My dad used to frequent Butterworth very often during my childhood days due to his business. We loved to follow him during the holidays as it means makan (eating) and play times. And for the past years, I'll never miss going to this place for Siew Mai (pork dumpling) whenever I do stop by Butterworth. And I can assure you this is the real deal. Not simply some food that you get accustomed to since young.Location : Butterworth, Penang
Rating : Very good!
Review
You know how most of these dim sum shops in KL sells Siew Mai with pork as its main ingredients. Most of the time, they do not taste fresh. And the seasoning used did not bring out the fragrance of the meat. Where as in Ipoh, most of the Siew Mai were made of prawns. Not a true Siew Mai. Now this stall only sells limited choice of dim sum. But you must must must order the Siew Mai. It does not look great, but taste superb. I have never tasted such good Siew Mai anywhere else. The meat is well seasoned but not too strong that kills the fragrant of the meat. I mixture of chilli and sweet sauce makes it even better. It used to be sold by an old lady, but now it is a young man that took over. But it still taste good for the past 20 over years.
Oops, I was in a rush that day, but I still had to have it. Hence ended up tapau (cantonese for take away). As I have said, seeing it is not believing it, but tasting it is.
Cantonese-English Translation
Ben ordered fish paste noodles with milk. He chooses yau mai fun for this. The normal version is the fish head noodles with milk, but for lazy bums like us, fish paste is preferred as we do not have to pick the bones. No fishy smell. The combination of salted vegetables, tomato, tofu (beancurd) and milk is properly balanced. But if you like more kick, just throw in some cili padi (small chillies). Fuh!
Big eaters like us always ordered extras. We had fishball and porkball in clear soup. I have never tried the clear soup version of seafood noodles (can never resist the tom yum and curries), but I was told they are just as good. Just look at the steam.
Among other things that I find good is the curry noodles and the dry curry noodles. Basically all that I have mantioned are in the menus.
The chilli sauce is a mixture of ginger and vinegar, which quite suit the taste of beef. The noodles were quite tangy. The meat is soft and succulent. Most importantly the soup did not over power the taste of beef yet the beef does not have a strong beefy smell (quite similar to lamb, except smell of lamb is even stronger). Some people may like that scent, but I like them when they are well treated or blended with herbs. I really quite like the soup/broth. Not too thick or thin or oily. No strong beefy smell again, just a tang of it and well flavoured.
As for the chicken. it is simply the method it was cooked that made the meat soft and succulent. If you are interested, I can teach you how. (1) Get a fat chicken, at least 2 kg. Don't cut, just get the seller to clean the innards for you. (2) Wash the chicken, blanch in hot water for 1 minute and hang it to dry, so that the skin will be crisp and tender. (3) Boil a pot of water and ensure that the water is enough to cover the entire chicken. Throw in some salt, ginger and herbs to loose the fishy smell. (4) Once the water is boiling, put the chicken in, close the cover and off the gas. Let the chicken soak in the hot water for at least half an hour and do not open the cover. Use a chopstick to poke into the breast to check if the chicken is cooked. You can easily poke through if the chicken is cooked. Once cooked, drain the chicken. Throw in a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, srping onion, coriander and ready to serve.
The beauty of hor fun (flat rice noodles) in Ipoh is their smoothness and fineness. Those you find in KL are rough to the lips. Not suitable for slurping.
The usual goodstuff are toasts and eggs. The toasts are roasted using charcoal, providing a hint of flavour. The coconut jam (kaya in Malay) is thick and creamy. I believe they gave kampung (village) eggs. The eggs' shell colour is whitish and the yolks are more orangey.
The more popular choice among families are chicken chop. The batter that they use are fuller in taste. I believe they mix eggs into the batter. And what I like most is that they understand not everyone likes the dry and salty french fries. And the onion with worchester sauce further captivate our taste buds. No chilli sauce needed.
Coffee is supposed to be very good, but I have to say theirs are only so-so. Not extremely fragrant or smooth, but very thick.
You can also order take-aways like swiss roll and butter cakes. They are very rich and fragrant. Or you can simply order 1 there. They are kept in an antique display cupboard. Really cute stuff.
More than 70 years of history. The shop itself is an attraction.
