices competitive. Plus with one of my previous experience of a cancelled refundable booking (due to my own change in plans), I was pleasantly surprised when my refund was credited back after two days to my credit card account. That kinda sealed my trust in Expedia.

While being the last hotel located along the river (err.. not exactly a river), I still picked Royal Riverside Hotel in terms of best value, pricing, amenities and location.    It's really a nice hotel with great service and hospitality to boot.  I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who is keen on visiting Hoi An. The staff are courteous and very helpful. Upon checking in, Nguyen, was ever ready to receive us with a welcome drink and promptly sat us down (while we wait to check in as we had arrived two hours ahead).  She then handed us a map and showed us the location of places of interest and how to get around to the different places.  Plus I really enjoyed the daily free breakfast given and there's free wi-fi too.  There's even a free shuttle van to take us to the beach area (An Bang Beach..more on that later).  We were only 10 minutes on foot away from Old Town.  Arriving on the first day, we decided to take it easy and just explore Old Town before we decided whether we should sign up for some local tours.

The "Occupied" Staff who kept her eyes and ears glued to her phone!  The ladies at the back were busy with the mackerels.

Of course, we needed lunch first! By the time we were ready to go out after cleaning up, it was about 2pm (which is 3pm Malaysian time!).  We walked towards Old Town but we got distracted by some people and their activities on the opposite street nearby and decided to head over there to take a look. We soon stumbled across a shop, which horrors of horrors to me, had the FISH written on the side of the signboard. Hahaha...well, I am not a fan of fish but TT is and we were hungry. Fortunately, I saw a dish that mentioned shrimp ball! Yay! I could eat that! Hahaha.....So, we sat down and ordered in a sort of Vietnam-fied English (TT is good at that... Kekeke!) and hand gestures to the pots and pans and I prayed for the best!

TT's sweet dream, my nightmare! A wokful of mackerels which is the main ingredient for her Câ Thu order of noodles.

Magnum Presents : The Best Of Belgian Indulgence, Celebrate Pleasure!

A word of thanks to Salina & Associates PR Sdn Bhd for the invite to the delightful Magnum event, "Magnum Presents : The Best Of Belgian Indulgence" at Magnum Cafe, Mid Valley Megamall.  Arriving at venue slightly early, I kept myself busy with my camera; taking photos of the place.

The upper area of Magnum Cafe was specially closed off for the event.  

The Topping Bar with a wide variety for one to customized their own Magnum ice cream.

There has been a constant line of people, queuing up to have a taste of the Magnum ice cream varieties but more so for the opportunity to customize their own Magnum ice cream.  We were given the chance to customize our own Magnum after the lunch event. One can choose from a Vanilla or Chocolate Brownie Magnum with a coating and drizzle of either Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate or White Chocolate and 3 toppings from the many varieties to choose from (there are some non standard toppings to choose from like chilli flakes, rock salt, goji berries!), 

I'm Not A Chef, Kota Damansara

I'm Not A Chef  (INAC) is one of those places that I frequent as I drop by now and then when I wanna wind down for the night. You might even find me helping out there, hehehe.... That is because INAC is run by two people; Nat and Stef.  It's an incredible task that Nat (the one who is a chef but yet not a chef!) and Stef (does everything else except the cooking!) go through daily from 10 a.m. till 9 p.m. except their rest day which is on Sundays.

Regulars would end up lending a hand or just wait patiently (during peak lunch hour) for their food to arrive. With reasonably priced and tasty Western/local food, it's a routine that the regulars willingly go through. This place is a favourite with students since it's within the vicinity of Segi University.  Actually, this is good and bad for INAC.  Good in the sense that there's a steady flow of diners. Bad in the sense that some of these student diners take advantage of the free wifi.  e.g. They come in a group of five and would only put in an order for two drinks and then they spend the next three to four hours or more on the internet! So, with this explanation, do note that there is a sign that states that each customer is required to have at least a minimum one drink order.

You can hardly catch a glimpse of Nat during lunch hour (she will be cooking at a furious pace in the kitchen!) and a busy Stef who is almost too pre-occupied to even breathe as she deals with the maddening lunch crowd order and demands. However, come non-peak period, you can find Nat and Stef chatting with the regulars.  For the rest of us who are at INAC for the food primarily, it's a cozy place where one can chill. Seriously,we make ourselves at home! To get a gist of what I mean, drop by INAC :o)

Here are pics of my favourite food from I'm Not A Chef ... Oh, I must mention that Nat does the desserts herself too!

Curry Leaf, Damansara Utama

In a dilemma...I write this post.  I feel that more folks should be dining here but yet would like to keep this place to myself. But good things must be shared, so share I must!  I am a fan of nasi briyani and when bro took me here sometime back, I had wondered why I had not made a visit to Curry Leaf before when it was so near to me all this time.  You know what they say...sometimes the very thing that you are looking for is the one thing you can't see! That's how I felt about Curry Leaf.  Just before this, I was telling my brother about the mediocre nasi briyani I had from a shop in Bangsar, where one was charged at a higher price if you were to sit in the air-conditioned section! The Nasi Briyani with Honey Chicken was about RM12.50 and yes, it was mediocre...yet people throng that place daily.

And here I was again, on a Sunday ... having my Briyani Mutton rice in the quiet Curry Leaf. A simple looking restaurant but with great food. This is a branch from the original restaurant located in Seremban and I'm glad they came to Damansara Uptown.  I only wished I knew about Curry Leaf sooner, I could have had more and better briyani rice!  Hahaha.... Anyway, there were about six tables taken but there were still ample empty tables.  I really can't understand why there weren't more customers.  My bro had his banana leaf rice while I gave my usual order.  I like to usually order a small plate of my vegetables - cabbage to go with my rice.

I love the aromatic spices they put in to stir fry the cabbage.  A great accompaniment for the briyani rice!

The lovely briyani rice comes in a little metal pot.  But don't scoff at that little pot as it holds a big serving actually. If one is really hungry, it will be no problem to finish it off but those with small appetite can probably share one, though I figure the best would be for 3 pax to share two pots of these.  There are several briyani variants; you have plain, egg, chicken, mutton, squid... It is served with some yogurt raita on the side.  Each rice grain is flavourful and the mutton is tender and cooked spot on! All this at a reasonable price of RM9! No more briyani elsewhere (for now...until I find one better!)! People oh people? Where are you oh people on a Sunday afternoon like this? Oooh, the pics here are taken with my new HTC One M8 by the way, I'm loving it!

Cooling Down @ Baba Low's, Bangsar

The weather has been a killer of late...I have been seeking reprieve in the malls, cinemas, hypermarkets, restaurants but the best way has to be the full enjoyment of having an icy cold dessert.  Though Baba Low's isn't air-conditioned, there's always one thing that draws me back time and time again.  While the food fares pretty well too, it's the Cendol that gets me going! This is a place where I will usually eat dessert first, then the mains and sometimes once in awhile...dessert again! Hahaha....

Ahhh...Cendol, the current love of my life! I love the fragrant gula melaka. Combined with the coconut milk and the shaved ice, it's one satisfying concoction, spot on sweetness with a tad of saltiness that makes it good.

Then there is this Popiah Peranakan, one won't know what to make of it on the first bite. The popiah skin is akin to a soft crepe texture as you can see from the photo. I decided that I do like this popiah peranakan; turnip, fried shallots, coriander, egg strips, cucumber, bean sprouts with a dash of Gula Melaka.  Try it and decide for yourself :o)  Oh, no pics of the Pie Tee that can be seen in the background? I personally thought it was just okay.

Caffebene Is Here in Malaysia @ Sunway Pyramid

An impromptu outing with Coffee Kaki  (CK) led me to Caffebene (which means Good Cafe) on a busy Sunday afternoon. This international Korean coffee chain finally hit our shores with the first outlet in Sunway Pyramid.  Thankfully, finding a parking bay was easy if that meant parking on the roof ... at 1.20pm, ample bays up on the roof. For easy access to Caffebene...enter car park through the Sunway Convention Centre and head up to CP7 (Level 7), unless you manage to find empty bays available on the lower floors.  Taking the escalator to the mall all the way down till you hit the shopping mall floor where TGIF and Padini Concept Store is located.  Caffebene is just a floor below.  Once you are there, try to control yourself from over ordering with all the goodies in store (for those unfamiliar with Caffebene, check out their menu HERE and you will see what I mean!).

Anyway, CK went to get a table while I stood in line to order.  They will give you a device that flashes and vibrates when your order is ready.  However, when CK went to pick up the order, CK came back with a staff who carried the order to our table instead.  One of their signature items is Bingsu.  Bingsu (shaved ice with toppings) is a popular dessert found everywhere in Korea.  Well, Caffebene's has a wide range of Bingsu (green tea, strawberry, cookies & cream, coffee - to name a few) and they are truly a feast for the eyes as well as your tummy.  With the current hot weather in Malaysia, surely this was as easy choice for me (no hot coffee for now!).

See what I mean? Isn't it lovely looking? This is a Coffee Bingsu (Single RM10.80/USD3). It looks heavenly and it taste nice too, though CK found it a tad sweet. It was generously "smothered" with toppings!

I thoroughly enjoyed my Strawberry Bingsu....The Strawberry ice cream sweetness level was just nice, sitting on a bed of generous red bean.  There were quite a lot of strawberries on and in the shaved ice.  They looked like a type of strawberry variety as they were all rather tiny and of the same size (I had even thought that they could be raspberries) and on the sour side.  This was okay as it went well with the sweetness of the shaved ice dessert.  The Bingsu is rather huge, it seemed almost bottomless at one point but on a hot day, I manage to finish it on my own.  Otherwise, I think it's a good size for 2 to share.  Would definitely come back for this!

Haji Shariff's Cendol, Seremban

It's been a while, slightly more than a 2 month break from updating this blog of mine.  I decided to make an attempt at resuscitating this blog...hahaha...Having blogged about the cendol I had in Port Dickson back in my post dated August 21, this reminded me of one of my visits to Haji Shariff's Cendol in Seremban in one of my day trips around Malaysia.

Cendol is big business here! Occupying a corner shoplot, business runs at a fast and furious pace...especially on a hot day!

The group of us ordered a few different varieties of cendol and of course...rojak too! Our orders were sent to our table at a rather fast and furious pace too though the place was packed.

Good old conventional plain cendol @ RM1.30 a bowl (USD 0.40) which came out rather...err...plain when compared with ...

Cendol Kacang and Jagung (Red Bean and Corn) goes for RM1.70 (USD 0.50).  My favourite order whenever I have cendol. There is simply more to munch and enjoy when compared to a plain cendol

Friday Quick Bite Series - Vary Pasta

(NON-HALAL)

Hmmm....met up with the  A-Girls at Vary Pasta sometime back. This place has been around for quite awhile now.  Parking can be quite a hassle, so it you are heading here, you can park around RHB Bank and walked through the lane and you'll find Vary Pasta right at the back of RHB Bank on your left.

While most of you all would have read the other reviews about this place especially on the pastas, I thought I would just highlight on one item.  While the girls ordered the pasta which comes in a generous portion, I opted for a lighter meal; the Pork Bacon Sandwich.  I had a couple of bites of the pasta and it was flavourful, standard stuff. However, I found more enjoyment and satisfaction from the Pork Bacon Sandwich  which turned out pretty good.  At just RM5.50, the Pork Bacon Sandwich consisted of generous mesclun salad and bacon, thousand island dressing...all sandwiched between two toasted white bread.  Something simple you can prepare on your own at home but then if you're looking for something apart from pasta and light...try this!

Hmmm, I guess it's time for another visit soon.

21G, Jalan SS22/23
Damansara Jaya
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

11am -3 pm, 5.30pm - 10 pm daily

Tel : 603-7710 6100

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

Rojak & Cendol, Jalan Dato' Pathmanaban, Port Dickson

Rojak and Cendol goes hand in hand....like horse and carriage, love and marriage.  It was no different when Moo took me to this stall located at an open area (together with several other stalls), located along Jalan Dato Pathmanaban (Jalan Lama) for tea time!

I recalled it was puasa time and I wasn't sure whether we were too early or it was simply the fact that some proprietors took time off and didn't set up stall as usual. Although our eyes wanted us to feast on the several delights there, our stomach told us that we could only take in a plate of rojak and .... cendol, of course.

At such prices, we were wondering at this point in time whether we should also try the ABC! Hahaha...

We put in our order of rojak first. The stall looked tidy and clean, well organized indeed.  Our order came promptly and was served with a smile :o)

The rojak was quite good.  Obviously it's all about the sauce!  The sweetness was just right and so was the consistency of it. Well, the fritters were fresh; together with the julienned vegetables of turnips, cucumber and tofu, it was a nice tea time snack.

Famous and Tasty Chicken Rice @ Restoran Yit Hin, Port Dickson

Life has been great and after having spent about 7 weeks in US, I have been busy catching up on Malaysian life.  Monkey Jr had just asked me the other day, to update my blog which prompted me to well, put up a post indeed; a food post.

I had taken a few short trips to Port Dickson with Moo on errand runs, simply to accompany Moo and Moo's promise to bring me around for food! Hahahaha...  Our first stop in Port Dickson town usually is Restoran Yit Hin.  It is a little stall located at a hawker center which used to be the Old Pasar, a wet market. Why is this usually our first stop? That's because demand exceeds supply daily and the chicken rice is usually sold out sometimes at lunch time itself.  I remember there was once the four of us had to share two plates of chicken rice as they were running out and this was around 1 plus pm.  So, what makes it so good?

Is it the way they lovingly and happily prepare the food?

Is it the secret sauce drizzled onto the chicken?
Is is the fragrant rice that is done just right?
Is it the corn fed chicken that makes the meat so tender?

