The Laksa Craze

Taken from Anthony Bourdain's Twitter

Yesssssss.... #laksa #Kuching                      --Bourdain, 2015 

Right, Bourdain came to Kuching few days ago and had laksa at Choon Hui (yes, that famous and slightly overrated laksa place next to Grand Continental Hotel).  He twitted this photo and it immediately went viral, at least among my social media circle. Not sure if it's because our city day is approaching, I kept seeing uplifting news about Kuching these two weeks. *homesick* Anyway, back to the topic, I was really hyped to see that caption, not to mention how excited my dad got when I showed him this. As much as a authentic food enthusiast my father is, he'd really go by all means to educate people that it is laksa KUCHING, NOT laksa SARAWAK. I bet he must be a little sad that even a foreigner can acknowledge this but why is our people keep advertising it as laksa SARAWAK?

Okay, before this, I've always wondered why is my dad so particular with the name. See, it is always advertised as laksa Sarawak to differentiate itself from other laksas in Malaysia. Our own Sarawak Tourism Board also named it laksa Sarawak, everyone calls it laksa Sarawak. Fine, except the locals, we simply call it laksa. So, I think what Bourdain really meant was that he's having laksa in Kuching, hence #laksa #Kuching. Then again, really pissed me off is when certain facebook comments correcting him that it is laska SARAWAK not KUCHING. Hey, let's get the fact straight, this version of laksa originated from KUCHING, so what's the wrong of calling it laksa KUCHING? I think I finally got why my dad is so particular with the nomenclature. Try going to other parts of Sarawak and order a bowl of laksa, some would even come with condiments like taupok and fishballs or fish cake. That's not the authentic KUCHING laksa, so go ahead and call it laksa SARAWAK. Authentic Laksa Kuching should comprise of bean sprout, chicken, omelette, prawns, Chinese celery/ coriander, belacan (not sambal chilli), and Calamansi lime.

I know some would argue that it still come from the state of Sarawak, so are laksa Penang from  the state of Penang, and laksa Johor from the state of Johor. Never would one say laksa Georgetown or Laksa JB right? WRONG! Sarawak is a country, not a state. If you understand what I mean #S4S What if I call Penang laksa Malaya Laksa? Then you'll start wondering what laksa is it. Is it Nyonya laksa, or assam laksa, or curry laksa? See, when things are generalised they lose their identity. That is why it is called Katong laksa not Singapore laksa. My point here is, I don't find the wrong in calling Kuching laksa Sarawak laksa, 'cause Kuching is still part of Sarawak. But I think by doing so, our laksa will really lose our identity. 

This is already happening that it worries me. I have came across few laksa stalls in Kuching started adding 'non-authentic' condiments like tau pok and fish cake while leaving out the omelette.

first laksa I had during my last trip back to Kuching.. see the taupok and no omelette *smh* 

Discussion regarding the pic: grumpy cats disapprove laksa with taupok

See, that's the consequence of not emphasising regional characteristics. Sooner or later we got hybrid of assam laksa and our laksa. That, to me, is not some cultural assimilation shit, that's bulls***. Cultural assimilation doesn't come this way, it should be marrying the good of two or more culture and give birth to a child which inherit the best of the best. Simply by mixing two elements is just disrespectful to all cultures involved. I know some who encourage this kind of diversity, but really, I hope our roots can be retained. Like the discussion above, I can see many fellow Kuchingites wants an authentic bowl of laksa, while some 'outsiders' or younger generations have already lose track of what is the real laksa. If this is what you want to achieve, go ahead and call laksa Kuching, laksa Sarawak. Who am I to correct this. But I hope I am not one to witness the downfall of our 'heritage'. 

Don't mess with my laksa and kolo mee! #Kuchingiteforlife

Peace, 

Dong

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RL 150413 & 14: Gold Standard II and Finalising Gold Standard

What a week! Entering week 4 means we're only left three quarters of the semester, and I felt that I just warmed up!

