Duck Meat Koay Teow Soup @ Pulau Tikus Market

It's been raining consistently for the past few days in Penang and anything soupy and hot is a welcome relief from the cold.

A hot bowl of hearty duck meat koay teow soup is just perfect. The best duck meat koay teow soup on the island can be found in the Pulau Tikus market. There are other stalls on the island, but so far, this one stood out because of the rich and sweet broth.

Business is brisk as usual

This unassuming stall nestled between a satay stall and a stall selling all types of bread and pastries has been enjoying brisk business for as long as I can remember. It is run by a family consisting of father, daughter and son, but it is the daughter who calls the shots.

The pretty lady who runs the stall

Customers waiting for their orders to go will be amazed by this pretty lady's almost photographic memory. She can remember who ordered what, what they wore, the toppings that they want, what they don't want, etc.

 The father told me once that the secret to the sweetness of their broth is rock sugar. For the base, I noticed carrots and yam bean in the boiling soup.

Duck meat koay teow soup with added meat balls

Of course mine came without the vegetables ;)

The brown bits on top are "bak ewe phok", bits of fat that have been fried till crispy and fragrant. I asked for additional meatballs besides the usual fish balls, duck meat (it's duck meat koay teow soup) and pork. The meat balls have a very distinct hint of cuttle fish. I passed on the coagulated pig blood, though.

 The whole dish came up to RM4.50, which is still pretty reasonable.

They also serve char koay teow, but it's nothing much to shout about. The brother used to be the one who takes care of the char koay teow part of the business, but of late, I noticed that it is the lady boss who mostly runs the stall.

A tip: Never buy from them if you don't see the pretty lady around. Somehow the consistency is just not there when she is not around to prepare the dish. There was once when she went away for her honeymoon, leaving her father and brother to hold the fort. The soup I got was tasteless. Needless to say, I waited for her to get back before returning for my duck meat koay teow soup fix.

They only sell in the evenings and are closed on Fridays.

I am Malaysian Lah,I eat Nasi Lemak for breakfast!

Courtesy of Wowwoo

Malaysia just celebrated its 56^th year of Independence few days ago! Selamat Hari Merdeka people! As a Malaysian, we have so many reasons to be proud of, am I right? Living in a multicultural country who easily tolerates one and another, as well as adapting easily to each other’s culture. We have our very version of language as well as our very own way of feeding ourselves!

Just think of what you had as breakfast before you head out to work/school today? Roti Canai? Roti Bakar or Nasi Lemak? Since I had Nasi Lemak today morning, so it’s only wise to blog about our favorite morning breakfast! Are you guys ready? So here goes!

Nasi lemak is one dish that is ever available in anywhere in Malaysia, from roadside food stalls to high class hotels, It’s a dish that will surely be there to awaken your taste buds for the day! Some claimed the origin of the dish is from Indonesia- nasi wuduk, while some others says that this dish came from our own farmers who brought along their meal packed with banana leaf, after they worked hard in the paddy field. Well, I say it doesn’t matter where it came from, because this dish has been around us long enough that we can now freely declare it as our National food!

Courtesy of Wowwoo

Surely there has been much alteration done to this simple dish, some like it with chicken rendang, sotong sambal, prawn sambal, or even as simple as a fried egg. My choice is the latter. A good packet of nasi lemak is a combination of steamed rice with creamy coconut milk and fragrant pandan leaves and served with spicy sambal ikan bilis, sliced of crunchy cucumber, fried anchovies, peanuts and half of a hard-boiled egg. I can’t even type this without drooling!

Of course, there are different types of serving in different regions in Malaysia. In the north, Nasi Lemak will be served with kuah (gravy) poured over the rice, while in the south are served with fried meehoon, and grated coconut. I’ve tried both types, and I equally can’t resist both! As I mentioned before, this dish can be very simple accompanied with hard-boiled eggs and at the same time can be an expensive dish served with fried chicken, rendang, prawn sambal, sotong sambal.

Woah! It’s a challenge to write about food because the cravings will catch up with you very soon. I know what I am going to have for my lunch break, what about you?