I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was cheap as chips - like 50sen a stick or something.
Showing posts with label At the Markets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label At the Markets. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Reason #4
Before we left I posted this. The pic was taken in Kuala Lumpur when we passed through five years ago. This guy and his wee coal bbq is where our satay infatuation all began, so it was fitting that on our last night in the city we stumbled across him once more. He was in the exact same spot, we weren't even looking for satay but we absolutely had to stop. I'm so happy he's still cooking up a satay storm!He can be found on Julan Sultan, on the left just past Julan Hang Lekir as your heading towards Julan Cheng Lock.
I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was cheap as chips - like 50sen a stick or something.
I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was cheap as chips - like 50sen a stick or something.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Four excellent reasons to stuff your face in Kuala Lumpur
Reason #1
Exceptionally cheap, mouth watering South Indian food.
When Bighead and I set foot in India years ago we were expecting to go crazy on a whole lot of malai kofta's and butter chicken's. Little did we know that there's actually a whole range of other regional delights. In New Zealand the main style of Indian cuisine is Northern (which is fairly expensive) but if you hunt it down, you can find some well priced Southern styles.
Here's just a small selection of the delights we sampled in KL (take me back!).
Puri Bhaji
Vegetarian Thali
My Fav - Mango Chutney
Vada Sambar
Masala Dosa
Paneer Uttupam
Chai Masala
Reason #2
Malaysian Roti. We certainly don't get roti like this here in little ol NZ (Well I can really only speak for Wellington). It's surprisingly light, crispy on the outside, stretchy in the middle and just plain yummy!
Check out all the different types and check the prices! Oh my giddy Aunt. That's Malaysian Ringgits (half that for NZ$).
Reason #3
The multitude of Chinese food on offer.
The Gourmet Food Stall on Jalan Petaling in Chinatown has a range of different counters offering all types of Chinese food. This counter in particular is exactly like a little restaurant we went crazy at during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, offering buffet style meals where all dishes are completely vegetarian. One plate served with rice costs about 5MR (NZ$2.50). Love it!
Reason #4
Can you guess? There's a clue in my early posts.
Exceptionally cheap, mouth watering South Indian food.
When Bighead and I set foot in India years ago we were expecting to go crazy on a whole lot of malai kofta's and butter chicken's. Little did we know that there's actually a whole range of other regional delights. In New Zealand the main style of Indian cuisine is Northern (which is fairly expensive) but if you hunt it down, you can find some well priced Southern styles.
Here's just a small selection of the delights we sampled in KL (take me back!).
Puri Bhaji
Vegetarian Thali
My Fav - Mango Chutney
Vada Sambar
Masala Dosa
Paneer Uttupam
Chai MasalaReason #2
Malaysian Roti. We certainly don't get roti like this here in little ol NZ (Well I can really only speak for Wellington). It's surprisingly light, crispy on the outside, stretchy in the middle and just plain yummy!
Check out all the different types and check the prices! Oh my giddy Aunt. That's Malaysian Ringgits (half that for NZ$).
Reason #3
The multitude of Chinese food on offer.
The Gourmet Food Stall on Jalan Petaling in Chinatown has a range of different counters offering all types of Chinese food. This counter in particular is exactly like a little restaurant we went crazy at during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, offering buffet style meals where all dishes are completely vegetarian. One plate served with rice costs about 5MR (NZ$2.50). Love it!
Reason #4
Can you guess? There's a clue in my early posts.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Mmm... Indian Sweets
When they're out on the street like this in massive piles, how can one possible resist?
We have Indian sweets like this available in NZ but I've never tasted any as fresh and light as these. Absolutely scrumptious. It certainly brings back fond memories of travel through India where dedicated sweet shops could be found on every corner.
We have Indian sweets like this available in NZ but I've never tasted any as fresh and light as these. Absolutely scrumptious. It certainly brings back fond memories of travel through India where dedicated sweet shops could be found on every corner.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Perfect Timing
We struck gold with the timing of our visit to KL this time round. The whole city was decorated with lanterns and lights as the Muslim community had just celebrated the completion of Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting).
Alongside this, Little India was a buzz with the build up to a major Hindu holiday called Deepavali, also known as Diwali or The Festival of Lights - the lights signify the victory of good over evil within the individual. The whole area was set up with market stalls, stages and dazzling lights. Shops were shining with decorations and 'Happy Deepavali' banners.
Delicious treats from a range of cuisines beckoned to be sampled.
Beautiful rangoli patterns could be seen all over town.
You could really sense the excitement surrounding the event and as you can imagine we went a little crazy on the food!
Alongside this, Little India was a buzz with the build up to a major Hindu holiday called Deepavali, also known as Diwali or The Festival of Lights - the lights signify the victory of good over evil within the individual. The whole area was set up with market stalls, stages and dazzling lights. Shops were shining with decorations and 'Happy Deepavali' banners.
Delicious treats from a range of cuisines beckoned to be sampled.
Beautiful rangoli patterns could be seen all over town.
You could really sense the excitement surrounding the event and as you can imagine we went a little crazy on the food!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Phuket Vegetarian Festival aka Veggie Heaven (for real)
If I had to name my top five travel experiences, this would be right up there vying for number one.
The Festival
Apparently, back in 1825 the main town on Phuket Island was Kathu. It was a tin mining town with a large number of Chinese miners. One day, a traveling opera company arrived in town to perform for the miners. The opera performers kept to a vegetarian diet to honour two of the emperor gods. Whilst visiting Kathu, the entire opera troupe became sick with an unknown illness running a muck in the area at the time. The troupe got over the illness very quickly and the towns folk were amazed by this, wanting to know how they'd recovered so quickly. The troupe insisted it was due to their ritual vegetarianism and accompanying ceremonies. Viola! The towns people embraced the faith and this is how the Phuket Vegetarian Festival began (known as Jia Chai in Chinese). The festival starts on the first day of the ninth lunar month and ends on the ninth. The aim is to bring good fortune to all.
There are loads of interesting ceremonies and rituals that take place within the nine days. Ma Song (devotees whom the gods enter) are said to manifest supernatural powers and perform self-tortures in order to shift evil from individuals onto themselves. Ma Song are either specially chosen by the gods for their morality or have had an experience of impending doom. Each of the Chinese shrines has a street procession, most end up, or walk through, Phuket Town. Other activities to be seen include bladed ladder climbing, bathing in hot oil, and fire walking (more on this later). Oh! and there are always lots of fireworks. Apparently the louder they are, the better it is as they scare off evil spirits (believe me, they are loud). All participants stick to a set of rules including a strict vegetarian diet and wearing white clothing.
The Tourist Authority of Thailand print a booklet with all you need to know and The Phuket Vegetarian Festival have a website.
The Food
Usually, both Chinese and Thai cuisine can be some what of a minefield for us pinkies. A lot of the time it's very difficult to know what to order as a lot of the local food stalls don't have English menus. It's tough to tell what level of spice the dish will have (intimidating). They often use quite strong fishy flavours that even I, the fish lover, have difficulty stomaching. And they use ALL of the animal they've killed in the process (which in theory I think is great but haven't come to terms with yet).
Being apart of this festival is truly like I've died and gone to heaven.
As you walk the street through a sea of smiling faces and white clothing, bright balloon men and colourful dragons poke at the horizon. Chinese lanterns light the way, with yellow and red all around. Row upon row of glorious vegetarian stalls line the streets. Every dish is unique and tasty, often imitating a meaty counterpart with ease. 
