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Friday 15 February 2019

Just One Food - Chinese New Year Snacks

This year was one of the 'very few' times we stayed put in KL for Chinese New Year (CNY).  We couldn't balik kampong to Ipoh as my mother-in-law was recuperating in KL after her recent hospitalisation.

I don't usually buy snacks if we go back to Ipoh as we won't be around to eat them but since we'll be at home this year, I should get myself some to keep me busy, right? ^_~  And I didn't want the usual snacks, I wanted the slightly more unique snacks that I've not bought before.


I bought this snack of Salted Egg Yolk Crisps @ RM30 a can from Y E Traditional Dumplings.  It's quite expensive...so it better be worth it, I thought! :P  As soon as I opened the can, I got a whiff of the salted egg and fragrant curry leaves smell...which is a good sign, of course.


Putting one in my mouth, I could certainly taste the salted egg.


Even better with the fragrant, crispy curry leaves in a bite.


Because this wasn't a salted egg potato chip but a flour-based crispy thing, I thought it could do with a bit more saltiness as the crisp, though superbly crispy, was on the bland side.


Let me see how I can describe the taste.  The crisp tasted much like a tortilla chip...which is usually bland and needs something to turn it into a tasty nacho! :P  Overall, still a good snack...just not as good as say salted egg potato chips! ;)

I used to buy this Kuih Kapit (Love Letters) with Chicken Floss at a stopover in Bidor (enroute to Ipoh) but since we didn't balik kampong this year, I jumped at the chance to buy something similar when I spotted this, also at Y E Traditional Dumplings (@ RM26 a can).


It's basically kuih kapit but with a filling of chicken floss.


Compared to the one I bought from Pun Chun, this kuih kapit is a lot more expensive but also a lot thinner in texture.


This has to be one of the lightest and crispiest kuih kapit I've ever eaten.  Lovely snack!  I preferred this to the salted egg crisps.


Visually, it's also a lot cuter the way it's folded.  Unlike the traditional fan-like shape, this one looked like a mini purse! ^_*

I bought these Seaweed Crackers @ RM9 (for 300g) from a shop that sells old-school biscuits by the weight. They surprisingly turned out better than I expected (based on the price).


My spouse liked this the most.  Who knew that the cheapest snack turned out to be everyone's favourite.


I've not had Oloiya Bak Kwa (my preferred brand for bak kwa) since 2014...and that's because I grew tired of being cheated by the stall that sells this dried meat in Pandan Indah (they always shortchange me on the weight).  This year the stall is nowhere to be seen.  I actually wrote a post about the rip-off and was totally surprised when I received an email apology from Oloiya themselves. Who knew the post would reach them after all these years...that's the power of blogging, I guess!

So, this year I decided to buy direct from their Pavilion branch since I'm going to be in KL to eat them...haha! ;D  This year the price (for pork dried meat) was RM65.40 (for 600g or 1 kati) compared to just under RM50 in 2014! O_o  I got myself only 300g (which yielded 8 pcs) because I can only afford to buy 300g of portion control....and yeah, the price is a deterrent too! >_<


And then my eye caught hold of the chilli pork dried meat which I've not tried before.  Portion shown here is also 300g (RM66.60 for 600g).  Visually, it looked more stunning than the original ones.  Taste wise, you can definitely feel the heat of the chillies (but it's tolerable) and the dried meat seemed a bit more caramelised which I liked.  If you like it spicy, this one's for you.


I received this Crispy Fish Crackers from a sister-in-law of mine.  They were nice and crispy, tasted somewhat like satay fish but better and not as fishy.  I only managed a few pieces before my spouse whacked up the whole lot.


As usual, my most favourite snack is to get myself a packet of uncooked Prawn Crackers @ RM29 a pkt and fry them myself as they're always well received.


One packet is able to yield quite a lot, about 3 big, 2 medium & 4  small cans (enough for some to be given away).  My hairdresser's son liked it so much, she asked me where I bought them.  These self-fried crackers are better tasting than any pre-bought ones I've ever eaten.


Pineapple Tarts is a favourite snack of my spouse.  I received one box from my sister-in-law and one from my neighbour.  The ones made by my neighbour tasted better with a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth pastry while the pineapple jam was slightly tart.  I had one piece each only.


And that sums up some of the snacks I indulged in this CNY...not a lot...but just enough to satiate my itchy mouth while trying to maintain some form of control (my husband is the 'real snacker' in the family actually). So, what snacks did you go overboard with indulge in this CNY?

18 comments:

  1. send me those chili bak kwa !!

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  2. I am back! I am back with terrible jet lag too but loads of happiness.

    I love to eat anything with salted eggs. Now your post has given me an idea to experiment by coating some crackers I have with salted eggs and curry leaves. I am confident it would taste better.

    My friend in London was stunned to see me check in a very huge box of food and CNY goodies which included everything you shared except the Seaweed Crackers and the Crispy Fish Crackers. I even bravely brought along Bak Kwa! My kueh kapit was expectedly 50% demolished when it arrived! Muahahaha

    So we had a rousing CNY reunion there complete with CNY wall decorations too.

    **I strongly recommend you to try the best Bak Kwa by Thin Heong along Jalan Imbi. My wife has introduced this shop to her 2 fussiest relatives recently and they ended up buying over RM1000 of Bak Kwa. They also swore it was the best for them after all the years eating others.

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    1. I believe Thin Heong is Wing Heong by their new name. If indeed it is, I've tried Wing Heong a long time ago and found it to be rather dry and chewy. Maybe your wife and relatives like it for their chewiness (I know some do). Hey, you can check out this bak kwa comparison by hungrygowhere:
      https://www.hungrygowhere.my/gallery/taste-test-battle-of-the-bak-kwas-*gid-b9653101/

      Wow, so nice of you to taking along so much CNY goodies to your friends in London and have a good celebration there :)

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    2. Both the companies you mentioned are no more "Heong" and very bitter rivals due to family disputes which led to 2 different companies since a decade plus ago. Their tastes are different and so is the meat quality which is better not for me to elaborate too much here.

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    3. Yeah, I just read from Thin Heong's FB that they rebranded from Wing Heong to Thin Heong in 2009 (nicer way to say they went their separate ways, I guess). Wing Heong has many branches but Thin Heong has only two, one in Jln Imbi and the other in Tmn Maluri (maybe I can give this one a try next year). It's a shame that when business flourishes, disagreements arise among family members. This reminds me of another similar case (Toast & Roast and myToast n Roast). So sad these family feuds because of business conflicts. Moral of the story...don't go into business with family members...wuahahahaha! :D

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    4. LOL. My wife's former student is the son of one outlet and he was honest to share a bit of the story in a very beautiful picture.....until we heard the 2 sides story from the rival that shook me in utter disbelief. I had to believe it as it was identical to the student's painted story version. Their plot and unbelievable twists could make a TVB drama of a "Bak Kua Story". Muahahahaha

      Do you only eat Bak Kua once a year on CNY? I would eat them like 3-4 times a year or when we need to buy them as gifts for foreign relatives who salute our local Bak Kwa especially Hong Kong folks.

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    5. As much as I'd like to eat bak kwa more often, I shouldn't but I do give in to the temptation once a year...hehehe!

      Ooo, I think I'd like to watch this 'drama' as it sounds intriguing. ^_*

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  3. I enjoy looking at and knowing about all of types of snacks from around the world but I guess I'm not really a chips or biscuits person. Salted Egg Yolk Crisps though, have me rethinking. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I'm not a biscuit fan but I am a chips person. Who doesn't like salted egg yolk, right? ;)

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  4. i thought that cny goodies cabinet looked familiar! ;) i like everything you bought - except bak kwa, which i never eat (don't like the taste or texture). where are my beloved arrowhead chips in your stash though? :D

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    Replies
    1. There are none...as no-one in my family likes arrowhead chips. And you're the first person I've encountered who doesn't like bak kwa! :O Ha, glad you recognised that CNY goodies cabinet. ^_~

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  5. I like the snacks you bought! Before CNY there were stalls selling snacks at Starling but I did not buy any simply because I know I will eat non-stop and bloat up hah..hah.... So I just stuck to my cookies and ngaku chips which were available in limited amounts. In fact this morning at Aeon supermarket, I saw a whole bunch of CNY snacks and I was very tempted but I walked away.

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    1. Good willpower. I dare not buy those mass-produced snacks from supermarkets...most are not nice. :(

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  6. I think no one can resist CNY snacks! My mom used to fry those prawn and fish crackers during CNY but now no more, most probably are laziness and the kids all grown up (not many CNY snacks we had when my siblings & I was small) and it's very convenient to get from outside with more varieties :P

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    Replies
    1. My mom used to fry those too but now that we're moms ourselves, we have to take over the frying-lah...hahaha! ;D

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