Malaysian/Indonesian/Singapore
Desserts and Candies

 Bubur ChaCha - Malaysian
An interesting mix: it's a soup of coconut milk (I think), with sago bubbles, and chunks of yam and sweet potatos mixed in.  It comes across like a sweetened, thin Clam Chowder with sago pearls.  Not bad.  And filling.

Would I try again?  Yes, although I'm not crazy for it.

Where I found it: Jaya
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 Cheng Tng - Hot Barley Drink with Ginko Nuts - Malaysian
Self explanatory.  A hot, slightly sweet soup of barley and ginko nuts.  Not much to it - rather bland.

Would I try again?  No.

Where I found it: Nyonya
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Picture not found		 Coconut Pancake - Malaysian
Little bite-sized sandwiches of flaky roti, sandwiching a thin, sweet coconut spread.  I ordered this as pickup, and it unfortunately sat for a while before sampling.  So I'll have to try it again to get a better taste.  First impressions: a sweet pick me up, but nothing world-exploding.

Would I try again?  Remains to be seen.

Where I found it: Eastanah.
Durian Cake (Paste Bar) - Malaysian/Indonesian
Durian pulp, processed into a grab and go stick.  Ew, ew, ew!  Icckyyyyy!  (This from someone who actually likes durian.)  This is still gross.  I'm cheap, and usually finish eating things even if I don't like them, because  I want my money's worth.  I threw this out.

Would I try again?  You're kidding, right?


Where I found it:  Can't remember the name of it - World Asia Mart?  It's on Mulberry, below Canal.  A good deli, a horrible snack!

Phil says:  Durian is the food equivilant to a Paulie Shore movie.  Skip it.
Durian Ice Cream  - Malaysian/Indonesian
The infamous durian, in ice-cream form.  Yes, this tastes like durian.  If you like the fruit, you'll like this, too.

Would I try again?  Yes - but if I have too much, I'll start gaining weight...


Where I found it:  Dynasty Supermarket

Phil says:  "I guess it was okay.  Can I stop writing these comments now?"
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Durian Milk Candy - Malaysian/Indonesian
It's a hard candy, lightened with milk.  Yes, it tastes and *smells* like Durian.  'Nuff said.

Would I try again?  Nope.  Nothing special here.

Where I found it: Aji Ichiban
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Picture not found		 Durian Sugar Wafer - Malaysian/Indonesian
 I should have learned after that Durian Paste Bar.  A sugar wafer, with the "artificial flavor of Durian".  Only $.75!  Chemical, durian taste - and aftertaste, followed by the package smelling up the car for the entire ride.  I threw it away after one wafer!

Would I try again?  Of course not.

Where I found it: Tongin Market  (which is actually Japanese)

Phil says:  I'm beginning to think that Indonesia sends us these durians as a joke....or cheap revenge for something.


Kueh Keuh - Malaysian
a.k.a. Kuih Kuih
Traditional Malaysian desserts, made with ingredients such as glutinous flour, sugar cane, tapioca, pandan, sago and coconut milk.  A few of the variants found in NYC (much thanks to a friend on Egullet for the names and ingredients of these!):

Dark brown (Pulut Melaka) - Glutinous rice cooked in palm sugar (gula melaka).  Sweet, with a subtle taste of cinnamon.

Green ball with white powder (Kuih Sanur)  - filled with a grated peanut filling.  The outside coating of flour doesn't have a distinct taste, but the peanut inside is crunchy and rich.

Green/white square (Kuih Talam) -  My favorite of the bunch.  The bottom is green pea flour, pandan leaves and sugar.  The top has the flour, sugar and coconut milk, and has a very nice, rich taste.  When sampled together, there's a great synergy between the rich white top, and the sugar sweet bottom.

Light Brown Square (Kuih Ubi Kayu) - Made with cassava.  A delicate, sweet flavor, with a gelatinous chewy texture.

Light Green Square (Sago Pandan) - Made with (guess what?) Sago and pandan leaves.  Standard sweet flavor, and glutinous rice texture.

Red Ball (Ang Ku Kuih)- Extremely sticky, with a sweet bean filling.

Red and White Striped Triangle (Kuih Lapis) (Not shown in picture).  Standard Kuih texture and taste.  Sweet and Glutinous.