Lesson 8: Whatever does not kill me, makes me stronger

Bad Monday, our group was assigned to collect ingredients. So we're the earliest to reach while the rest arrived later when we're off to collect ingredients. The moment when we re-enter the R&D kitchen, everyone was looking gloomy. I was totally dumbfounded when we're suddenly "blamed" for not 'taking care' of the R&D kitchen. That instance, I really do feel the need to vent all my dissatisfaction, but I suppressed the anger. Now that a week has almost passed, I had done enough reflection to admit that we were at the wrong but still, I don't think we should be treated this way.

Okay, so the incident actually started two weeks ago when Eugene (yes, he's the class rep for FYP) received pictures showing how unorganised the R&D kitchen was, the ingredients were said to not labelled properly and were stored anyhow, and the pots and pans were scattered all over the place. Later on Monday I found out those ingredients have been confiscated. To be frank, I was really unhappy because we were the first group to transfer our ingredients nicely into containers and labelled and kept under our cabinet, more so, I was the one who took the initiative to sort out onions and garlic from the rotten ones and transferred them into clean plastic bags. It just felt like all the work I've done have been put into waste. All the while, we've been carefully following rules, but somehow, the rules were never clearly instructed, how are we supposed to know what to do? Case in point, the flour that is still in the original package. I agree it's our fault not labelling it, but no one has ever told us to transfer it into a new container, even so, there's also no enough containers to keep that much flour. In the end, flour was confiscated. I could ramble on and on but no point crying over spilt milk now. I just sincerely hope for a black and white from the management, clearly stating the SOP of everything in the kitchen, from stock management to equipment usage to code of ethics, etc. Better still conduct a briefing on the do's and don'ts in the kitchen like what they are doing with the science labs. This is to protect both parties, keep us students informed and so we could not argue when the management is performing their authority. 

Fine, enough of complaints. Let's move on to what we did on Monday. We had a sensory test on our patty, bun and sauce to figure out which version had the best sensory acceptance so we could move on assembling and do another sensory test on Tuesday. 

Carrot buns

We did three versions of carrot buns: Bc45 with 45% carrot; Bc70 with 70% carrot; and Bc90 with 90% carrot. As the amount of carrots increased, the texture of the dough became lumpier and thus the buns became softer. Result of sensory test suggested that Bc90 was the spongiest of all, but some found it too soft and could hardly hold its shape. Bc70 was the best among the three buns, as it held its shape while the texture was balanced between sponginess and chewiness. On an extra note was that the buns, despite having high content of carrot, did not taste carrot at all. It was a very welcoming result for us we do not need to find other means to mask the carrot taste. 

Left to right: Bc45; Bc70, Bc90

Patty  no, pictures.. oops

Patty was a tricky one. We did pureed patty, Pp, two kinds of jellied patties, Pj6.5 and Pj13 (with double gelatine), and a control. As we did not managed the time well, the patties were ready right before the sensory test. We didn't have time to properly cool it down, so by the time we cut, it left a hollow space in the patty as some of the filling leaked. As a result, the most accepted patty was Pp, whereby the beetroot and pumpkin puree provided moisture and flavour to the patty, at the same time, gave a variety in texture. We expected Pj13 to have a better acceptance than Pj6.5 but it turned out to be the worst as it was too watery and nothing was left in the patty. 

Sauce

As what we planned previous week, we reduced butter in our sauce (Se100) and compared with the one we got previous week (Se150). Turned out that Se100 is more acceptable as it is less buttery and more balanced. 

Monday ended up to be an exhausting day. We had to immediately analyse the sensory test result so that we could plan for the next day. As we prepared too many samples for the sensory test, it could be a burden for our sensory panels to taste so many different food. Hence, after finalising the sensory results, we decided to pick the best and compare with a control set for the sensory test on Tuesday. 

Top: Control (Sample B) - Bo, Po, So; bottom: Gold standard (Sample A)- Bc70, Pp, Se100 

The preparation on Tuesday went on pretty smoothly as we had already gone through once on Monday. We prepared everything on time, and this time, there were only two samples so the sensory test was done pretty quickly too. 

