UPDATE : As at mid-2012, the pau seller has changed his supplier and no longer gets the paus from the 'si-fu'. The fare has become mediocre and business has gone down.
When I was still in school, a tai pau (big steamed bun) used to cost 80 sen (hahahahaha I just revealed my age). Now it costs RM2.80 ! Then again, nasi lemak was 50 sen at that time, and my Dad used to recall the days when it was only 2 sen or 5 sen !
There used to be a pau stall beside the Tai Wah Restaurant (yes the legendary Kajang Tai Wah Restaurant - in the same league as Pudu's legendary Sek Yuen Resturant) where we used to get the tastiest hand made paus. A small 40 sen char siew pau was enough to fill me up and a tai pau had to be shared with my tai kohs (elder brothers).
Fast forward 30 years and the paus these days are production line or factory made. Soft and tasty no doubt - but without character and without a soul. Most are more flour and less fillings. Not worth writing about.
Then gd discovered this pau seller in Sg Chua recently. Located in front of a book shop called "All the best books" (no joke) situated close to the Old Town kopitiam. I had one tai pau and I was hooked. The taste took me back 30 years. The pau skin was white and soft and even remained soft when reheated in the microwave.
The filling was old school - large chunks of pork, half an egg and a delicious savory gravy. A cross section pix below reveals the generous amount of filling in the tai pau. The white part is the hard boiled egg (and not pork fat). It's actually less oily than most other paus available these days.
We chatted with the pau vendor who advised that the pau is specially hand made by a 'sifu' (guru) who is hired just to make the pau. Besides the tai pau, they have the usual varieties - char siew, vegetarian and sweet lotus seed plus some dim sum varieties - siew mai, lo mai kai etc.Imagine having a full pau meal; vegetarian pau for starter, tai pau for main and sweet lotus pau for dessert? Give it a try one day, and this place is the best place to get your supply.
Location : A vendor located in front of "All the best book store" book shop, Jalan Berjaya 10, Taman Berjaya, Sg Chua, Kajang
Open from 2.00 p.m. until sold out - which is about 8.30 p.m.
Additional Pix, post review
Actually, I have to thank Tuan for the tip - he recommended the tai-pau, said to be similar to the guy selling along the Sg. Chua main road, in front of Public Bank, years ago.
ReplyDeleteBTW. Mr Chow, the owner has loads of dim sum stuff too, I have tasted his siew mai - very nice. I shot a few more photos - look out for that too.
Thanks for the mention. Good food is to be shared. Enjoyed your articles too and now I have more options to eat in kajang. Keep up the good work. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteTom