Sampling in Satun 2 : My Grand-uncle's Little Restaurant By The Highway

My mother told me of some wonderful cooking by my Grand-uncle every time she returns from Satun, and this time, on this trip, I get to see and taste what that was all about. His restaurant is located on the main highway that links Hatyai and Satun. I found out from our tour guide, or the van driver, that my Grand-uncle's restaurant is well known among the Malays of Satun and a popular stop by tourists. For those who are heading to Satun, ask to go to Restoran BangTuan, and they might just know where to head to.

My Grand-uncle, Tuan Mohammad, or Tuan Mat, is 45...although being only 3 years older than me, the family rank placed me as his grand-nephew. Fair and gentle looking, he spent the 1990s working in That restaurants across Malaysia before deciding to return to Satun and operate his own. The restaurant, like most Malay owned restaurant in Satun, is family owned. His wife and daughter and some relatives work there as well.

You can order your food from the menu, or you can have rice with already prepared dishes. I was also made to understand that he also makes noodle and fried rice dishes, but with what I was enjoying, I forgot all about it. Already prepared were the rice, Kari Merah Ikan Keli (Catfish in Red Curry), Kari Hijau Daging(Beef Green Curry), Asam Pedas Ikan Grukgruk (I have no way of translating that) and Daging Goreng Kacang Panjang (Fried Beef With Long Beans). We ordered 2 additional items:  my Grand-uncle's famous Sup Tulang (Beef bone Soup) and plain omelets.

On the subject of omelets, I was always intrigued with the way omelets are prepared in Thai food eateries. They seem to be perfectly done: crispy outside and really moist inside, and all my attempts at emulating that usually end up with either burnt, dry or uncooked inside. I did try to catch how they made it in Tuan Mat's kitchen. Surprisingly, it seemed as normal as I make it: eggs, a dash of fish sauce, stir it a bit, a generous coating of oil on a very hot wok. Strange that the oil seems to be smoking when he finally poured the eggs in, and the eggs never burnt. I guess that no matter how passionate your hobby might be at cooking, you still need to learn and practice.

As the tasting proceeds, my tongue exploded with fire and brimstone with the red curry. The spices are simple, but true to Thai influence, red cili padi was used. For those who can't get enough of cili padi in their diet, this will be a perfect dish for them. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection. The shocker of it was when my Grand-uncle told me that he made the dish not as hot as it is supposed to be.

The green curry, on the other hand, was extremely mild. You can almost taste all the herbs and spices used in there. The beef was very tender, accompanied by the slightly bitterish taste of terung belanda. I'm not sure what terung belanda called in English though, it is usually mistaken as green peas in general.

The Asam Pedas is quite a pleasant surprise. It is as Malay as any asam pedas you might find, but with a twist. It is slightly hot, and the gravy is thicker. The Malaysian asam pedas usually uses Asam Keping or Asam Gelugor, but this Asam Pedas uses a lot of tamarind, or asam jawa. It's thicker and more sourish, but extremely pleasant to the stomach. The fish makes a perfect accompaniment to the dish.

Apart from the asam pedas, the fried beef with long beans is one of the most common dish one might find in Kedah, although not that many nowadays with the price of beef today. I remember fondly of my mum making it when I was much younger, and how it used to be in nasi campur stalls back then. Nowadays, the beef has been substituted with chicken liver or other bits to create the same dish. Tasting the fried beef with long beans really brought me to the past. The taste of the tender beef, opinions, soy-sauce and turmeric was very evident. Still, there is another twist to that, camouflaged among the long beans are slices of cili padi that might catch you by surprise. I must say that this dish is the only Kedah Malay dish that almost didn't evolve...if it weren't for the cili padi.

The piece de résistance has to be the Sup Tulang, or Beef Bone Soup. One might assume that being in Thai, it will have the smell of kaffir lime leaf, sourish with loads and loads of cili padi. Well, it doesn't. The meat was so tender and falling of the bones, with the cartilage almost melted. The taste is extremely well balanced: sweet, sour, hot and well salted. The broth is clear apart from bits of onions and cilantro. You won't find the "dusty" residue at the bottom of the bowl from the beef being boiled. I was told by Tuan Mat that the water must be boiling for quite some time first before putting any beef into it...I don't know whether that method really works, but I'll be trying it soon. The simple, clean yet rich flavors in the soup made it the only dish that everybody almost never stop eating.