Gold standard vs control: size is almost similar

Gold standard vs control: bun was thinner in gold standard but patty was thicker.

The results came out as expected, most of the people preferred the gold standard with carrot bun and pureed vegetables filled patty, as it was more moist and flavourful. However, one thing that attracted our attention was that a few of them mentioned the patty looks scary and bloody. Kenley actually named it 'bloody red burger' LOL! what a spot on representation of BRB.. 

More people preferred (18/22) sample A (gold standard)

Sample A (gold standard) had better sensory quality than sample B (control), however it is quite comparable.

The overall comment on our second sensory test was much more welcoming than that on the first day, mainly because the flavours from the sauce, patty, and bun complemented each other and it was too monotonous when consumed separately. However, the patties were still a bit dry, so we are going to improve that on coming Monday. Surprisingly, no one commented on the vibrant colours on the buns and patty except it looked bloody. We treated it as a positive feedback as the colours were meant to attract children's attention. To solve the 'bloody' problem, we were planning to make the filling so solid so it wouldn't smear as much when it is cut. 

Tuesday was a much better day, and we managed to go back early. Yay! What I learnt was practice really does make perfect, and planning helps to keep us on track. Yeah, we're progressing steadily on track so hopefully we could continue doing so.

Looking forward to the next session!

Dong

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Late night rant: What's the very criterion of an authentic food?

So I read about this news report about banning foreign workers as the main cook in hawker stalls just now. Content is roughly about how government of Penang is considering to ban the employment of foreigners as the main cook in hawker stalls in order to protect their food heritage. 

First off, kudos to the effort of preserving the food heritage! Penang has a state government I really look up to, from the efforts of conserving environment, to providing free wi-fi all over the state, to now, preserving the food heritage. Many of my friends are so excited about this that it flushed other feeds in my news feed.

I get it, this is to ensure that our culture will not be 'polluted' by foreign cultures, but isn't it too fast to celebrate? I mean, what about the food? Yes, my concern here is just the food! Why care about the cook when food is the culture/heritage itself?!

For me, to preserve the food heritage, the taste must at least to be maintained. I want the authenticity of the food to be preserved! I don't care who's behind cooking the dish, be it a foreigner or a local. I know many would argue that the heritage is not only about the food, there's a whole lot more, the history, the ambiance, including how is it prepared and served. So, of course the cook is an important factor. But now, let's say you're given two dishes: 

1. Sarawak Kuching laksa cooked by a local Kuchingite but tastes like curry laksa, with fish balls  as the condiments dafuq?
2. Kuching laksa that reminds you of 古早味 but cooked by a 'kakak'

I know both are a bit offsetting, but this is what's happening now. Anyway, I'll go for option 2. In fact, I'd be even happy because see, even a foreigner can master the essence of the dish, at least the dish won't go 'extinct'.. don't mind me, just me being 'ah Q' .. 

But yeah, shouldn't us be sad that even foreigners can cook our traditional dish better than locals? And that's why the Penang government is thinking of implementing this policy. This is like indirectly admitting that the younger generations are just a bunch of incompetent fellas who don't even appreciate their culture.

But even still, should the taste be compromised? I just couldn't get over it. I can't accept the fact that our food being 'polluted' by foreign or some funny elements. I get that chances are the foreign cook don't understand the food enough and couldn't execute the dish. But most of the time, what I got was those innovative locals trying to be creative and ruin the dish. If that's the case, I'd rather have a kakak cooking what is being taught. 

So what's your take on this? I'm eager to see the Penang government coming out with a satisfying resolution. =)

Good night,

Dong

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RL140630 Last lecture: But the journey still goes on.....

It's the time of the semester again, we've reached the last week of the semester. Since all the practicals and project were done, this week, we're left with the last lecture to close the chapter. This week, we talked about food additives.

