In search of that legendary Jiangsu-bing

Have you ever eaten a perfect Jiangsu biscuit? I have. In fact, I would specially go and buy them when I worked on an afternoon shift. But the shop closed and moved away, and I could only dream of that lightly flavoured biscuit. Recently had breakfast (yum-cha) at yook-woo-hin and found that they still sold Jiangsu biscuits (or in cantonese, we call them Khong-sou-baeng). It was a mixed feeling to still be able to find the biscuit at one of my former favourite yumcha places, as the restaurant itself no longer sold the charsiu pao i loved so much. (The skin was handmade, and the filling was a light ochre coloured mix of pork - and perhaps some green onion and sesame) The pao they now served is just run of mill.

Imagine my surprise, when out with the boss the other day. We passed the tiny store opposite the Lee Rubber Popular Bookstore. (Obviously there to visit that place) This tiny store sold freshly baked tarts and cakes for breakfast, and tea, i guess. My boss stopped to buy tarts and lo - behold that packet proclaiming - Jiangsu-Bing!

It looked like it!

Mr Boss bought two packets for moi and the gang. I was looking forward to a taste.

And ...

Sadly, ... it has changed. Maybe the owner/maker changed or 'improved' on the original recipe. Or it could be my taste buds playing tricks on me. Still, i think i remembered it to be sturdier, lighter in flavour and less oily. The taste will remain forever in my memory as the best Jiangsu-Bing ever. And this version, i guess, will do for now.

Breakfast fit for a king!

There is a saying that goes like this: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a rich man and take dinner like a beggar. I guess it means, eat really well (as in large and wholesome) in the morning, a nice and filling meal in the afternoon and eat lightly in the evening.

Since i'm not working today, and somehow could not go back to sleep after the radio clock went off - i made breakfast for the other half. Who reciprocated with his delicious brewed coffee. Coincidentally, we had bread and bananas, so here it is. The original recipe is suggested by Irene, who has gone AWOL.

Anyway, this is my take on the Bananas on Toast:

1. Butter your sliced bread (Pain de Mie, salted butter)
2. Slice the bananas lengthwise or as long a slice as possible, bcos small bits will drop of the bread
3. Lay them on
4. Toast them!

Eat.

Madame Irene suggests you 'season' with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. i don't have any, tho.

This morning, i enjoyed a lovely and leisurely breakfast of Bananas in Toast with a 'short' black. (Key Coffee Mandheling Blend, quite a lovely blend)
And let me tell you - this is the Life!

A fruit called Nam2

Ok. So i keep blogging about outlandish food. Actually, it isn't la. i think that there are so so many fruits and produce which are native to this region, medicinal perhaps and maybe from the forest.

My lovely aunt here is showing the fruit of the Nam-nam tree, as they call it. There is another name which i forget. i remember very very vaguely more than 20 over years ago, having tasted this fruit then never had a chance again until last year.

As you can see the flowers looks like they grow around the trunk of the tree. (i'm not an expert la) And then you can find the fruit looking dried and green, sort of like bits sticking on the trunk. Usually either the birds and bats got to them or they were too shrunken and small.

Last year's crop was bumper. And the nam2 tastes the same. Sourish with a tinge of licoricey.

I like tho.

Beans called ang-mor-toh-dao

Ok. I bet loads of people have eaten this before. At least, i have - a dozen or more times. This pix were taken sometime in November last year when i went to Penang on one of those tag along trips. I don't know what the beans are actually called in English because my mom and aunts just call them- ang-mor-toh-dao. (red-haired-devil-peanuts, maybe)

Well, i think they are seasonal so you can only get them aroung Oct-Nov. And there's this uncle who sells steamed nuts at the entrance of Chowrasta Market (the building), in the evenings. He usually sells steamed peanuts in shells and chickpeas, which is a nice snack when you're going into the cinema.

Anyways, if you happen to be there and come across the toh-dao, try it. I've always had a soft spot for it, because we used to enjoy these during our long school breaks in Penang. I'm not sure if you can still buy them fresh and steam them yourself. You may wanna try the morning pasar, then.