The guys from Makansutra, Singaporeโs foremost food site, is in town, and we converged upon Cerita Kak Ayu for, without a doubt, the ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ traditional Malay cooking in George Town, courtesy of the ever-exuberant Kak Ayu! And what a spread: well-spiced, freshly cooked and positively bursting with lovely flavors.
Our lunch spread:
๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ต (chili-stuffed fish) using ๐ช๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ถ (torpedo scad).
๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ช ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ - spicy stir-fried stink-beans and wing-beans in sambal.
๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ - dry beef ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ curry. Of Minang (Sumatera) origins, but adopted by Malays all over, the rendition here are localised, but remained one of the tastiest weโd had.
๐๐บ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ - Kak Ayuโs signature fried chicken, topped with crisp, golden-fried onions-galangal-lemongrass. Beautiful textures - crisp on the outside, moist inside.
๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช ๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ - crisp-fried catfish. Kak Ayu makes sure her version maintains its moistness. Ultra-fresh fish.
๐๐ข๐ด๐ช ๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฉ - fried rice ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ด soy sauce, which gets its flavors from shallots, egg, garlic, white pepper and fresh vegetables.
๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ข๐ซ๐ข and ๐ฌ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ - traditional Malay raw vegetable salad - served simply with a ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ฏ dip.
๐๐ค๐ข๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ข๐ฉ - a lip-smacking sweet pickle made from ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช (Malay gooseberries). Kak Ayu only makes this every Ramadhan - we are so lucky to get to taste the last of this yearโs stash!
๐๐ณ๐ช๐บ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ถ - Kak Ayuโs special briyani, studded with golden raisins and toasted cashewnuts. Sheer comfort food.
Very impressive cooking from Kak Ayu as always - soul food at its best.
Address
Cerita Kak Ayu
47C, Prangin Lane, 10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6017-529 6674
Opening hours: 11am to 6pm daily, except Thursday (Closed).
