Traditional Favourite

Tomorrow marks the end of CNY celebrations for the year! My family will be celebrating ‘Chap Goh Meh’ (which literally translates to 15th night – a traditional celebration which marks the end of the 15-day CNY celebrations) with a luncheon at our favourite Chinese Restaurant. Before the end of CNY, I thought it’d be nice  to share abit about one of my family’s favourite CNY dish, which is…(*Drum Rolls*)

If you happen to be a Peranakan (Baba/Nyonya) or a Penangite, I’m sure you’ve seen and tasted this dish before! Yupz, its the famous (in Malaysia larh) Jiu Hu Char! (Literal translation: Stir Fried Cuttlefish)

Even though the name says ‘Stir Fried Cuttlefish’, those new to this dish might be surprised to find that the main ingredient in this dish is not cuttlefish (sotong) but the humble yam bean! The dish basically consists of thinly shredded strips of yam bean, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, cuttlefish & belly pork (my mom’s version). While modern equipments such as shredders and electric food blenders are available to make the job of shredding the ingredients easier, the vegetables are traditionally shredded by hand; something that my mother (and I) still practice! This is actually one of the most tedious steps in the preparation of this dish as it is an acquired skill to shred the vegetables to just to right consistency.

Close up view: Jiu Hu Char

There are many variations of this dish and some might prefer to omit/add other ingredients, commonly prawns or chicken (instead of pork). It is said that each household has its own special way of preparing this dish and the flavours may vary from simple to something truly complex (Source: Nyonya Flavours). Which is really true! I’ve tasted many different variations of this dish prepared by my aunties, neighbours, friends and those prepared by Nyonya Restaurants, and some proves to be fresh and crisp while others have the vegetables heavily infused with the flavour of the cuttlefish. Nevertheless, I still think my mom’s version is the best

And since my mom usually only cooks a HUGE pot of it once a year during CNY (too tedious to prepare on normal days!), it’s something that I really look forward to and miss every CNY! CNY won’t feel like CNY if I don’t get a taste of this dish…

So for those of you who haven’t tried this before, I highly recommend it! Maybe for Chap Goh Meh?

Till the next post!

Din Tai Fung @ The Gardens

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) Malaysia
Lot LG-207, Lower Ground Floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200, Kuala Lumpur.
+603-2283-2362/2292
www.dintaifung.com.tw

I'm a little ashamed, but, (who cares-lah!) I guess I'll just admit it. I'm a person who believes in living to eat (and avidly practicing it!). In fact, the majority (especially KL city folks!) do practice it, but most do not realize or simply refuse to admit. Why? Some are health conscious. Others are just too ashamed to admit. Well, admit it or not, most of us city folks DO live to eat, consciously or unconsciously. And for me, its because I think that life is short! So why not just enjoy it to the fullest?

Anyways, with exams out of the way for both me and my sis, me and my family decided to go jalan-jalan at Mid Valley cuz we haven't (window) shopped there for a long time. So we walk and walk and then it was lunch time. And then as usual we couldn't decide what to eat. So we keep walking. And we happened to pass by and saw a group of chefs making chinese dumplings, mom said we should try it since the restaurant was pretty crowded (USUALLY a sign of good food), plus we all miss savoring authentic Xiao Long Bao (picture and description below) since our vacation to Shanghai 3 years ago. This was what first caught my attention when we stepped into the restaurant:

Here's what we tried:

Appetizer

Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao - Signature Dish! Highly Recommended!)

Braised Beef La Mien (Noodle Soup) - Another good dish to try! The stock was marvelous...

 
Steamed Crab Meat and Pork Dumpling

Shrimp and Pork Wonton La Mien

Front row: Steamed shrimp and pork dumpling, Back row: Xiao Long Bao

A bit pricey (the noodles cost an average of rm 12 - 16 a bowl and the dumplings rm 12 - 15 for a basket of 6) but definitely worth it! Must come back for more...