Hidden Treasures

We have been almost a month in Malaysia and today is my mom’s birthday. My sister suggested getting mom her favorite food “Chai Pau” in Pandamaran Jaya, Port Klang for lunch. I haven’t eaten “Chai Pau’ in years and the thought of it just made my mouth waters. “Chai Pau” (meaning vegetables dumpling in Hokkien) is a snack popular among the Chinese Teochew and Hakka.

This version comes in a very thin skin and is translucent when steamed. The filling is the usual mung beans, bean sprouts and carrots. We would doused these savory morsels with lots of their homemade sweet sour chili sauce. We were introduced this snack in our childhood and it remains one of our favorites.

I can’t recall the exact location. My sister, Helen drove deep into this old establishment and she said it was close to the Pandamaran wet market. You won’t see any tourist here unless he is lost or a local brings him in…like Shane. 😛 Helen seems to be a regular and the women invited Shane to learn how to make them. Their hands move so fast – I guess when they produce several thousand pieces a day, they could make them with their eyes closed. The dumplings weren’t ready. They have just started steaming a batch and Shane wanted to order 100 pieces to go. It was MYR0.50 a piece making this order at MYR50.00 (about US$12.35). The price here is still cheaper than in the city. Call this number if you are interested to order from them: +60 12 656 8777 or +60 3 3381 2149

Helen suggested we go around her other favorite stalls and we ended up buying more snacks and eating Fried Radish Cake (Chai Tau Kueh). Shane didn’t quite fancy this dish so I happily finish the plate myself. He however love “Yew Char Koay”, Chinese deep fried strip dough. I call it the ‘skeleton bone’ because sometimes I can’t recall the Chinese name for it. This place definitely have some hidden treasures worth exploring for food enthusiasts.

Mom was shocked with the amount of food we brought home but she happily enjoyed the “Chai Pau” and shared a bowl of “Tau Foo Faa” (soy bean pudding). Between all the adults and the 3 kids, everything was cleared just hours before we went out for a birthday dinner at a Chinese restaurant.