Testing the Guts with..Guts
One of my favorite YouTubers is a kid named Aldric from Singapore. He's a foodie. He picks a dish and looks for the best version of it. He's based in Singapore but will travel for many dishes. To explore the "Mala" flavors of Sichuan peppercorns and chiles, he went to Chongqing in China for the authentic stuff. For Nasi Lemak he visited Malaysia and Indonesia.
He's got a good niche and plays well in it. 2 or 3 restaurants per episode, 6-10 episodes for each dish. Nasi Lemak, Mala, Chicken Rice, and more. He's currently comparing Singapore and Malaysia styles of Bak Kut Teh - Pork Bone Soup Teh. The Teh is the traditional accompanying drink, not an ingredient. His last episode was in Kuching (which failed to impress him.)
Today, I'm feeling better so I decided to try it. At lunch I thought a nearby Kopitiam might have it. They had a mixed pork soup. Turns out that's not Bak Kut Teh. It's boiled pork parts served in the broth from the boiling.
It was served so hot I burned my tongue. The traditional pork meats were fine. The broth was bland, frankly. The interesting part was the liver and intestine. The liver was at best OK. When taken with muscle meat it was fine. Not bitter just kind of meh. But on its own it was "grainy" and meh. The texture was not my thing. The intestine was an all around loser. Odd, when I had it braised in Kuching, it was OK. Sorry, no pics. Nothing special to look at - grey water.
For dinner, I googled it and found a place. An easy walk - which I'm trying to get back in the habit of. Off I went at sunset. We'll talk more about sunset stuff later. I found the Kopitiam easily. 700m is easy. The Kopitiam, like all others, is a collection of stalls. (Mamaks tend to be sole proprietors and are definitely "Desi" focused.)
I'm going to go back and try a lot of the other stalls. Soon.
But back to Bak Kut Teh. I rolled in and ordered it. With the, of course. And, rice. There are two versions:peppery (ribs in a opaque peppery (peppercorn not chili)) and "herbal ( with a brown, herbaceous broth, and lots of veggies, and other bits of pork.) This was an herbal, apparently to be expected in Sarawak. Mushrooms, ribs, liver, intestine, fried bread, and some sort of mixed pork mystery cubes in a peppery and floral broth. The ribs were excellent, the bread fine, the liver much better than at lunch, the intestine was minimal and edible. I want to try the pure rib bone peppery version. The meat elements were amazing.
He's got a good niche and plays well in it. 2 or 3 restaurants per episode, 6-10 episodes for each dish. Nasi Lemak, Mala, Chicken Rice, and more. He's currently comparing Singapore and Malaysia styles of Bak Kut Teh - Pork Bone Soup Teh. The Teh is the traditional accompanying drink, not an ingredient. His last episode was in Kuching (which failed to impress him.)
Today, I'm feeling better so I decided to try it. At lunch I thought a nearby Kopitiam might have it. They had a mixed pork soup. Turns out that's not Bak Kut Teh. It's boiled pork parts served in the broth from the boiling.
It was served so hot I burned my tongue. The traditional pork meats were fine. The broth was bland, frankly. The interesting part was the liver and intestine. The liver was at best OK. When taken with muscle meat it was fine. Not bitter just kind of meh. But on its own it was "grainy" and meh. The texture was not my thing. The intestine was an all around loser. Odd, when I had it braised in Kuching, it was OK. Sorry, no pics. Nothing special to look at - grey water.
For dinner, I googled it and found a place. An easy walk - which I'm trying to get back in the habit of. Off I went at sunset. We'll talk more about sunset stuff later. I found the Kopitiam easily. 700m is easy. The Kopitiam, like all others, is a collection of stalls. (Mamaks tend to be sole proprietors and are definitely "Desi" focused.)
I'm going to go back and try a lot of the other stalls. Soon.
But back to Bak Kut Teh. I rolled in and ordered it. With the, of course. And, rice. There are two versions:peppery (ribs in a opaque peppery (peppercorn not chili)) and "herbal ( with a brown, herbaceous broth, and lots of veggies, and other bits of pork.) This was an herbal, apparently to be expected in Sarawak. Mushrooms, ribs, liver, intestine, fried bread, and some sort of mixed pork mystery cubes in a peppery and floral broth. The ribs were excellent, the bread fine, the liver much better than at lunch, the intestine was minimal and edible. I want to try the pure rib bone peppery version. The meat elements were amazing.
I'll keep at it and find one I really like.
Now, sunset weather. The daytime heat is bad because the sun is just so intense. but it's actually a dry heat! Today's high was 31C at noon.And, at that time the RelH% was a reasonable 60%. Right now it is 27C and 81%. Overnight it will get to 24C and 90% RelH%. It's as muggy as as Cincinnati! And very uncomfortable. The walk to dinner at sunset was perfect. The walk after lunch was hot, but 'dry.' And when I got near the water a stiff breeze felt great. The walk home left me sopping with sweat. Just brutally muggy even with the cooler temps. (In fact, that's the reason the RelH% goes up. No science lesson tonight although I will provide an explanation if asked.)
I think the sunny part of the day is actually more comfortable. Especially if one stays in the shade, off the black asphalt, and finds a breeze. That's a good thing to keep in mind. The hats will be coming out.
Now, sunset weather. The daytime heat is bad because the sun is just so intense. but it's actually a dry heat! Today's high was 31C at noon.And, at that time the RelH% was a reasonable 60%. Right now it is 27C and 81%. Overnight it will get to 24C and 90% RelH%. It's as muggy as as Cincinnati! And very uncomfortable. The walk to dinner at sunset was perfect. The walk after lunch was hot, but 'dry.' And when I got near the water a stiff breeze felt great. The walk home left me sopping with sweat. Just brutally muggy even with the cooler temps. (In fact, that's the reason the RelH% goes up. No science lesson tonight although I will provide an explanation if asked.)
I think the sunny part of the day is actually more comfortable. Especially if one stays in the shade, off the black asphalt, and finds a breeze. That's a good thing to keep in mind. The hats will be coming out.
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