To accompany our lunch, we had iced tea and coffee. Be warned, if you think your favorite mamak stall serves your drinks extra sweet, Restoran BangTuan tops that. Not to worry, there's always a jug of drinking water ready for diluting.

We spent almost 2 hours at the stall before finally leaving for the hotel. With food that simple and good, does it ever surprise anybody that we were back there again 2 days later, on the way back to Malaysia?

Sampling In Satun - Kedah's Past Food History?

Satun is a town located in southern Thailand, about half an hour's drive from the border town of Wang Kelian, Perlis. One can be mistaken that Satun is a small sleepy town with nothing much to offer, but I found out that Satun has a lot to offer after my first ever visit there.

There was a time when Satun was part of Kedah. The name Satun is a Thai version of its original Malay name, Setul (santol, or wild mangosteen tree). Until 1813 Satun was then known as Mukim Setul. After that date it was administered by a governor sent from Nakhon Si Thammarat. In 1897 Satun became part of Monthon Saiburi (now Kedah), which in 1909 was divided between British Empire and Siam as part of Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909. While most of Kedah was ceded to Britain, Satun was awarded to Siam because it had a relatively large Thai population. Satun was then incorporated into Monthon Phuket. The monthon system was ended in 1933, and Satun province became a first-level subdivision of Thailand. That's the British colonialists for you.

The province of Satun is located on the Malay Peninsula, on the shore of the Andaman Sea. It is separated from Songkhla Province by the Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain range, and from Malaysia by the Sankalakhiri mountains.

Almost 88% of Satun's populations are Malays. Because of the strict Thai education policy, many of the younger urban Malays cannot speak Malay. Lately, however, with the influx of Malaysian tourists that gives the country a potential economic boost and in keeping good relation with Malay/Muslim of Thailand, the government has introduced an elective class for Bahasa Melayu in their schools. Unlike the Malays of Yala, Nakhorn and Pattani, the Malays of Satun speaks more with a Northern Malaysian dialect, that's not surprising as Satun used to be part of Kedah.

In the past, the Malays of Satun used to enter Malaysia to look for employment, as laborers, servants and many more. However, today, the Malays of Satun are more keen in running small businesses. There are many eateries and foodstalls in Satun that are owned or run by the Malays. There is still a small population who still enters Malaysia looking for work, most of them in Langkawi.

The border town of Wang Kelian was the major start in our trip. With the consent of both governments, tourists are able to visit and shop within a 1km radius of Wang Kelian, and already I was attracted to the food which is sold there, along with other merchandise. There are a lot of Muslim stalls there, so, nothing much to worry.

At first glance, one can mistake Satun for a sleepy town with nothing much to offer. Cheap goods, great food, with a nice, quiet and peaceful setting, Satun will be a perfect choice for anybody who wants to relax and get away from the usual hustle-bustle of their daily lives.

I am not much of a Thai food lover, especially when it comes to load and load of cili padi, but to my surprise, Satun's region offers a more palatable delight to my stomach, of course, there are some exceptions.

Spending 3 days is just too short to sample every bit of what Satun has to offer. But in the short visit, I realized why many people who had visited Satun before, remarked that the Malay food of Satun is a reminiscence of what the Malays of Kedah used to have before the early 1970s. After sampling the food, I must say that the cooking is identical to the Malays of Kedah, but differs in many ways. They are usually simpler and finer. I visited my Grand-uncle's restaurant, a laksa stall, the weekly night market and several eating places, and I will write about the food there in up-coming articles.

Unlike the many integrated restaurants in Kedah, Penang and Perlis, where we have one coffee shop which is owned by a Chinese who makes drinks, a Mamak selling Roti Canai and a Malay selling nasi lemak or nasi campur, the Malays of Satun owns an eatery serving single or only 2 items, such as a shop that serves roti canai and drinks, or just nasi lemak and drinks. Interestingly, the shop houses in Satun town has the same architecture as the old shop houses you find in Kedah, Penang and Perlis.

