Kim Laksa, Balik Pulau.
Photo by Wuan.
Peter took Wuan and me on a quick trip to Balik Pulau. Wuan is partial to the Siamese laksa there sold by the stall known as Kim Laksa. She had missed it on her past few trips here. Her trips to Penang will not be complete without a bowl or two of that. The stall is located in a kopitiam just beside the Balik Pulau market.
Kim Laksa, Balik Pulau.
Photo by Wuan.
On the other hand, I am not fond of the coconut based gravy. The asam laksa is still one of my favourites although I have stopped taking it. The gravy of the asam laksa consists of tamarind, sardine or mackerel flakes, belacan (shrimp cake), among others, and topped with shrimp paste (heh ko). Mackerel, sardines, belacan and shrimp paste are food I should avoid to reduce the amount of uric acid in my blood.
Balik Pulau native product – preserved fruits.
Photo by Wuan.
We did not stop to eat-in because the sky looked like it would rain again any minute. After she had bought enough laksa to feed a small family, she went into the market to buy some of Balik Pulau’s famous native product to take back to Kuala Lumpur. Nutmegs and mangoes from the nearby hills are preserved in syrup and make nice titbits to nibble on.
Stall selling cheh hoo, Balik Pulau.
Photo by Wuan.
When she came out from the market, Peter and I pointed to the cheh hoo stall and indicated we wanted one packet. Cheh hoo is a platter of shredded cucumber, yam bean (sengkuang), crispy prawn fritters, tau kua (hard bean curd), potatoes, eggs, prawn cake and topped with a gravy made from sweet potato, chilli sauce and crushed peanuts.
Balik Pulau durians.
Photo by Wuan.
Since we were at Balik Pulau and Wuan absolutely loves durians from there too, we got three durians from Peter’s cousin for RM30. One of them is the famed hor lor (gourd), an award winning fruit that is quite popular among durian aficionados. The King of Fruits is rather expensive now as it is just the beginning of the durian season and fruits are rather limited at the moment.
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wahh! yummy! yummy! seeing the famed balik pulau laksa made me salivate! i love it! unfortunately i rarely goes to balik pulau. 🙁
well if i do go, apart from filling my stomach with that yummy laksa, i like to buy their native products too like nutmeg, prawn crackers or ointment llike the nutmeg oil.
glad to know that you are able to enjoy balik pulau, peter.
oh btw peter, forgot to add – say hi to wuan for me, will ya? hope she still remember me.
Yums..!! love all the food.. and miss the durian terribly.. 🙁
ahh…penang laksa. my mouth gets all watery when i think about it. the ’emulated’ penang laksa sold in kl sucks-i dunno…it tastes artificial to me. yeck.
lucia,
I did not eat the laksa. And yes, Wuan remembers you.
MrsT,
Stand by for more durian photos soon. 😀
dave,
Not all laksa in Penang are nice. You must know which stall to get the nice ones.
Photos bring back beautiful memories, and set the saliva glands working overtime too, for a Penangite (still one at heart, though I am fairly far away). Must visit you blog more often for a stroll down Memory Lane
KTemoc,
I hope to see more of Penang too. Theere are still so many treasures of this little that I have yet to uncover. Hopefully, I can share that with you too.