Picture credit

As I typed 'food additive' into the search engine, this was one of the very first picture that popped out. It's not surprising that the general public refers food additives as something deadly, considering how big a chaos had food additives scandals created a few years back. Still remember Sanlu milk crisis and Taiwan plasticiser scandal? 

I know the whole avoiding food additives in commercial food product mindset is getting more widespread, but today, I'm gonna tell you that food additives is something that couldn't be totally avoided and that it is not as scary as you imagined. Even our ancestors have been using food additives to produce food. I'm sure most of you agree with me that tofu is a healthy food, but do you know that tofu couldn't even set if not for the presence of gypsum (calcium sulfate)? Gypsum has been used as a coagulant for tofu since its invention more than 2 millennium ago. 

And it looks like this....

Feeling scary yet? You're still eating tofu happily... So, my point here is do not 'boycott' something until you understand what is it. There are all sorts of food additives out there, and all of them serves only one purpose, that is to improve the quality of food with a little amount added. Imagine jam without pectin and jelly without gelatine, they couldn't even form! Still remember the doughnut and cookie experiment before? Addition of a small amount of baking powder and emulsifier makes the whole thing so much better, be it in terms of texture, colour, or taste. 

But the question is, why are people still afraid of food additives?

According to the USFDA, food additives is defined as follows:

Any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristic of any food (including any substance intended for use in producing, manufacturing, packing, processing, preparing, treating, packaging, transporting, or holding food; and including any source of radiation intended for any such use); if such substance is not GRAS or sanctioned prior to 19581 or otherwise excluded from the definition of food additives.

See? As long as the substance added to food altered the quality and is GRAS (generally recognised as safe), it should not be a problem. The problem here is that, for the sake of profit, some unethical manufacturers did not follow the rules and regulations, and used additives that are not food-graded and did not get rid of it after processing. For example bleaching agents that are not evaporated off after processing, or like DEHP found excessively in some of the boba balls in Taiwan. I know one way to avoid consuming these substances is by avoiding processed food. But that shouldn't be the way. Bear in mind that even natural food contains toxicants. So, what for trying to avoid process food? If not for the usage of food additives, there won't be so many convenient and shelf-stable food, and it'd bring us back to the era where it took us hours to prepare a decent meal. Guess you wouldn't want to live in such unproductive society, would you? 

So, my suggestion is to understand your food and the risk of taking in the food. Choose your food wisely, eat in moderation and variety and that's all I can say. 

picture credit

Happy holidays peep!

Dong

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Wolf in the Dangerous World 危险世界的“狼”

最近，才子方大同、韦礼安不约而同发新专辑，我也不禁把两张专辑拿来比较。后发现两张专辑竟是如此连贯。脑海中忽然浮出这画面的我就迫不及待地把它画下来。

在我作画的同时，飞来一道晴天霹雳的消息--首相宣布失踪多日的MH370在印度洋坠毁，幸存者为0。罹难者的家人是何等心情，我完全无法想像。当媒体都在抨击大马政府这种“不负责任”的行为的时侯，台湾政府强制驱离反服贸协议的民众，无视司法程序的行为又是有多负责任。当然，这也只是我单方面的看法，相信马/台政府也是经过多方考虑才下的决定。但人们最终只愿意选择相信自己想听的。

在我看来，在这乌烟瘴气，人心险恶，危机重重的危险世界里，人们为了保护自己珍惜的一切，不惜付出任何代价。而这种种行为却使人不自觉地变成了“狼” *pun intended*。

然而，狼的内心又有多少恐惧？对改变/未知的恐惧，对于贪念的恐惧，对于爱无法及时传递的恐惧，对于自己处于绝望时代的恐惧。为了逃避、掩盖这些恐惧，人们选择伪装成狼。最终发现，互相伤害的大家都只不过是披着狼皮的一群迷途羔羊。

所以，大家可不可以脱掉那层狼皮，脱掉伪装，与恐惧正面突破，真心对待每个人事物，把这危险世界变成美好世界？

真心期待这一天的到来。

peace,

東

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