Bak Kwa is a sinful Chinese New Year snack...and we try not to eat it often but when Chinese New Year comes around it's as good an excuse as any to eat this juicy piece of simply irresistible dried barbequed meat.
It used to be a once-a-year snack but, nowadays, it's available all year round that trying to resist it proves futile coz some ingenious hawkers came up with this bright idea of making it into a breakfast sandwich! :D
However, I don't see many hawkers selling these. I've only come across one in the Pandan Perdana market near where I stay but that hawker only comes like only once or twice a week (and his days are not fixed + I can't remember which days). Recently, luckily (or unluckily) for me, one opened up in a coffee shop in my housing area.
And you can rest assured that yours truly was there, of course. For the uninitiated, I'm talking about the Bak Kwa Sandwich.
Let me show you how our Malaysian-style sandwich is done! First, you butter a hot dog type bun (but this one was more rectangular in shape) and put in on a hot grill pan to get it toasty and crisp.
At the same time, heat up the strips of bak kwa (they give you like only half a piece + an extra small piece) for each serving.
Now, what's next is something new that I've not seen done by other hawkers who sell these. Here, you can order it with egg...yay...an omelette to be exact! ;) She beats up an egg and pour it onto her grill, spread it out and let the omelette cook a while.
Then, she puts the bun on top of the half-cooked omelette and this will help it adhere to the bun, I suppose. Hmmm, what a great idea...I've never thought of doing that at home....and now I know.
And now it's time to assemble the Bak Kwa Sandwich...lay the bak kwa on the bun and top it with some meat floss.
The second time I bought this, I paid a closer look...and that's when I noticed she spooned some very fine (blended-like) onion mix into the beaten egg. Ah, so that was what was in that plastic container...hehe! ^.^
Of course she makes other types of sandwiches too....like this one with the usual processed meat of Ham, Sausage & Egg (RM4) that is bound to appeal to the younger crowd.
But who would want that when I can have the one with bak kwa! ^_*
Of course, you can make this at home if you want by just putting leftover bak kwa between two slices of bread and that would make one helluva breakfast during Chinese New Year especially when you're busy with cooking.
But then the simple one can't beat the one with egg....and now that I've learned her trick of putting the bun on top of the egg (+ her secret ingredient in the egg mix), I can certainly make this at home....but why bother when she's just a stone's throw away...haha! ;D For now, you can find her at Restoran Leong Kee in Pandan Indah but how long she'll be around is anybody's guess as the stalls here come and go. For those of you who aren't as lucky to find a stall like that in your neighbourhood, I suppose you can always get your fix from one of the Kiew Brothers stores in shopping malls.
I've managed to abstain from buying and consuming bak kwa for the last two Chinese New Years....and now this one opens up near me "pulak"....drat! >_<
Ok, ok, I know bak kwa is not the healthiest thing to eat but so is a lot of other Chinese dried/waxed meat (not to mention processed food) out there. Come on...be a little 'naughty' just this once? :P As long as you don't overindulge....but eat in moderation....you should be fine, no? Hehe! :D
This is followed by some thinly sliced cucumbers...we must have some veggie in there.
Finally, finish with a squeeze of chilli sauce (and tomato sauce, if you like, but I asked to omit).
And I guess her T-shirt that day said it all....OMG is the right word for this wonderfully simple local sandwich! ^o^
You can have it plain without the omelette (RM3).....nice :)
But it's way better with omelette (RM3.60)! When I bit into the sandwich, I tasted onions but I didn't see any sliced onions in the mix.
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