The best of the rest is this char kway teow. At a hefty price of 8.50 ringgit a plate for the biggest plate (which is really not big at all), we would have screamed foul if it hadn’t been so incredibly, mindblowingly tasty. It was the first stop of the day and set the precedent for every single meal after. At the end of the day, it won the unanimous vote of championship from our 6 greedy mouths.

We were told that there is a good wanton mee and hor fun store just down the road from where the char kway teow is but we didn’t know how near we were. It was barely 2 minutes before we sat down again in a different kopitiam no less and continued ordering.

The texture of the noodles in Penang is different from the ones in Singapore. The noodles here were springy and bouncy, a product of it being well-made and well-cooked. You know how noodles turn into a starchy lump when overcooked? These noodles are what I’ll like to call as well-defined but it’s probably the wrong term for it. The gravy of the hor fun is a little too starchy for my taste but overall, they are delicious. For one, I am impressed by the number of bones stewing away in the broth to give them the flavour.

Tzi Char, a mix of vermicelli and noodles, stir-fried.

Prawn noodles with hardly discernable prawns but the soup base is amazing.

I am not a big fan of assam laksa but I ate because it is one of the signature dishes of Penang.

Succulent, barbecued chicken wings but the ones in Singapore could be as good.

This wanton mee is cooked in a dark soy sauce as compared to the one we had earlier.

People who know me and know me well would find it quite hard to believe that I could actually be bothered to succumb to marketing strategies. In my defense, the contest was made easy for anyone to participate with a few taps on their keyboards and a click of the mouse. To enter the contest, you just have to have a twitter account, follow @dbsfoodster and tell them why you should be a DBS Foodster! All without moving from the very comfortable chair you are ensconced in.

I love typing seriously. I have a morbid fascination of my thoughts forming into words and stringed into sentences and I become quite obsessed with it at intervals, not that I do it often now. Allowing those wild, random thoughts to take form in a structure and get it out of my system is strangely therapeutic because it means I don’t have to remember them. I get to compartmentalize them, arrange them in no particular order and even have the option to file them away for future references. That way, the mind is kept clutter-free and I wish the same could be said of my room in real life. Clearly, my idea of neatness is mutually exclusive of what’s physically in front of me and what’s virtual in my brain.

Well back to the Impulse. It just so happened that I received an email, being a part of the HungryGoWhere portal, of what it means to be a foodster when pleasant thoughts of myself having meals with friends drifted into my mind. No doubt we couldn’t claim that every meal we had together was the best and there were no promises of them culminating into gastronomical orgasms but it is the company that made the meal. The form of cognition we achieved when savouring fares and holding discussions strengthened our bonds and the best thing is that because Food is a basic form of necessity (like you didn’t know huh) thrice a day, we could always be trusted to make time even if it is a paltry one hour lunch break. Voltaire once said that “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity” and that pleasure stemmed from a combination of good food, pleasant company and merry chatter. Food and People walk together, like Carrots and Peas in your fried rice. Haven’t there been some chinese story during your school days saying that if you eat alone, even with the best meal in front of you, it would appear bland?

And so something clicked in my brain and my contest line sprung forth in a rush:
“The true making of a @DBSFoodster lies in the ability to merry-make through their meals, for better or for worse and I am she.”

There is an interview to be had (and I thought the contest was going to be easy and relaxed in the comfort of my own home!) so I’ll head down for the experience. There are many other worthy finalists so I might not be the lucky one. However, not being a DBS Foodster doesn’t stop me in my quest to seek merriment through food and company so I can afford to take things with a pinch of salt and let come what may!

Photograph taken in 2009.

From top left-right: peppery pork belly soup with button mushrooms, roasted chicken, ngo hiang (五香). From bottom left-right: a plate of rice, stewed duck meat, mixed vegetables dish consisting of prawns, meat, cauliflower, green peas and cabbage.

The moment we touched down in Beijing, our first dinner thoughts reached out to Peking ducks. How could we not, when we flew this far to attest flattering reports of crispy duck skin and tender, juicy meat? A friendly chat with the local cab driver sent us to the Quan Ju De’s (全聚德烤鸭店) multi-leveled outlet in He Ping Men (和平门) which he said is the most authentic and delicious of all outlets.

A welcoming sight of rows of ducks still in their birthday suits greeting us

The restaurant was run in absolute efficiency as they quickly ushered you through the levels by use of walkie-talkies to ensure that you have a seat. The ducks were roasted with non-smoky hardwood fuel such as peach and pear to give its subtle fruity flavour.

We were well rewarded for our six hours flight when we took an initial, crunchy bite. It tasted of heaven.

The helpful waiters/waitresses also stopped by each and every table to explain the history of the very duck being violated and demonstrated with ease on how to make a roll with the use of just a pair of chopsticks but in the end, I gave up, the process was too time-consuming.

They were efficient with the chopsticks while I was still living in stone age where my hands are my chopsticks but what’s the fuss? The duck is still well-appreciated!

It was very gratifying to sink my teeth into such succulent meat after a flight of anticipation but I have to say that after your basic craving is satisfied and the need for duck goes away with every bite, my marginal utility level dipped. It was too oily to be consumed in great quantities. Nevertheless, visitors to Beijing should definitely put this on their agenda to try at least once. I would advise that no one gets too over zealous since almost every single dish on the menu has something to do with ducks. You end up getting duck rice, duck noodles, duck meat soup and vegetables fried with duck and it could be very disorienting.

The surgeon and the duck in which there was no hope of survival under the blade.

地址/Address:
北京前门全聚德烤鸭店 Beijing Qian Men Quan Ju De Kao Ya Dian
北京市崇文区前门大街32号 Bejing Chong Wen Men Qu Qian Men Da Jie 32 Hao
电话：01067011379

老北京炸酱面大王

One of our very last meals in Beijing, we decided to end it with a duck note. “I come for duck, I leave with duck” was my skewed mentality at that time. After a full one day tour at the Great Wall, the Ning tombs and the Temple of Heaven, the cab driver (we ingratiated well with cab drivers during our trip, they withhold a wealth of culinary information!) made a recommendation that we try out Lao Beijing Zha Jiang Mian (老北京炸酱面) which is translated to “Old Beijing Minced Meat Noodles”.

Image taken from Fan Tong

You are served with a plate of plain, unadorned noodles with an array of sides that you could choose to mix your noodles with to customize your favourite way of eating Zhang Jiang Mian. The dark sauce ii the picture is yellow soybean paste which is very salty so please go sparing on it. The pink strips are ginger slices and the greens are chopped celery and cabbages and there are also different kinds of beans. In Singapore, you can also find Zhang Jiang Mian in some of the handmade noodles stall in hawker centres or food courts and even Crystal Jade La Mian restaurants. However, mostly the local Zhang Jiang Mian are only topped with minced meat and thinly sliced cucumber strips.

A deep-fried crispy duck with tender meat on the left. Preserved vegetables fried with glass noodles on the top and soft deep-fried milk desserts on the right.

I apologize for the desecrated duck since we tucked into it way before recalling we needed a picture. The duck turned out ugly but had the most crispy skin and tender meat. Never judge a duck by its outlook. It was not oily at all, a little bit on the dry side but you could eat the whole duck without feeling inundated. The deep fried desserts were very soft, sinking your teeth right through the milky goodness. I imagine them to be very popular with toothless old folks.

I likened Zha Jiang Mian to be a form of Chinese Bolognaise pasta (only in Beijing, there’s no minced meat in the minced meat noodles). I didn’t like mine as much as I like the Singaporean form. The yellow soybean paste was too salty for my liking but those who have an affinity to trying pasta worldwide should consider giving this a go.

地址/Address:
老北京炸酱面大王 Lao Bei Jing Zha Jiang Mian Da Wang
崇文区 崇文门外大街29号 Chong Wen Qu ChongWenMen WaiDaJie 29 Hao