BUKIT MERTAJAM, Oct 7 — There are few Hakka dishes more well known than the abacus beads or suan phan zi. Made from yam paste, these slightly flattened dough balls resemble abacus beads (hence the name).
Cooked by a Hakka grandmother, they’re a delicacy, yet commercial versions can be dull, leaden almost.
So it’s a delight to discover suan phan zi that’s cooked to perfection, tender outside and “QQ” (chewy) inside. Stir-fried with umami-rich dried squid and mushrooms, what’s unusual about this rendition is how it’s elevated by fine plating and served in a private home in Bukit Mertajam.
Run by Penangite food blogger Kelly Choo, the eponymous Choo Private Dining is a private kitchen focusing on Hakka cuisine. She explains, “My ancestors hail from a province in Guandong so while I’m Hakka, I also know how to cook Cantonese and Hock Chew dishes. These other regional cuisines are supporting players though; the ‘lead’ actor is still classic Hakka recipes but with contemporary flavours.”
According to the 39-year-old former computer science major, sharing a story sets what she does apart from the rest. She says, “I love food and writing so I started a blog to share what I’ve tasted around the world. Similarly, I noticed that there are many Western private kitchens in Malaysia but few Chinese ones. So I decided Hakka cuisine, traditionally a farmer’s food, can be made prettier in its presentation the way they do in the West.”
Choo’s fine dining direction is made more substantial by her weaving stories behind each dish as she serves them to her diners. She says, “Explaining the history or story of each dish is my way of sharing more about Hakka culture and to spread it beyond my home and my family.”
Certainly exquisite appetisers such as Choo’s surprisingly delicate-tasting salty pork belly with pickles (Hakka hum yuk) and bamboo shoot dumplings (sun pan) intensifies one’s appreciation for Hakka cuisine.
Served at an intimate table setting with a fresh flower arrangement as the centrepiece, the effect is not unlike that of a fine dining restaurant.
When Choo was a child, she was influenced by her parents who would cook special Hakka dishes for her. She says, “Nowadays when I eat outside, I can’t get the flavours of my parents’ cooking. When I cook for my friends at home, they’d say it’s better than dishes in restaurants. They encouraged me to cook for others... so that’s how the concept started.”
The flavours of home are certainly present in dishes such as the profoundly comforting Hakka yellow wine chicken soup (Hakka wong jiu kai), made with free range chicken, and the rarely-seen duck intestines fried with pineapple (wong li chao ngap cheong).
One of the ways Choo would make these classics more refined is by using premium ingredients such as wagyu beef and kurobuta pork, as per specific customer requests. She adds, “Traditionally, Hakka cuisine uses a lot more salt, oil and meat, so I will adjust accordingly to make it more contemporary.”
Choo sources ingredients locally and from Thailand, due to the northern neighbour’s proximity to Penang. Many of the fresh herbs are sourced directly from her own garden; these include dill, kaffir limes, ramie leaves, basil, mint, betel, turmeric, cekur (sand ginger) roots and even edible flowers.
One of Choo’s most intriguing dishes is her chu yap pan, fragrant glutinous rice dumplings filled with dried radish, pork and garlic.
Resembling flat rice cakes, they get their startlingly dark green hue from an extract of ramie leaves. Visitors to Hanoi would have seen similar dumplings called bánh gai being sold on the streets; these too are made with ramie leaves (or cây lá gai in Vietnamese).
For diners, then, the experience is akin to diving deep into Hakka cuisine while keeping an eye out for influences that may stem from Choo’s own travels. Being a flâneuse and a food blogger is a far cry from running her own private kitchen, however. Choo soon realised that beyond a passion pursuit, it’s a business.
“I’ve learned so many new things. For example, I can only plan what ingredients to buy after taking reservations. Yet, to ensure freshness, I need to order in advance from wet market stall vendors; you can’t just turn up and expect the ingredients to be available!”
For Choo, her private kitchen has become a symbol of her Hakka culture: “Just like mastering a Hakka dish is a lot of work — you have to first fry, then braise and stew — there are a lot of steps. If one is lazy, one will fail at the dish.”
There’s no better example of this philosophy than Choo’s signature Hakka braised lamb (kiu zai yong). Using either lamb belly or, by special order, lamb rack, the meat is first blanched with hot water before being stewed with an aromatic braise of star anise, cinnamon, ginger and yellow rice wine for over six hours. A slow fire ensures all the flavours are absorbed by the lamb.
Patience is paramount in Hakka cooking, especially in watching the fire. The same can be said of discovering and pursuing one’s passion; Choo definitely makes a good go at it.
Choo Private Dining
Private dining location in Taman Bukit Minyak Utama, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Reservations have to be made five days in advance.
Tel: 013-6943131
www.facebook.com/chooprivatedining/
