My latest fav snack is roti kahwin, a totally unhealthy choice. It has butter, sugar, coconut milk plus starch. Totally what I don't need right now, especially as Christmas is near. Just the other night I pulled on my jeans and found that no matter how I jumped, laid on the floor or stopped breathing, I couldn't button up. I am very tempted to use the liquify tool on several of my photos. So in a vain (literally) attempt to loose some weight before I tuck in all those Christmas goodies, I have decided to go on a vegan diet, during daylight hours (thus the lack of food posts recently). Dinner is a different matter. My body needs meat to repair.
The problem is when I know I am on a diet, I crave for food even more. It's like you guys or girls wanting the one you can't get. This is when I pass by Dott's Egg Tarts and drop in to grab a box of the best tarts in town, gobble them quickly before I hear voices in my head, or go to bed early so that I can get up in time to make it to McD's before 11 am for the only item I like there--their Sausage McMuffin. But lately, my weakness, like I told you, is roti kahwin. With a cuppa black coffee, just like those China ah peks.
Roti is bread in Malay, and kahwin is married. Married bread. Made in heaven. And it is, the way the kaya (custard spread made of thick coconut milk, eggs and sugar that looks like baby poo) and the butter just brings out the best in each other. For those who haven't eaten roti kahwin, let me tell you. The bread is super cottony soft with just the right amount of moisture. As you sink your teeth and lips in, the kaya hits your taste buds and nose (you can never go wrong with coconut milk) and then the cold butter melts to create a most wonderful taste with the kaya. You reach out for the second slice before you've even finished the first.
I used to favor Fook Yuen in Damai until a couple of months ago when I regurgitated my roti kahwin on first bite. They had used margarine instead of butter. They still do, because I brought a friend there last night and threatened the boss that I will only go to Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas in Foh San if they still put margarine in my bread. He looked startled, like I just told him I knew his biggest secret. I can taste it, I said, giving him a look that sent him running to his fridges, searching high and low for butter. It was most satisfying to see. He personally made the sandwiches and brought them to my table. Please, if you eat there, ask for butter. They have increased the price from RM1/US$0.28 to RM1.30 per set/US$0.37 of two slices of bread and are giving you the cheaper substitute. But of course, if margarine is more your taste, go ahead. I know some people can't taste the difference.
Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas has exactly the same bread and kaya as Fook Yuen. I know that for sure because I know both of the bakers/owners. They started out as partners in Fook Yuen. Fook Yuen is the more popular coffee shop, since it shares a walkway full of food stalls. It has also been featured on many TV programs, local and otherwise (Singapore & Hong Kong). I still get my bread and kaya there if I'm in the area, but more and more I go to Gunung Emas.
One loaf of white bread at Gunung Emas is RM2.50. I think the kaya is RM2.70. You can make about 5-6 sets of roti kahwin, with half a cup of kaya left over. Brew a cup of hot coffee and there's nothing more sublime.
p.s. Never eat roti kahwin in those new style 'old' coffee shops like Kopitiam and Old Town. The bread and kaya aren't worth eating.
The problem is when I know I am on a diet, I crave for food even more. It's like you guys or girls wanting the one you can't get. This is when I pass by Dott's Egg Tarts and drop in to grab a box of the best tarts in town, gobble them quickly before I hear voices in my head, or go to bed early so that I can get up in time to make it to McD's before 11 am for the only item I like there--their Sausage McMuffin. But lately, my weakness, like I told you, is roti kahwin. With a cuppa black coffee, just like those China ah peks.
Roti is bread in Malay, and kahwin is married. Married bread. Made in heaven. And it is, the way the kaya (custard spread made of thick coconut milk, eggs and sugar that looks like baby poo) and the butter just brings out the best in each other. For those who haven't eaten roti kahwin, let me tell you. The bread is super cottony soft with just the right amount of moisture. As you sink your teeth and lips in, the kaya hits your taste buds and nose (you can never go wrong with coconut milk) and then the cold butter melts to create a most wonderful taste with the kaya. You reach out for the second slice before you've even finished the first.
