Kuala Lumpur Streets

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I really enjoyed my trip to Malaysia and have a bunch of random pictures to upload so here is the first set.

In general, I found Malaysians to be friendly and opinionated, the food flavorful and the overall atmosphere warm and welcoming.  Both KL and Penang were overrun with tourists (like me!), but only Penang forcefully presented its character and gave a strong impression of self.  KL felt like any major metropolis, albeit one built up in the middle of the jungle and filled with Malay, Chinese and Indian people.  However, I don't think this is necessarily bad.  There is a reason why KL is such a popular vacation destination.  Did you know that KL was the world's 4th most visited city in 2009?  I think part of the reason is that, for many tourists, a favorable exchange rate makes it a nice place to shop.  Additionally, many KL residents speak English so Western/Australian tourists don't find it terribly intimidating.  It is both different and similar at the same time.  Anyhow, don't go to KL expecting to find a totally exotic experience but do expect to see a ton of hotels.

Indonesian Fried Chicken

If you hired a cheap maid or babysitter back home you probably ended up with a Mexican or Central American.  In Taiwan, those roles are filled by Filipinos, Thais and, to a lesser extent, Indonesians.  Ethnic restaurants are a powerful way for displaced foreigners to stay connected to their homelands and I am always excited when I discover the janky ethnic eateries working-class laborers frequent.  Good enough for the members of the ethnic minority, good enough for me!

Anyhow, Indonesian fried chicken.  I don't know much about Indonesian food so I am going by what I saw and tasted.  A marinated chicken leg was brought out and, given its color, turmeric was clearly involved.  Also, ginger and maybe some coriander seed.  Maybe a touch of coconut milk to loosen the marinade?  At any rate, throw the chicken leg into some hot oil and fry.  This is what you end up with:

 

Crazy delicious stuff and it was fun watching what appeared to be a small, tight-knit Indonesian community greet each other.  I have a general rule that if you eat alongside ethnic laborers, you will generally eat very well. This meal was no exception.

Definitely on my short list of places to return given how delicious it is and how different the flavors are from my usual Taiwanese fare.
 

Clams V1.0

Uhhh, so if you have been following this at all you will have noticed that I love stir-fried clams. Given that they are about 150-225NT per plate here in Taiwan, I decided that I needed to learn how to do it myself.

1. Buy clams. My morning market has a ton of clam vendors so finding clams is easy. However, deciding on WHICH type of clam to buy is a challenge because there are so many options. In the U.S. you primarily see Manila and razor clams but Taiwan has a bounty of bivalves. I basically settled on the first clams I saw squirting water and the vendor with the widest smile.  100NT for a large bag of clams...maybe about a pound of clams.  The other cool thing is that when you buy groceries here in Taiwan, vendors will often throw in some freebies like cilantro, green onions or, in this case, some basil leaves.  Wonderfully thoughtful.  She also gave me her advice on how to cook the clams: basil, chili, a touch of soy, water but no garlic.  Yes ma'am!

2. How to cook the clams? Well, this was easy, stir-fry. How do I flavor them? I used a combination of what I had on hand (Chinese celery) and what I have seen at local restaurants (chili, basil and Chinese BBQ sauce) along with the seafood vendor's recommendation.

3. Cook clams.  Easy.  Clams have little built in timers.  When they pop open, they are done!

Anyhow, some pictures:

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June and (most of) July

I will get some words up when I have the time.

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