Would I try again?  I have to say - I was  really  looking forward to Kuih Kuih, and obsessed about finding a source and trying it.  But now that I have - it was nice, but I think that I've sampled so many types of glutinous desserts in Chinatown--and I'm a great fan of Diafuku--that Kuih's just not anything special. 

12/18/04 Update: Found more Keuh, this time in Flushing Queens at Curry Leaves!  And there are two Keuh's that I'm actually quite fond of - both florescent green from pandan leaves.  One's covered with coconut shreds, with sago bubbles in the mix.  The other's like a bright green burrito.  (Keuh Dadar). Yum a million!  Worth a trip!

9/6/06 Update: Sanur appears to be going downhill - at least in the Kueh department.  The last 2 times I went, they had...nothing.  Definitely not worth the trip all the way out to Queens, to come back Kueh-less.  A sad, sad day.  I hope someday to see Keuh Dadar again....

Where I found it: Sanur  (Manhattan) and Curry Leaves (Queens)
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Picture not found		 Lupis  - Indonesian
Steamed, glutinous rice - covered in a coat of ground coconut, with a side dish of dark brown, syrupy palm sugar.  While its not on the level of Kuih Dadar, this is a very good sweet - definitely deserving of a taste if/when you visit Upi Jaya.

Would I try again?  Yes - very nice Kuih.

Where I found it:  Upi Jaya
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Peanut Pancake (Ban Jian Kway)  - Malaysian
This was extremely good.  Crispy deep fried strips (doesn't look like much of a pancake, really) with ground sweetened peanuts sandwiched in between.  As far as I know, this is a speciality to Penang, and not available elsewhere. Absolutely four stars!

Would I try again?  Yes.  (And I wish I had a picture to show.)

Where I found it: Penang
Pulut Hitam - Sticky Black Rice Pudding - Malaysian
It's a traditional Malaysian dessert - black sticky rice, with cream of coconut on the side to mix.  It had a slightly nutty flavor, and a subtle sweetness.  Pretty yummy (even for the small size) - and filling!

Would I try again?  Not everyday, but sure.

Where I found it: Jaya, of course.

Phil says:  Asia has too much rice and time on its hands.


Roti Kaya - Malaysian
I didn't even know this one existed until I saw it on the menu at Sentosa.  Kaya is coconut jam, something I've been trying to find for gosh knows how long.  With roti kaya, they take kaya, corn (!) and a soft, flat layered type of roti (like the roti they used to make maratabak at Eastanah) and make a kaya sandwich out of it.  It was sweet, slightly chewy and satisfying. 

Would I try again?  Yes - although I have to say I still like peanut pancakes at Penang more!

Where I found it:  Sentosa
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 Singapore Ice Cream - Singapore/Malaysia
I've been reading that in Singapore, the hawkers sell ice cream served on a slab of bread. Hmmmm--intregiing idea.   It's not available at all here, so I cheated.  Grabbed a slice of whole wheat, and Pina Colada flavored Baskin' Robbins.  Guess what?  It was pretty good.  Turned ice cream into a portable treat, and kept the hands clean.  If I were to do it again, it would probably be even better with a hamburger roll, warmed.

Would I try again?  Sure, if the mood strikes.

Where I found it: Ad hoc.
Ting Ting Jahe (Ginger Candy) - Malaysian/Indonesian
I discovered these before I even got into Asian food.  You'll find them at many Asian-owned delis, even if the rest of the store has American products.  Chewy, with a blast of strong  refreshing ginger!  Four stars!!

Would I try again?  Gimme a whole bin, they're great!

Where I found it:  Any decent Asian deli.

Phil says:  Ginger Candy is the name of a Japanese pornstar.  Look it up.
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 Unknown - Malaysian
An unknown Keuh-type snack to me - I picked it up, thinking it'd be sweet.  It was a white glelatinous mound - I bit in, and it tasted salty.  Kind of a turnoff, until I tried dunking it into the little side container of heavy sauce that came with it.  Then the tastes merged together rather nicely.  Savory-salty.  Not a favorite of mine - but it wasn't bad after all.  Now, what the heck was it?  (PS: you really don't want to know what my husband was comparing it to...!)

Would I try again?  No - but I can't say it was bad.

Where I found it:  Curry Leaves



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