If you've been wondering where I'd got to with feedback regarding the festival, wonder no more. I have been totally and utterly drowning myself in the delights of soya products like you've never seen. We've spent so much time in 'the food zone' (Phuket/Ranong Rd area, can't miss it) that we're treated like locals. We've been returning day after day for lunch and dinner (and sometimes even second lunch!). The coolest thing is that we've tried something completely new each time. I'm not entirely sure what half of the food has been that we've been eating, but it sure is nice to dig in knowing that it's completely and utterly meat free. And so damn tasty. All we need to check for is spiciness (which can be done with a combination of charade like actions).
This is by far one of the best festivals I've been too. If you are a vegetarian or enjoy vegetarian food, you must put this on your list of things to do. I've been quite surprised by the lack of tourists at this event.
The Festival
Apparently, back in 1825 the main town on Phuket Island was Kathu. It was a tin mining town with a large number of Chinese miners. One day, a traveling opera company arrived in town to perform for the miners. The opera performers kept to a vegetarian diet to honour two of the emperor gods. Whilst visiting Kathu, the entire opera troupe became sick with an unknown illness running a muck in the area at the time. The troupe got over the illness very quickly and the towns folk were amazed by this, wanting to know how they'd recovered so quickly. The troupe insisted it was due to their ritual vegetarianism and accompanying ceremonies. Viola! The towns people embraced the faith and this is how the Phuket Vegetarian Festival began (known as Jia Chai in Chinese). The festival starts on the first day of the ninth lunar month and ends on the ninth. The aim is to bring good fortune to all.
There are loads of interesting ceremonies and rituals that take place within the nine days. Ma Song (devotees whom the gods enter) are said to manifest supernatural powers and perform self-tortures in order to shift evil from individuals onto themselves. Ma Song are either specially chosen by the gods for their morality or have had an experience of impending doom. Each of the Chinese shrines has a street procession, most end up, or walk through, Phuket Town. Other activities to be seen include bladed ladder climbing, bathing in hot oil, and fire walking (more on this later). Oh! and there are always lots of fireworks. Apparently the louder they are, the better it is as they scare off evil spirits (believe me, they are loud). All participants stick to a set of rules including a strict vegetarian diet and wearing white clothing.
The Tourist Authority of Thailand print a booklet with all you need to know and The Phuket Vegetarian Festival have a website.
The Food
Usually, both Chinese and Thai cuisine can be some what of a minefield for us pinkies. A lot of the time it's very difficult to know what to order as a lot of the local food stalls don't have English menus. It's tough to tell what level of spice the dish will have (intimidating). They often use quite strong fishy flavours that even I, the fish lover, have difficulty stomaching. And they use ALL of the animal they've killed in the process (which in theory I think is great but haven't come to terms with yet).
Being apart of this festival is truly like I've died and gone to heaven.
As you walk the street through a sea of smiling faces and white clothing, bright balloon men and colourful dragons poke at the horizon. Chinese lanterns light the way, with yellow and red all around. Row upon row of glorious vegetarian stalls line the streets. Every dish is unique and tasty, often imitating a meaty counterpart with ease. 
If you've been wondering where I'd got to with feedback regarding the festival, wonder no more. I have been totally and utterly drowning myself in the delights of soya products like you've never seen. We've spent so much time in 'the food zone' (Phuket/Ranong Rd area, can't miss it) that we're treated like locals. We've been returning day after day for lunch and dinner (and sometimes even second lunch!). The coolest thing is that we've tried something completely new each time. I'm not entirely sure what half of the food has been that we've been eating, but it sure is nice to dig in knowing that it's completely and utterly meat free. And so damn tasty. All we need to check for is spiciness (which can be done with a combination of charade like actions).
This is by far one of the best festivals I've been too. If you are a vegetarian or enjoy vegetarian food, you must put this on your list of things to do. I've been quite surprised by the lack of tourists at this event.Monday, September 22, 2008
Thongsala Night Market = Yeh Haa Grandma!
The Thongsala night market is awesome for several reasons:
- It's the cleanest I've seen, has seating, is well lit, and like most local markets is ultra cheap cheap!