I formed a simple theory that the Malays of Satun keep their food more traditionally after its separation from the state of Kedah. The only place that I found Malays selling foodstuff which is not Malay-oriented is the weekly night market. This is the reason why I am writing about food in Satun instead of the usual food of Kedah.

I will be writing more on the Malay/Muslim food of Satun soon, and maybe from there we can see whether my theory is on a right track, or tumble down the drain. After all those simple, but rich food, I need to detox.

Gearing Up For Ramadhan - With A Little Help

The school holidays are here, and it is now almost a month away from Ramadhan. As usual, this will be the time for me to prepare the shepherd pie, or Godam for my Ramadhan sales. However, due to tight work schedules, this year I made a change to my normal practice. Unlike the previous years where I spent night cooking and preparing Godam, this year, as it is the school holidays, I employed 2 of my nieces to help me.

Both girls are actually my wife's nieces, but as in the Syed family, everybody seems to be related in one way or the other, they became my nieces as well. They are Sharifah Nurliyana, 14 years of age, who is the 2nd daughter of my wife's elder brother; and the other is Sharifah Munirah, the eldest child of of my wife's younger twin brother. Despite having to drive all the way to Sungai Petani, I must say it was time, money and effort well invested.

I remember the nights spent making Godam: quiet except for the sound of television. This time around, the nights are noisy with their non-stop gossiping and giggling, and I must say that they are extremely enthusiastic about making Godam. They actually stayed up until 3:30 a.m. to finish them. Even my son was there helping them, only until his bedtime.

The task might sound simple, but as usual with our family recipes, it is not. I'm the only one who makes the filling. The girls will be peeling the potatos, boil them, and mash them with precisely measured ingredients. They pulled that off perfectly, I must say. Making the pie in its cup was carried out by them as well, as I usually get knocked out by 2:00 a.m., well, I'm not what I used to be, I guess. Unlike other teenaged nephews and nieces that I know, these 2 never complained or demanded to go anywhere, all they keep telling me is when will they be able to start producing the next batch.

They were there for 5 days, and despite having problems when the gas was out for almost 1 day, they managed to complete almost 500 pieces of Godam before they left. That's more than 6 kilos of beef, 10 kilos of onions, 30 kilos of potatos, and other seasonings.

I guess I finally found my admiration for these 2 hardworking nieces of mine. Even my son was enthusiastic in helping his cousins. I didn't even mind paying them extra. Anyway, I might need their services next year.

Erah and Yana; Ami, Bibi and Zulkif love you. Hopefully, the two of them will be back next year.

Rose Restaurant Revisited

There were so many Mamak restaurants in Alor Setar in the past with great food to be enjoyed. The older generations remember fondly of Kedai No. 36, the original Nasi Lemak Royal stall at the Royal Cinema building, Nasi Lemak Ali, Bunga Tanjong (Malay restaurant), the Mamak restaurant in front of Market Besar (Main Market) near Tun Mahathir's birthplace, Mee Abu and Rose Restaurant. The modernization or progress in Alor Setar in the 1980s saw these shops of the old either faded away or relocated. There are also some who maintained and became some sort of a legend, such as Mee Abu. Nasi Lemak Royal made a comeback in the late 1990s by opening a few branches. Nasi Lemak Ali remained where it has been for decades and became legendary as it is now frequented by customers coming even as far away from Singapore.

Rose Restaurant, just like Nasi Lemak Ali remained in its same location for almost more than 30 years. My last trip there, located in the center of Alor Setar was somewhere around 20 years ago. I remember the ever so busy restaurant dishing out Nasi Kandar, Nasi Lemak, the various rotis and murtabak. That place was almost never empty. The typical setting of Rose Restaurant back then was that it has the ground floor for normal service, while the 2nd floor is air-conditioned. Anytime people want to eat there, at any time of day, all they had to do was just drive there, park anywhere nearby and go into the restaurant.

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rose Restaurant was reputed to have the best murtabak in town. However, in the mid-1980s, people claim that the taste and quality of the murtabak went down because the cook always makes the murtabak in bulk. I never knew whether this is true or not as I was not around in Alor Setar that much at the time.

