Best "mua chee" in KL's Chinatown

The food scene in KL's Chinatown is always changing. Stalls come and go. Years ago, a mobile rock candy stall used to operate outside the Popular Bookstore, (the hawker would use a chisel and hammer to slice off pieces from a colourful slab of rock candy) but it has disappeared; a mua chee stall of average standard at Jalan Sultan has also said goodbye to Chinatown. Currently, a mua chee stall in Jalan Petaling is drawing the crowds. For the uninitiated, mua chee is a snack consisting of slices of springy glutinous rice flour coated with a mixture of granulated sugar, sesame seeds and grinded peanuts. Five flavours of mua chee are available from this stall; namely, pineapple, black sesame, grape, lychee and pandan. A box costs RM5. As they say, "belum cuba, belum tahu; sudah cuba, lagi mahu". This sweet old lady's fare has been featured in a Chinese newspaper, which testifies to its popularity. Yes, I also quite like her mua chee.

Where got "Restoran Islam"?

As an occasional food writer, I am always observing signboards of restaurants whenever I go on my ronda-ronda cari-makan jaunts in foodie haunts. Sometimes, I see a signboard that says “Restoran Islam” or "Makanan Islam", which flummoxes me.

Isn’t “Islam” a religion and not a type of cuisine? Have you ever seen a restaurant signboard that says “Christian Restaurant” or “Hindu Restaurant” or “Buddhist Restaurant”? Of course, not. Therefore, a so-called “Restoran Islam” should rightly be called “Restoran Halal”.

A halal restaurant need not necessarily have a halal certificate issued by JAKIM, however. Says a restaurant owner: “I am a Muslim, my cooks and kitchen staff are Muslims; my meat suppliers are Muslims, so why should I need to incur fees to get a halal certificate? I want to keep my overheads as low as possible because the certificate has to be renewed yearly.”

Puan Faridah Mohd Ali, Head of Corporate Communications of Halal Development Corporation Sdn Bhd once said to me: “Halal food does not mean it is meant for Muslims only. It is also meant for non-Muslims as some Chinese and Indian vegetarian restaurants may qualify for halal status.” Thus, a non-Muslim operated restaurant can also be halal. In fact, on the first and fifteenth of the Chinese lunar month, as a Taoist, I occasionally eat at En Hui Vegetarian Restaurant in Jalan Jernai, K.L. It is Chinese-operated and officially certified halal by JAKIM.


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Toddy and seafood make excellent companions

Mention that you are a toddy drinker and your perceived social standing will drop a few notches. Enter a typical toddy shop and you will understand why. A relic from the days of the British, toddy shops are still surviving in Kuala Lumpur, and they are of the same ilk in terms of décor. Pardon me....what décor? Dubbed “poor man’s pub”, a typical toddy shop is usually a shack with a zinc roof, with crude wooden long tables and long benches. Behind the wire screens of cubicles are large vats of toddy. The “bar-tender” sells the "devil’s brew” in bottles costing RM3 each. Plastic mugs have to be rented if patrons want to drink the stuff there.

Toddy, which has been given a glorified name “heavenly drink” is a cheap alcoholic beverage with a mild kick. It is tapped from the inflorescence or part of it (such as the peduncle) of either the coconut palm, the nipa palm or the sugar palm. Tapping begins when the tree is about six years old. The unopened flower spathe (or sheath) at the top of the tree is first bruised by pummeling it lightly with a club. Then a mass of coir or fibre is wrapped round the spathe leaving the tip free. This is to prevent the spathe from opening. After three weeks, the spathe is ready to produce toddy, and 3cm to 6cm is sliced off. Next day, the juice is collected and at the same time, a thin slice is shaved off from its end. The juice is poured into earthenware pots and allowed to ferment until it turns milky white.

My first visit to a toddy plantation was about 15 years ago in Sungei Siput, about 10km from Ipoh. A customer from a toddy shop in Ipoh happily guided me there, after I had belanja him a couple of mugs. The toddy tapper’s wife was friendly and talkative. According to her, toddy was introduced by the British to assuage the tedium of toil in estate workers; however, it resulted in social ills; it also resulted in several Indian babies having been born with blue eyes! Puzzled, I asked what she meant. She claimed that some British estate managers after having consumed too much toddy, lost their inhibitions and slept with their female workers! So… the British were not just planting rubber in then Malaya.

Well, want to try toddy? Go to Jalan Berhala in Brickfields, KL. A toddy shop is tucked behind the Palm Court condominium. However, you need not drink toddy in a rundown shop with a rough crowd as your companions. Several excellent seafood restaurants in Telok Gong also serve the "palm beer". Out of curiosity, yours truly tried a bottle while partaking of a delicious seafood lunch at Coconut Seafood Restaurant in Telok Gong. The toddy tasted a bit sweet, exuded a sourish aroma like vinegar, and was quite nice. It was an excellent complement to the seafood dishes.


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