- The coconut shakes are perfect, ask for nit noi naam taan (just a little sugar)
- You can buy the best smokey bbq'd chicken ever for just 20 baht (NZ$0.80)
- Last but by no means least, there is a mango and sticky rice stall (oohhh yeeeeaah!)
Below, hiding behind her fruit, is the master of the coconut shake.
And here is one of my favourite places on Koh Phangan. The mango and sticky rice stall. 50 baht (NZ$2) for a whole sweet, juicy mango and the most tantalising coconut flavoured sticky rice I've had the pleasure of tasting. I had no idea. Here I was, all this time, thinking that I had tried this local delicacy. But no... now I have and I am hooked. Completely, utterly, whole heartedly, can-I-live-on-just-this-one-meal, hooked.
If we end up living here and you come to visit, you have my word I will shout you a night out at this market. It's a must do.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Street Food Frenzy
Oh deary me, I am soooo in love with Thai food! I may even have to create a new blog to cater for my new love! I don't remember it being this good, although I don't remember the people being so nice either... perhaps we are the ones that have changed?
Bighead and I decided to go for a wander through the market, in search of a bite to eat.
Everything looked so exciting, it was really hard to choose. Unfortunately, a lot of the food is portioned out in to small plastic bags (which looks cool but makes it hard to avoid using them). We ended up getting this Thai style salad bag (which you can see at the bottom of the pic above), some honey coated dried beef, and some mini grilled bananas. We headed down to a park next to the Chao Phraya, and went about making up these delightful leaf packages from our salad bag (just as the lovely stall owners had showen us). The bag included: Green leaves (not sure what kind), shredded roast coconut, ginger, red onion, dried shrimp, peanuts, honey and chilli. Devine.
I meant to remove the chilli from my parcel after taking the photo, but I forgot and accidently ate the whole thing. It was hot, but I'm pleased to say, the experience has definately not put me off chilli. In fact, it's probably given me the confidence to be a little more daring!
Such a tasty lunch, so different and fresh and all for just NZ$6.
Bighead and I decided to go for a wander through the market, in search of a bite to eat.
Everything looked so exciting, it was really hard to choose. Unfortunately, a lot of the food is portioned out in to small plastic bags (which looks cool but makes it hard to avoid using them). We ended up getting this Thai style salad bag (which you can see at the bottom of the pic above), some honey coated dried beef, and some mini grilled bananas. We headed down to a park next to the Chao Phraya, and went about making up these delightful leaf packages from our salad bag (just as the lovely stall owners had showen us). The bag included: Green leaves (not sure what kind), shredded roast coconut, ginger, red onion, dried shrimp, peanuts, honey and chilli. Devine.
I meant to remove the chilli from my parcel after taking the photo, but I forgot and accidently ate the whole thing. It was hot, but I'm pleased to say, the experience has definately not put me off chilli. In fact, it's probably given me the confidence to be a little more daring!Such a tasty lunch, so different and fresh and all for just NZ$6.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Market Day
Every morning, before the lazy tourist begins to stir, the local market is in full swing. It's scooter mania! Everything you can imagine is for sale here and the atmosphere is awesome. Locals move from stall to stall with haste, gathering their daily produce. There are baskets and smiles everywhere and not a 'pinky' in sight... Wafting smells of satay lead me downstairs where the maze of stalls seem endless. It's sensory overload and I'm loving it!
Vegetarians be warned.
Vegetarians be warned.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Hello Singapore!
How did that happen?
It feels like just yesterday that we were 6 days out from leaving, it was pouring with rain and I was so cold that I was seriously concerned I would loose my fingers and toes to frost bite!
Now, here we are in Singapore! It's hot, it's beautiful and the food is soooooooo good. The flight/s were horrific, it took us about 17 hours in total to get here, but hey, it was cheap! Sometimes I'm too thrifty for my own good.
