What are these monkeys doing?
What is this lady looking at?
It’s Mr Chiam’s Goreng Pisang Stall (Banana Fritters) and we are hungry!
One of the best snacks to have at 4pm in the evening is the famous Kuih Bakul from Mr. Chiam’s Stall in Brickfields. Of course this stall being a bit of an institution and all, was definitely on our list of places to bring @ladyironchef to visit, while he was in KL. We wanted him to try the Kuih Bakul. So what exactly is this Kuih Bakul you might ask? It is a square savory cake made from yam, sweet potato and the sticky, sweet, brown nin ko. Nin ko is the famous sticky rice pudding that every good Chinese person knows and it is a must during the Chinese New Year season. It is offered to the Kitchen God on Chinese New Year’s Eve, so that the sticky and sweet rice cake in his mouth will compel him to report to the God of Heaven, only good things about the household he visited!
Anyway, here at Mr Chiam’s Stall, this is done superbly well. The square kuih bakul is laid out and dunked in boiling oil, completely submerged and fried until it is crispy brown. When you eat this kuih you will find the molten nin ko still warm and gooey in the centre of the crispy outer yam/potato shell. It’s like a sugary, aromatic explosion of gooey delight as you bite into the savoury cake. The same goes for the goreng pisang (banana fritter) and the curry puff. The trick is in the heat of the oil – it should be hot as a furnace, and also the amount of time spent frying the snacks. Mr Chiam’s stall has it down to a fine art. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
Boiling hot oil and out comes the crispy, golden banana fritter!
Great balls of fire! – glutinous rice balls with a sesame seed coating, and a sweet peanutty center
Fast disappearing kuih bakul and banana fritters..
The shop is located on the corner of the famous street in Brickfields, near YMCA
The food is prepared in an upper shop lot and sent down for the frying
We love Mr Chiam’s goreng Pisang, and so does @ladyironchef now!
Tel: 012 617 2511
ohh yummy fritters, make me miss the office at KL Sentral!
oh yeah baybeh.. come home!
I wonder if I have discount for having the same family name lulz
LOL, you are chiam ar? interesting.. any relation? hehe
Mmmm… yummy! And I like to bluff myself that it’s healthy because it’s a fruit. 🙂
haha.. bananas are good for you. eat your bananas;P
Monkeys hear, Monkeys see, Monkeys eat
uh huh:P
yummy… how much are those? The rice ball looks so yummy. I think it’s those sesame ball they sell here in Chinese bakery…but I know it taste better there haha
the sesame balls are awesome sarah. totally addictive – my father in law’s fav;)
ooh, i never learned how to appreciate kuih bakul (don’t really like the strange, sticky sweetness). but i love keladi goreng on its own! comfort food 😀
what a shame sean! these ones rock! so gooey sticky.. how come u don’t like em.. haha
I LOVE kuih bakul! Grandma likes to make it during CNY complete with a piece of yam. Definitely one of the comfort food. :))
me too!
Thanks for bringing Brad to Mr. Chiam’s goreng pisang stall! He brought some back for Devil & me… So yummy!
i know! we overate as usual kenny!
is the traffic better after the conversion to single lane traffic??? I haven’t gone to Brickfields for a long time cumi 🙂
not really. still congested. part of the charm LOL!
Seriously need to go Brickfields jor! The abundance of good Indian food, and these fritters for tea time!
you are here now, call me la, we go!
these nice to be eaten freshly fried from the wok but I can’t, cause I will easily get sore throat after that 🙁
I love pisang goreng. Was one of my favorite snacks in Malaysia 🙂