PETALING JAYA, March 7 — I have a great admiration for kuih makers.
It’s tedious work, making each piece of kuih, getting the texture correct every time.
They have to work on their craft for many years before reaching the esteemed expert level.
For some time now, I have been observing this uncle who peddles his lor mai chee or plump glutinous rice balls from a motorbike stall in Sea Park on Saturday.
Recently I managed to catch him again and it turns out he has been making the lor mai chee for a whopping 45 years!
No wonder the texture of these glutinous rice balls have that coveted elasticity with a softness as you bite into it.
The glutinous rice balls dusted in rice flour resemble snowballs. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
He sells two variations, stuffed with either peanuts or red bean paste. Each piece is RM1.50.
As a child, I thought of the lor mai chee as snowballs since they were all white and dusted generously with rice flour.
Eating one lor mai chee may signal peril for your black T-shirt but boy is it worth the “danger”.
Biting into the peanut lor mai chee, you get a bountiful filling of blended peanuts with sugar.
Inside the plump ‘lor mai chee’ you will find it stuffed generously with toasted peanuts mixed with sugar. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
It’s the right balance of sweetness, making you reach for one or even two more pieces.
The peanuts are perfectly blended till powdery, yet not too fine till it becomes dust.
For the red bean paste version, it’s a chunkier bite where you get some rough chopped pieces of red beans.
While the slightly firmer texture of the red bean paste may not meld so well together with the chewy-soft skin, it makes a nice bite too since the paste is not sweet and it is fragrant.
The red bean ‘lor mai chee’ has a chunky paste with rough bits of the red beans and it’s not too sweet. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
As it’s a mobile stall, he sells his lor mai chee at a few locations, namely Taman Overseas Union, Sea Park and Taman Megah.
Previously he used to move around to more places but he has since cut back on travelling.
He starts from 7am until it’s sold out but I managed to get my lor mai chee around 9am at Sea Park.
For any enquiries, he can be contacted at Tel:012-3747112.
As it’s a mobile stall, it can be found at Petaling Jaya’s Taman Megah on Sunday and Taman Overseas Union on weekdays. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Lor Mai Chee Stall
In front of Caring Pharmacy
21, Jalan Hujan Rahmat
Taman Overseas Union
Kuala Lumpur
7am until sold out (Monday to Friday)
In front of Restoran Sum Fatt Kee
2, Jalan 21/11b
Sea Park
Petaling Jaya
7am until sold out (Saturday)
In front of Hakka Legend Restoran
39, Jalan SS24/8
Taman Megah
Petaling Jaya
7am until sold out (Sunday)
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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