The Food Site

I usually do not like noodles, especially the yellow-coloured ones most used by hawkers so whenever we eat out, I don’t order noodles but I have one exception and that is the Indian Mee Goreng (Indian fried noodles). Maybe it’s the spiciness of the dish or the sauce or the extremely satisfying taste of mee goreng, whatever it is, I could never resist a good plate of mee goreng.

I remember I had this mee goreng craving during my pregnancy. I would demand for mee goreng for lunch or dinner every single day for the first three months! I would say it was kind of a good thing because after that, I am cured of this crazy obsession with mee goreng.

I still love mee goreng but not to the point of ‘I must have a plate now’ on a daily basis. Still, I wouldn’t mind trying out really, really good mee goreng and the one I am going to write about is just that.

The mee goreng at a corner coffee shop in Tanjung Bungah

This stall is located at a coffee shop called Chuan Foong at the junction of Jalan Chan Siew Teong and Jalan Batu Ferringhi. You can get the exact location here. I know there’s a huge nasi lemak sign there but I didn’t see any nasi lemak stall there and anyway, it’s not what we are there for! A friend had gushed about this mee goreng hawker stall quite a lot so we decided to give it a try.

Here’s what got my friend so excited about:

Mee goreng

Now, being a mee goreng junkie (well, er, a former junkie at that..I’ve reformed..really..sort of…), I am quite sceptical with any recommendations of mee goreng stalls. I find most quite bland and even the famous Bangkok Lane mee goreng does not suitably impress me. It is still pretty good but not as good as it used to be.

So, let’s get back to this hawker stall in Tanjung Bungah. It is relatively unknown but it sure do has quite a steady stream of customers, mostly those staying nearby. It is open from 2pm until 7pm but on the day we went, it is sold out by 5pm.

Get to the review already..

Okay, okay. My finaly verdict is that I love it! Before I go on, the type of mee goreng I like must be spicy, with just the right amount of sauce and fried to perfection, as in not too ‘wet’ or too dry. Of course, it must be delicious and makes me want to go for seconds.

Well, this stall met my expectations and I almost ordered seconds but I didn’t because I just had lunch at 2pm and a heavy tea break at 3pm is a bit too much. Anyway, the mee goreng style is different from the Bangkok Lane stall’s style. It does not have so much of the red coloured sauce (I don’t know what to call it as we always called it ‘kuah’ only). If you like mee goreng, this is a great stall to try out especially if you are in the area.

Rating: 8/10

Price: $$(RM3.80 per plate)

Amongst the many vegetables, I don’t really like eating brinjals much. I find it too mushy and soft to my liking. Then, my Personal Chef (aka The Food Critic) found a way to cook it that makes it so delicious, I actually love it!

This recipe for stir-fried spicy brinjal is actually my grandmother’s recipe and after tasting it and learning a few tips from her, my Personal Chef started trying his hand at cooking it. Well, if anything, he aced it. So, this recipe today is partly my Personal Chef’s recipe and partly mine as I try to emulate his style of preparing this particularly simple dish.

Stir fried Spicy Brinjal with dried shrimps

So, here’s the recipe for this dish which we usually eat with plain steamed rice. Of course, you can even eat it as it is or as a side dish.

Stir Fried Spicy Brinjal

Ingredients

1 brinjal

3 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked and drained

2 tbsp paprika chili powder

3 tbsp diced garlic

2 tbsp butter (for a healthier option, use olive oil although the flavour would not be as fragrant)

3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

Instructions

1. Slice the brinjal thinly like this

2. Heat up the wok.

2. Add in the butter

3. Get your diced garlic and dried shrimps ready.

4. Add the garlic to the butter and sautee.

5. Sautee the garlic till fragrant before adding the shrimps

6. Stir fry the garlic and shrimps mix for a few minutes, then add in the chili powder. Stir and make sure that the shrimps and garlic are well coated with the chili powder. By now, the spicy aroma should be quite strong.

7. Finally, add in the brinjals

8. Stir fry the brinjals for a while and then add in the sauces.

9. Continue to stir fry the brinjals to make sure it is well coated with the sauces

10. If you prefer it to have a slight crispiness to it, then stir fry for another few minutes more. If not, remove from heat and serve hot.

And here's the stir-fried spicy brinjals

The shrimps actually gave it a nice salty and aromatic flavour while the butter gave it a richness that you can’t get with olive oil. Of course, the chili powder gave it the spicy tinge. However, I didn’t use a lot of chili as my son could not eat ‘too spicy’ food yet, so that’s why you could hardly see the chili here.

The stir fried spicy brinjal is actually an easy and simple dish to prepare as the whole cooking time takes between 10 to 15 minutes only!