Gao Ren Guan, Jaya One - Simple Pleasures

NON-HALAL

Absent from the blogosphere during the whole month of February, the past month had been a fury of Chinese New Year meals, one after another.  At a time when one is constantly barraged with the usual rich good food, it was a pleasant change when we dined at Gao Ren Guan in Jaya One recently.  Not to say that the food was different but it was really food that not only filled the tummy but touched the heart.  If you check out their website...they have a tag line that says "...feels like dining at home".  Yes, though the restaurant was crowded and with the endless loud chattering (that includes even the usual "loud wishes" routine during the lo sang ceremony!), we really felt at "home".  I had the opportunity to dine at Gao Ren Guan twice during this Chinese New Year period and I gotta say, it has now become one of my favourite restaurants to go to.  With great tasting food that speaks for itself, the simplicity won me over ... Needless to say, my friends are of the same opinion too and we look forward to our next meal there again.  Here are some of the dishes we "connected" with ...

Having eaten about 8 times of Yee Sang during this Chinese New Year celebration, the group of us really like Gao Ren Guan's version.  The condiments were refine but what made it good was the sauce.  Subtle yet rich enough, it had a sweetness that was spot on and yet a pleasant sourish taste that gave a balance of all the right flavours.  Looking forward to this in 2014!

Another great yet simple dish was the Hakka Char Yoke (Small RM10, Large RM20) - lean yet tender pieces of sliced pork.  Each slice had a wonderful crunch as we bit into it...breaking the crispy marinated layer of skin. A real delight!

2012 Roundup

It didn't seem too long ago that I had welcomed 2012 with a brighter outlook after having a not so good 2011.  Going into 2012 with a positive outlook and sending out positive vibes made 2012 a very blessed year for me indeed.  Thank God for all his blessings.  As 2013 makes its way in, I look back at 2012 with great memories.  Here's a roundup of my 2012.

I would like to wish all a great 2013 ahead.  May we always cherish our love ones.  Life itself is a cause for celebration.  As I always say... LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE. God Bless Us All.

I traveled quite a fair bit in 2012 ...

Montreux, Switzerland

My first Chinese New Year Winter Holiday!

Pisa, Italy ... 

Florence, Italy

Lip Smacking Goodness from Mokie Home-Baked Pastry, Bentong, Pahang

Once in awhile, we all experience something that stays etched in our mind and hearts.  Though not thought of at times in our ever busy daily lives ... it is, however, never forgotten. It's not so much about what we had seen, touched, smelt, heard or tasted but how we felt that make us remember what we remember; having been enriched by some experiences (sadly, this also applies when it comes to painful encounters).  However for today, I shall focus on all that's good...What I saw, touched, smelt, heard, tasted AND felt.

Continuing from my earlier blog post about my memorable lunch during my trip to Bentong, we made a pit stop in Kampong Kemansur.  Now, Mokie Home-Baked Pastry snacks are a must to pick up when one makes a trip to Bentong. Thanks to our distinguished guide (he never fails to drop by Mr Mok's place and pick up a whole lot of puff pastries!) who brought us into the home of The Moks; a family who exudes such warmth and extended such hospitality by welcoming us into their home and allowing us a peek into their lives.

When we arrived, we were introduced to The Moks and ushered straight into the kitchen area where we plonked ourselves, smacked in the middle of all the baking action.  The aroma of fresh baked pastries filled the air and set off another set of senses, I was absolutely thrilled.  While Mrs Mok and their son spoke to us now and then as they went about their work, Mr Mok made sure we were tended to.  He poured us tea, chatted with us and asked us to help ourselves to the pastries that were on the table.  Fresh from the oven and still on the baking tray...resistance was futile!

As we helped ourselves to the goodies...we were filled in with a brief history as to how Mokie Home-Baked Pastry came about...more than 2 decades ago, Mr Mok and his family moved back to their hometown Bentong to care for his mom.  During her free time in the little village, Mrs Mok started making the puff pastries laden with her home made kaya too (oooo...I'm missing the puff pastries so much as I write this post) and orders kept pouring in till a point where she couldn't cope.  Mr Mok who had been unemployed due to the recession in the mid 80s then decided to join forces with his wife; working together to increase production of these marvelous puff pastries.  Twenty plus years down the line...Mokie Home-Baked Pastry is still standing strong.  Everything about the puff pastries is kept simple; there are two varieties...pineapple jam and kaya filling.  Still baked and packed by hand into a simple bag. That's what make The Moks and their puff pastries special and I hope they keep it that way.

While I have always been a fan of pineapple tarts/puffs generally, it was the kaya variety that totally awed and won me over, the pineapple puffs were good but I LOVED the kaya puffs!  The kaya was rich and with a sweetness that is just spot on.  The thin crisp flakey pastry and the kaya filling enveloped my palate with such flavours and texture that it was just unforgettable on first bite! And bite after bite after that... the puff pastries are such a delight to sink your teeth into.

The puffs are sold at shops and markets around Bentong and to directly get some pastry love from Mokie Home-Baked Pastry, seek The Moks at

No. 5, Lorong Aman 1,
Kampong Kemansur
28700 Bentong,
Pahang

Tel : +609 222 4825

Such an enriching experience, I need to go back to Bentong...not just for the food but for the way I felt when I was there.