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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