Rainy days just make me crave for a stocky bowl of hot soup. Ideally one that is spicy, sour and pack with all the punches. A much needed something that will warm up the body, lift up the soul and make the sun shine from the insides of my belly.
And my remedy for such a day is a good bowl of Penang Asam Laksa, a rice noodle dish with hot and sour soup made primarily with mackerel (ikan kembung) and dried slices of tamarind fruit (or asam jawa keping), the distinguishing ingredient that lends its name to the dish. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that gives Penang laksa its wonderful malange of sweet, tangy and savoury flavours and wonderful aroma includes lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Vietnamese mint or laksa mint (daun kesum), finely sliced cold cucumber, pungent red onion, sweet pineapple, and the pink torch ginger flower or bud (bunga kantan). This popular local dish is never complete without topping it off with a generous amount of hae ko 蝦羔 (petis udang), a sweetish thick and gooey prawn paste that completes the flavours of the dish.
I usually get my fix at the mobile hawker stall in front of the Seapark Wet Market since it's close to my home. This make-shift stall is run by a husband-wife team who also sells Penang Hokkien Mee or what we KL folks refer to as Mee Yoke/Prawn Noodles. Both items are equally good and popular. The wife would usually tend to the Asam Laksa while her husband takes are of the Prawn Noodles. While its nice and cool to enjoy your noodles here on a cool day, it's advisable to pack them home when the sun is shining down brightly. Trust me, you don't want the smell of the wet market to ruin your appetite.
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Aik's Assam Laksa and Prawn Mee Stall
In front of Sea Park Market
At the corner of Jalan 21/ 17 and Jalan 21/11A
Sea Park, Petaling Jaya
Business Hours: Lunch - 5pm daily, except Mondays.
super judo munkey kick.. YEAH! nice one! either that or curry mee or pan mee works for me, on a rainy day too;)
ReplyDeleteThis would have worked wonders on a rainy Sunday but too bad Devil was too lazy to leave the apartment so we had some assam... Maggi mee instead! :P
ReplyDeleteTwo of Penang's best in a stall? I gotta mosey over to SEA Park one of these mornings!
ReplyDeletemy hawker comfort food for a rainy day would be porridge! thick and steaming hot, preferably topped with lotsa century egg =)
ReplyDeleteC&C: Anything hot is slurpworthy!
ReplyDeleteLFB: Hahaha..well Maggi Asam is still awesome. I sometimes add a can of Ayam Brand Chili Tuna into it for some extra kick and I like to cook the soup until it's reduced to a thick starchy sauce. Macam pasta.
Minchow: Yeah, two-in-one combo!
Sean: Porridge is just as comforting too!