I used to favor Fook Yuen in Damai until a couple of months ago when I regurgitated my roti kahwin on first bite. They had used margarine instead of butter. They still do, because I brought a friend there last night and threatened the boss that I will only go to Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas in Foh San if they still put margarine in my bread. He looked startled, like I just told him I knew his biggest secret. I can taste it, I said, giving him a look that sent him running to his fridges, searching high and low for butter. It was most satisfying to see. He personally made the sandwiches and brought them to my table. Please, if you eat there, ask for butter. They have increased the price from RM1/US$0.28 to RM1.30 per set/US$0.37 of two slices of bread and are giving you the cheaper substitute. But of course, if margarine is more your taste, go ahead. I know some people can't taste the difference.
Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas has exactly the same bread and kaya as Fook Yuen. I know that for sure because I know both of the bakers/owners. They started out as partners in Fook Yuen. Fook Yuen is the more popular coffee shop, since it shares a walkway full of food stalls. It has also been featured on many TV programs, local and otherwise (Singapore & Hong Kong). I still get my bread and kaya there if I'm in the area, but more and more I go to Gunung Emas.
One loaf of white bread at Gunung Emas is RM2.50. I think the kaya is RM2.70. You can make about 5-6 sets of roti kahwin, with half a cup of kaya left over. Brew a cup of hot coffee and there's nothing more sublime.
p.s. Never eat roti kahwin in those new style 'old' coffee shops like Kopitiam and Old Town. The bread and kaya aren't worth eating.
27 comments:
Ooo..roti kahwin is one of my fav in KK!!! Speaking of the egg tart, I did try after speaking to you and I realized I haven't posted anything about my March KK trip! Oh dear, time to dig out those photos, especially to rave over your delicious moist carrot cake!
Oh wow very delicious making me want roti kahwin with a cup of Ipoh Old Town coffee! yummy!
I'm a silent reader of your blog. Love the way you describe a simple bread with kaya+butter as such a luxury delicacy.Make me so homesick and craving for my kopi c with roti kahwin.
Cheers, Mel from Down Under
roti kahwin?? looks like normal butter n kaya toast? m i missing something? simplicity is bliss..
just like tat mcd sausage muffin..
I share your views on dieting. It remains futile by far and there's always something I crave for when I'm on diet. Back to roti kahwin, it's known as Kaya toast in SG but the bread is toasted crisp.
sounds good. i can understand how you wish you could stop eating them. i have the same problem with Dunkin's boston creme donuts, impossible to pass them up when i see there shops.
when we were kids we always ate cinnamon toast. simply, it is toasted bread with butter and cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top, we didn't have your kaya spread.
here in thailand they have shops, where mostly students hang out after school, and they serve warm flavored milk drinks and a variety of bread and butter sandwiches. the thais like to dress them with that best (worst) food's supper yellow/orange margarine that is not even margarine really. (the same stuff is used by the banana roti vendors on the street). yuck. your version sounds much better, and a heck of a lot more palatable too.
i also like the look of your tarts. they appear to be made with a version of puff pastry. if i were to explain to you the chemistry that occurs when you masticate puff pastry and then swallow and digest it you would never eat another tart, turnover or croissant again. ignorance is bliss, same as simplicity.
as far as mc d's breakfast sandwich goes, not a bad bite for what it is. this particular type of american breakfast sausage is one of my favorites. it goes very well when incorporated into a force meat / stuffing (dressing) for turkey, chicken or pork. the seasoning is predominantly sage and black pepper.
also notice that a good english muffin like the one mc d uses has a dusting of corn meal on it. this is the same FX that a good pizza dough will have if the cook dusts the paddle with cornmeal before making the pie. the grainy texture and the nutty flavor is what it is all about.
terri: I miss the egg tarts from Foh Sang...I think the name is dan tart wong "egg tart king"? But when I was back in kk this summer I couldn't find the shop anymore..all I can get is jst dotts and egg tart prinze.. any idea where did the shop move to?