The development of Alor Setar brought about changes in infrastructrure of the town and with more and more traffic and less parking area, Rose Restaurant became virtually inaccessible to people who drives around in town. With fast food franchises pulling the young crowd away, and with other stalls and eateries cropping up, Rose Restaurant seems to lose its glory.

We happened to walk by near Rose Restaurant a few days ago, and as that nostalgic feeling kicked in, I decided to go into the restaurant, with my wife and son as well. The place had changed so much. Gone is the air-conditioned 2nd floor, there were no mamaks. The owner is Indian Muslim, either 2nd or 3rd generation with a Malay wife and his staff are all Malays. Nasi Kandar is still there, along with the addition of Malay/Thai food and of course, the murtabak.

For those who might not know, a murtabak is a dish made with roti canai pastry, stuffed with an omellette comprising of onions, chicken/beef/lamb, eggs and spices. The Alor Setar murtabak differs from the Penang ones in both ingredients and texture. Overall, the northern murtabak differs a lot from the central and southern murtabak whereby the northern murtabak is always moist as a lot of onions is used. There is a theory that murtabak is derived from a Middle Eastern dish known as Mutabbaq, which is a sweet omelette-like dish stuffed with honey and nuts, and also fried on a griddle.

Back to Rose Restaurant, I must admit that the taste has not changed at all. The owner's son/grandson has maintained the original recipe and none of the ingredients has been substituted. The murtabak is served with a plate of pickled onions and fish curry. Being a traditionalist, I had mine with pickled onions. Frankly, I think his pickled onions are the best, compared to Mee Abu's as it does not only well balanced, but also enhances the taste of the murtabak - a true compliment to the experience.

The price is quite reasonable for a murtabak that size and that good, which is at RM3.50. For those who seeks a good murtabak within Alor Setar town itself, I would recommend Rose Restaurant, located at Jalan Tengku Ibrahim, which is about 5 minutes walk from Pekan Rabu and 3 minutes walk from City Plaza. It is located directly accross Kedah Shopping Centre and next to RHB Bank. Check it out, it is the place where the taste stood out with history.

Breaking The Break

These few months have been quite a taxing one. I had ailments coming over from time to time, and with my work keeping my schedule tighter, I had less time to write.

A few months back I got hit by the common gastric, something which I never had before. I mean, I was never expecting that at all, at this age, and my careful eating schedule, I never saw it coming. I spent almost 10 days consuming magnesium tricilicate, prescribed by doctors from my clinic, general hospital and private hospital, but to no avail. In the end, all it took was a visit to a sinseh (Chinese traditional medical practitioner) in Tunjang who I had been frequenting since 2007. During those 10 days, I totally forgot about him, but once I remembered, I went there like a shot. He prescribed some herbal remedies, all in capsule form. Don't get me wrong, he may be traditional in practise but you'll never see him grind any herbs or roots. Everything is prepared in a modern style, and you might recognize most of the brands there in local pharmacies. He prescribed me some supplements, and one of them is "Akar Kunyit" or Turmeric Root in capsule form. Unbelievably, my gastric went away in less than 12 hours and I haven't had any gastric problems since, of course, with extra control on my eating time as well.

I must admit that I have never had a 100% trust on modern medicine, at most times I rely more on herbal supplements. I have written before that I grow my own Misai Kucing and from that I make my own tea. I also grow my own Daun Cerita (or Hempedu Bumi as it is known in the South), a small, wild plant with extremely bitter leaves. It is known for being anti-cancer properties and it is also claimed to work well to regulate blood circulation, along with regulating blood sugar and pressure.

I have visited several places that serve excellent food that Alor Setar has to offer, and I am hoping to share all of these very very soon.

Believe it or not, I consume more and more vegetables nowadays, usually for dinner. For this purpose, I have been experimenting several vegetarian dishes and salad dressings, some good and some disastrous. Through this, my wife and I found out that distilled vinegar has bad effects on our stomachs, just like our parents before us.

Here's looking forward to sharing my food experience and recipes with you.

The Little Char Koay Teow Stall...