It's hard to describe the heat here. We're always fooled when exiting the plane because as soon as you get off, you can feel a slight shift in temperature as you wonder through the terminal. It doesn't even feel like there is air conditioning on in the airport. So I'm thinking to myself... this is alright, I can handle this and then the sliding doors open to exit and it's the real deal. I mean, it's hot, it's sticky, and it's all consuming. It closes in around you and threatens to suffocate. I love it and I hate it at the same time.
To make the most of our day here, we rose early this morning and headed straight out in search of food. If you know us well, you know that this is one of our biggest motivations for travel. If you've been following my journey so far, you also know that I've been dreaming about satay sticks for months now (had the first of many last night by the way and it was just as delicious as I remember!).
We jumped in a taxi who recommended we go to a market instead of town because it's Sunday and the city hasn't really woken up yet. So he drops us at this local food court and we wonder around looking at the various offerings. I'm really not too sure what most of it was, but it looked scary. I ended up choosing this little stall that had a delicious llooking array of tasty treats. I watched to see what the person in front of me was doing because I wasn't too sure how it all worked. You have to grab a bowl and fill it with the things you like and then they pour a clear broth over it, whack some noodles in and away you go! It was very tasty and just what I felt like. All for $2.50! Can't complain.
Bighead went for a Nasi Lemak which is rice, fried chicken, and stirfried greens (which we think were garlic stalks with flowers and all, so good). On the side was a very tasty coconut, chilli paste, absolutely devine.
The food was so good that I really wanted to take a photo of it for you but I'm not feeling game enough to pull out my camera just yet. I'm trying NOT to look like a tourist. The ex-pats call themselves 'pinkies' here but I think I'm more of a 'whitie'!
We're off to hit the malls now, check out some technology and buy some jandles! Couldn't find any in Welli before we left!
It feels like just yesterday that we were 6 days out from leaving, it was pouring with rain and I was so cold that I was seriously concerned I would loose my fingers and toes to frost bite!
Now, here we are in Singapore! It's hot, it's beautiful and the food is soooooooo good. The flight/s were horrific, it took us about 17 hours in total to get here, but hey, it was cheap! Sometimes I'm too thrifty for my own good.
It's hard to describe the heat here. We're always fooled when exiting the plane because as soon as you get off, you can feel a slight shift in temperature as you wonder through the terminal. It doesn't even feel like there is air conditioning on in the airport. So I'm thinking to myself... this is alright, I can handle this and then the sliding doors open to exit and it's the real deal. I mean, it's hot, it's sticky, and it's all consuming. It closes in around you and threatens to suffocate. I love it and I hate it at the same time.
To make the most of our day here, we rose early this morning and headed straight out in search of food. If you know us well, you know that this is one of our biggest motivations for travel. If you've been following my journey so far, you also know that I've been dreaming about satay sticks for months now (had the first of many last night by the way and it was just as delicious as I remember!).
We jumped in a taxi who recommended we go to a market instead of town because it's Sunday and the city hasn't really woken up yet. So he drops us at this local food court and we wonder around looking at the various offerings. I'm really not too sure what most of it was, but it looked scary. I ended up choosing this little stall that had a delicious llooking array of tasty treats. I watched to see what the person in front of me was doing because I wasn't too sure how it all worked. You have to grab a bowl and fill it with the things you like and then they pour a clear broth over it, whack some noodles in and away you go! It was very tasty and just what I felt like. All for $2.50! Can't complain.
Bighead went for a Nasi Lemak which is rice, fried chicken, and stirfried greens (which we think were garlic stalks with flowers and all, so good). On the side was a very tasty coconut, chilli paste, absolutely devine.
The food was so good that I really wanted to take a photo of it for you but I'm not feeling game enough to pull out my camera just yet. I'm trying NOT to look like a tourist. The ex-pats call themselves 'pinkies' here but I think I'm more of a 'whitie'!
We're off to hit the malls now, check out some technology and buy some jandles! Couldn't find any in Welli before we left!
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