King Hu Restaurant

My daughter shudders whenever we go to King Hu or Supertanker. But between the two, we both prefer King Hu, although lately we both need a lot of persuasion. King Hu is my in-laws' favorite spur-of-the-moment restaurant for casual meals and lazy days so we get to eat there quite often (Say 'Hi' if you see me there).

The best thing about King Hu is that prices are very reasonable. It is also the only place in town for 'northern' chinese food ('northern' in inverted commas because to real northerners, the food here is probably more southern Chinese, except for the potstickers) like fried potstickers (guotie) and boiled potstickers (suijiao) with Chinese cabbage and meat, unlike the more common "West Malaysian potstickers" with soy-sauce marinaded meat and onion filling, which my in-laws dismiss as unauthentic. Recently I've noticed The Incredible Transfomation Of King Hu's Potstickers, from oval and big to round and small, with hardly any meat inside. And on top of that they increased the price.

Whenever we eat at King Hu, we eat the same things. It's almost a sin to deviate from our standard order. In the past, they bring in seasonal Hong Kong veg like yellow chives and green soy beans but I guess with business so good (you very likely have to stand outside if you don't have a reservation) the boss just doesn't bother. The lady behind the counter and her husband started the restaurant more than 30 years ago. Her husband used to cook, then when he passed on, the son, who reputedly has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering fron the States (but couldn't find a relevant job here) now fries your mee and chow san see. I suspect though, after last Monday's dinner there, that the fella has some local boys doing the dirty work for him now because the food just doesn't taste the same anymore.


Guotie, pot stickers. Made just like we do at home, except for the filling which is miserable.


Suijiao, boiled potstickers, which have shrunk to half of their previous size.


Hot & sour soup, which really is just sour. You have to add the pepper yourself. I've complained to the lady about the chipped soup bowls but looks like it fell on deaf ears.


Fried 'oily' noodles, which I prefer to their ja jiang mien, bean sauce noodles.


Tied pork leg or je ti with pickles. My MIL makes a much much better version so remind me to do a post on this before CNY.


Steamed Chinese cabbage. King Hu tends to overcook their veg so only Chinese cabbage can withstand their style of cooking.


Goo lao roe or sweet & sour pork, Wey's favorite provided there's no sauce.


King Hu's version of Peking Duck is unique. The skin's soft instead of crispy and they serve it with lots of meat on. I think the chef just said, what the heck, it's so much work to make every duck crispy so just serve it any which way. And we the locals are happy with it this way because honestly, I find Peking Duck quite a pretentious dish, thin pancakes with a slice of crispy skin inside. When you order this, you get a duck soup, which is quite tasty.

I just realised I've been there so often I don't even bother to check their prices. I can always check it for you next week.

King Hu is in Tanjung Aru, next to the only supermarket there. Good place to eat if you need to catch a flight because it's equidistance to both airports nearby.

Apple Cake

Apple cake

This doesn't look impressive, but believe me, it is absolutely yummy and a great substitute for the rich but heart-stopping apple pie. Every single one of my friends who has made it loved it. It is heavy on the apples, light on eggs and there's no butter but there's veg oil. Best of all, it's one of those recipes where you just whip everything together so there's no need to drag your Kenwood or KitchenAid out and there's no pile of bowls and utensils to wash. I think it originated from one of those Australian cook books, because I've seen it again and again in Australian magazines.

The cake is good by itself but even better with creme fraiche. Since we don't get that here all the time, I like to use a combination of fresh dairy cream lightly sweetened with some condensed milk. For me, ice cream detracts any cake so it's not allowed with this.


Apple Cake
1/2 kg Granny Smiths (green apples), peeled, cored & chopped chunky*
200 g self-raising flour, sifted
1/3 t cinnamon powder
200 g (or 150 g for slightly sweet n 170g for slight to medium sweet) fine sugar
1 cup oil
3 large eggs
1 t finely grated lemon rind

*update 2/4/12: I now cut the apples pea size because that makes the texture finer and the cake holds together better.

1. Sift the flour with the cinnamon powder. Put sugar, eggs and oil into a bowl and hand whisk until creamy. Add the sifted flour, stir in the apples.

2. Pour batter into a 8"/21 cm or 9"/23 cm round tin (lined) and bake at 170 C for 45 to 50 minutes until a wooden stick plunged into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Serve with creme fraiche or fresh cream sweetened with condensed milk, whipped or not.

Roti Kahwin

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.

Linda' s Four-Winged Bean Salad

These are four-winged beans, also called four-angled beans. These beans grow easily here, climbing up fences and giving a handful of beans every 3 days or so from one single plant. Because they grow and fruit easily, veg vendors usually have a plant or two, enough for their consumption with extra to sell. This is one veg I am pretty sure is pesticide free, especially when there's only a kilo or two of it out for sale. Once in a while I grow one plant in my garden but they are so fruitful that after a while nobody wants this on the table.

This is a superb salad my friend Linda often makes. I'm not sure of the origin, it could be nyonya (Malay-Chinese). There's no cooking required as the lime juice sort of pickles the beans which have to be cut super thin, one-cell thin if possible. Yes, thin enough to mount on a microscope slide. I was out of peanut brittle so I used grounded cashew nuts. It worked just as well. You will be taken by the burst of flavors from the bunga kantan, the dried shrimps and the fish sauce, the sting from the bird's eye chilies and the tangy sweetness of the lime juice and the sugar. You will also love the crunch of the uncooked beans. YUM.

p.s. I know veg recipes and posts aren't popular. You have heard of fibre and a painful condition if you don't eat enough veg? Starts with an 'h', 3 syllables. First one to answer correctly gets a carton of prune juice. Virtual of course.



Linda's Four-Winged Bean Salad
400 g 4 winged beans*
2 heap T dried shrimps, washed well
8 (to your liking) chili padis or hot chilies
1/2 heart of bunga kantan (a ginger flower)
juice from 2 large limes
1/2 to 1 T fish sauce
1/3 t salt
1/2 T fine sugar
2 T peanut brittle, pounded until fine

* instead of beans, Linda sometimes uses pakis (wild fern, fiddleheads) and the result is more than excellent. The pakis need to be blanched briefly in boiling water.

1. Wash the beans very well, drain & pat dry with a clean towel. Top and tail. Slice into very thin slices, as thin as you can. Cut the chilies up, cut the bunga kantan heart very finely.

2. Mix everything together except for the peanut brittle. Taste and season to your liking. Sprinkle the pounded peanut brittle on top.

Explain This Esplanade

One of the prettiest drive in KK is along the Likas Bay. These pictures were taken around noon today, giving harsh and washed out colors. Drive there in the afternoon, around 4, when the tide is high and the sea is bright blue, and you'll agree with me that this is our best scenic drive.



That's Mt Kinabalu peeking out.







Wait a minute, what's that big orange building coming up, facing the road?(Notice Mt Kinabalu--very faint-- in the background. Nice juxtaposition huh?)





Two storeys, the higher from which to look out to. Somebody, pleeeassee plant some big trees to hide this monster. In the meantime, paint it green or something.



On closer look, the huts aren't so bad. They would look better if the roofs are thatched with atap. No more atap? Can always import some from the Maldives. Many Malaysians love Maldivian banks.



And 200 years later anthropologists will tell us we are related to the Red Indians of British Columbia.

I say lay off Likas Bay!!