I still find myself being surprised time and again, and this time by a small stall which I never knew existed. My wife was told by her friend about a stall in Taman Uda that sells only Char Koay teow, and we were told not to go too late as the stall is fully sold out usually after 9pm.

Char Koay Teow, transliteration of "Fried Rice Noodle Strips" is one of the major contributions by the Chinese who immigrated to South East Asia. This dish is popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei; also available in Vietnam, Thailand and even in Australia.

In Malaysia, the Penang Char Koay Teow is the most popular. Char Koay Teow might be the same in basis, but differs in accordance to the cook's interpretations. The most basic (and original) Char Koay Teow is usually made of ricecake strips/flat rice noodles fried with anything from eggs (chicken or duck), onions, garlic, prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, et and garnished with chives or spring onions. As time goes by, lard has been substituted with cooking oil (but not olive oil) and the Penang Char Koay teow emphasises more on the use of prawns. These changes actually opened the door to more customers as pork product was eliminated.

There are various styles of Char Koay Teow being prepared. The traditional char koay teow is usually fried dry, usually spiced up by pepper and served with chili, fresh or pickled. The Malays adapted this dish and made their own version. Their contribution to this dish is ground chili paste. It is usually made from dried chilis, garlic and onion, ground into a paste. It is usually fried first before adding the koay teow. Times have really changed where now even the Malaysian and Chinese consume huge amounts of chilis. It is not surprising to find that there are a lot of Chinese customers frequenting Malay Char Koay Teow stalls for this reason. Even some Chinese stalls have adapted chili paste into their Char Koay teow as well.

While Penang is famous for their Char Koay teow, Kedah is more known for their Koay Teow Kerang (Koay Teow with Cockles), which is why I was surprised that there actually a good Char Koay Teow stall in Alor Setar. There might be Chinese Char Koay teow stalls in Alor Setar, but I do not know whether it is Halal or not.

The stall is located in one of the biggest Malay residential area, known as Taman Uda, which provides a quiet and tranquil ambience to the eatery place. The proprieter, Encik Aznil, whose experience in dishing out Char Koay Teow spans more than half of his lifetime. His father sold Koay teow Goreng in Tanah Merah when he was small, and I guess the skill was passed to him. It is a small stall, with about 4-5 tables. He sells only Char koay Teow and his friend sells drinks. The stall starts at about 4.30 p.m. and usually sold out by 10.30pm...or earlier.

I went there with my wife and son. We ordered two Char Koay Teow and one special Char Koay Teow without chili as my son doesn't eat hot food. Char Koay teow is best consumed hot from the stove. Aznill's cooking method is very much Chinese-style, frying over very high heat...flaming and fast. The slight difference is, he serves eggs sunny side up on top of the dish instead of incorporating them into the koay teow.

Aznill's dish has a rich taste of prawns, while the basic flavors are perfectly balanced. Of course, one could request more chili if he or she prefers it hot. A garnish of pickled cili padi is also included. I guess he didn't pickle it that long because it set

my tongue on fire. The taugeh, or bean sprouts are crunchy and the prawns taste fresh. This is not surprising as Aznill gets his daily supply fresh. The kosy teow is not that dry either, Aznill's dish is slightly wet but not too oily. The chilli paste, as explained by Encik Aznill, is made fresh from scratch by himself. This gives the koay teow a very nice taste compared to some stalls that uses the packed chili boh from hypermarkets. He also uses some of the usual sauces used in making Char Koay Teow, and only he knows the right measurement.

Aznill's stall is usually packed around the evenings, around 6 - 7.30pm, where people usually packs Char Koay teow for dinner. Anybody looking for an alternative from rice or looking for a snack for and after dinner, I would suggest Aznill's Char Koay Teow. Located about 10 minutes drive from Alor Setar town, and only less than 5 minutes from the North South Highway Alor Setar Utara Exit. At the moment, Encik Aznill concentrates on selling only Char Koay Teow but considers expanding the menu. I don't know whether he'll find time to do that as the Char Koay Teow business alone keeps him standing behind the wok for most of the business hours.

We Unofficially Announce That Dadih Is Dead...