Thats called roti kaya here...YUM...i'm really missing life..we dont eat all these things....boring huh? ever heard of mom jeans? heh
pp:am waiting for ur post on kk but pls don't post about my carrot cake...
arlene: high 5
mel from down under: simplest is best most times. don't you have yeo's kaya in oz?
joe: u guys don't call it roti kahwin? just kaya toast? aiya, so unromantic n unimaginative.
rei: another unromantic name, kaya toast. we get tt here too but i prefer the untoasted version. yeah, dieting sucks. one day i'm good the next day i blow it. n when i think i've suffered enough, i step on the scale n nothing has changed :( food blogging is hazardous
i must try cinnamon on toast. i know i know, most asian desserts have the most unnatural radioactive-looking color. oh, i know pastries are BAD, n the badder they are, the better they taste bc it's the pockets of moisture from the butter after the pastry is chilled n baked tt makes the pastry flaky. so what i do is mostly peel the pastry away (ok, maybe eat some of it) n eat the egg custard. tt leaves me both guilty (bc i feel like it's a bulimic thing to do) n dissatisfied.
we can't get english muffins here except for mcd n i love their chewiness n yes, the cornmeal. yum. oh yes, have u got a good recipe for english muffins?
exodus: hi, how r u? no, no idea where they've moved to but don't you find dott's egg tarts just as or even better?
zurin: why not? mom's jeans? specially for moms?? :DD
Terri, please may I know where is Kedai kopi Gunung Emas?
Roti Kahwin is like my all time favourite snack, if you can it that!
I make my own bread normally, but will go out of my way to have roti kahwin, shortening or not.
Ewww about the margarine!
you wrote: oh yes, have u got a good recipe for english muffins?
sorry, "baking" is not my 4-tay, and not having my doctorate in bake shop, i lack the patients for it, too. :o)
i have tried before, and i have delegated it many times to bakers who have worked for me, but a truly good muffin, like many simple processes demands endless repetition, constant observation and precise temperature control. some fo the best bakers i have known have been frustrated to the point of self-immolation/humiliation over their attempts at a good muffin.
further, lest we forget, they are actually crumpets. and they are cooked on a griddle and not baked as many folks believe. they be in the hot cake/pancake family of foods. which may be why a good baker can not actually produce good crumpet.
crumpet pictures
the history of englsh muffins
ah so, they are like crumpets, those australian buns. i have a recipe somewhere, but crumpets have bigger holes? n david, check mail :)
gerrie: it's the same shop in foh san where the angsty guy who chops roasted pork at lunch who is forever shouting at his waitresses n in doing so sprays his pork with his spit? it's d corner shop same row with kedai kopi loi hin, the ngew chap shop. oh, the same row as kfc, but end of the row. got it?
Terri, I got it, thank you!!!
I always tell myself to think positive thoughts when I buy the roasted pork, hoping to pass some good vibes to that guy, but it hasn't worked. I go to the other guy in Merdeka supermarket now.
I felt so hungry now......... *slaps face HARD*
Oh! I've been eating that and never knew it was called Roti Kahwin! :P We've been eating that lately too! But since we're in US, I make do with just kaya from the can =( and the roti from Franz! =( And I totally agree...it HAS to be butter...I use salted butter though...a bit salty and sweet! yum! :) If only I can get those roti...those soft fluffy roti! Mmmmm....do u have a recipe of the roti??
the soft fluffy bread sandwiching the slab of butter and sweet kaya.
I cant agree more.
Old Town's version is gettin from bad to worse.
Why Why???
gerrie: me too, i only buy my roasted meat frm the merdeka guy. the grumpy guy is irritating. he's always flustered, the line's too long, n his pork too fatty. n the rice too soft. i don't know what the fuss is all about!
agnes: now now just drive to foh san no need to get violent :D
jenny: yes, check this out. i think this lady is terrific in baking, esp. bread :http://wlteef.blogspot.com/
j2fk: agree
pp: bc bc it was specially 4 u :))
ha! that's where u met the dummy too !
denise: why the demotion to 'dummy'??
That part of Foh Sang where Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas is situated is called Bornion.
terri: hmmmm the last time I had dotts was in 2006 and at that time my impression was egg tart king is better but I heard that they improved a lot..hmm mayb I should give them a try again this summer haha
ohhhhhhh yeaaaaaaaaa Gunung emas rox =p
Ok Ok, then I shall just mention about meeting you :)
I read your blog cuz it reminds me of KK. I lived there for 8 months and enjoyed it so much. Nice city, nice ambiance, nice everything.
And I absolutely Loooooooooove the roti kaya...
Where is Kedai Kopi Gunung Emas ? can you googlemap it ?
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