I guess it's going to be a sad truth that some people might have to contend with. For months, I've been looking for Jo, the dadih maker without much luck. So, will the delicious, creamy, lip-smacking dadih be considered extinct from the gourmet world?

Okay, before anybody starts asking "What's he talking about? Dadih is aplenty everywhere" speech, I'll just clarify this. I'm talking about the original Dadih, and not the commercially-produced Agar-agar Susu.

What do I mean with "original dadih"? Well, Kedah IS believed to be the birthplace of these sweet desserts, and it seems that with the younger generation preferring (or does not know) Milk Agar-agar to the actual dadih, it looks like an extinction of this original treat will take place.

Dadih has been commonly labeled (or mislabeled) as "Sweet Yoghurt." Dadih is actually milk curds, solidified by means of hydration by enzymes derived from the barks of a tree known as Kasinai. Yes, I couldn't find that on google itself, so it's a bit difficult to describe more about this tree. I have seen it before, but it looks so commonly like other big trees, and not being a botanist, I'm not sure whether I can identify it again.

Going back to dadih, this sweet concoction was originally made from buffalo (Kerbau) milk, which is thicker and richer in taste and texture. In the 1970s, the population of buffalos decreased as more farmers turn to modern farming, and cow's milk became the regular ingredient for dadih. The milk is boiled and once that happens, sugar is added. Close to the end, the kasinai bark is added to the mix and stirred to release the enzymes. Once taken off the fire, the still-liquid dadih is ladled into bowls or, nowadays, into plastic cups which were then left to rest. During the resting period, the enzymes react with the milk and sugar mixture, hydrating it. As a result, water dries off, leaving behind a smooth, jelly-like curd. In some versions, the dadih is then steamed in order to heat them up. The dadih is ready to be sold, and enjoyed.

The actual dadih is served hot, or at least warm. If you leave it in the fridge overnight, the dadih shrinks and tastes sweeter as the hydration process continues. Dadih was commonly sold with Pulut Panggang (Roasted Glutinous Rice Wrapped In Banana Leaf). The pulut is dipped into the dadih and usually enjoyed during supper...as Jo usually sells his dadih after 8 p.m.

It is understandable why agar-agar is used: it is cheap and easy, and many have no idea what the kasinai tree looks like, let alone figure out why it was used. The amount of agar-agar used is not that much compared to making the traditional agar-agar, this is to keep the milk agar-agar softer, but watery.

In the late 1970s, I remember a young Jo on his motorcycle with a special made wooden box behind to keep the dadih warm, honking a hand-held horn. It was sold in bowls for less than RM1.00. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, dadih was sold in a much smaller plastic cup for RM1.00. The cup is even smaller than the milk agar-agar, but at least it is guaranteed that you get dadih, from fresh cow's milk, and no agar-agar. In the mid1980s, I remember Jabatan Haiwan & Pertanian started courses for making dadih where they used a type of culture, almost similar to the one used for making yoghurt, but that too requires refrigeration because after a while, the dadih becomes watery.

The milk agar-agar needs to be refrigerated, or stored in a cold place to avoid the agar-agar from melting. The milk agar-agar usually turns me off because the milk they used is usually full-cream milk, either from cartons or powdered. There are even those who uses condensed milk...well, it's condensed creamer. The original dadih sometimes incorporates a little powdered creamer, or even Coffee Mate. If one tries to dip Pulut Panggang into the milk agar-agar, it won't stick, not to mention the funny taste. Worse among all, the milk agar-agar is always too sweet to my liking. The older generation and those who knows, can describe the vast difference in taste and texture between dadih and milk agar-agar.

Nobody seems to know whatever happened to Jo, or where he is, but as far as I know, he is one of the last people who made the original dadih. He did complaint quite some time ago that getting fresh cow's milk was problematic, maybe that's why he stopped. I did try to call but I think he has already changed his number. For a guy who I met since the late 1970s, he didn't look that old the last time I met him in the early 2000s.

I am just hoping that he, or at least somebody else in Kedah still continues the art of dadih making, or we'll end up with the milk agar-agar and dadih becomes a forgotten history. If anybody knows where I can find the original dadih, please tell me.