Friday, July 26, 2013

Another Stopover Point - Ming Ang & its Super Delicious Ma Ti Su (or Heong Peah) @ Yong Peng, Malaysia

In my many road trips to Peninsular Malaysia, there's one town the coach would definitely stop for a short 30-minute break; Yong Peng (永平). More often than not, the rest area would be scheduled at this place known as Lucky Garden.

No no no, i am not going to talk about lucky garden, for which many Singaporeans are familiar with. Topic today concentrates on another similar commercial entity just a few hundred meters; Ming Ang (明安熟食广场).

What's so special about this Ming Ang? Given its objective to serve as a comprehensive resting / toilet point for travellers (many of whom are Singaporeans); prices are in fact comparable to Lucky Garden, meaning overpriced!

But, it beats having to stopover at boring Lucky Garden every single time i travel up north to places like Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands etc. Plus, an alternative for food options is always welcome! 

By the way, i am loving the flavourful lor mai kai (glutinous rice chicken at RM 480 each) in Malaysia although the meat came complete with bones! The same could not be said of the big bun (RM 4.80); pathetic filling and thick with dough. 

However, the biggest draw for me is the stalls selling freshly baked sesame horse hoof pastries [also known as Ma Ti Su, Beh Teh Sor (馬蹄酥) or Heong Peah(香餅)]! I first chanced upon Ming Ang a few years ago and the aforementioned pastries were unforgettable!

There was another vendor selling pineapple cake in  and i bought a box simply because every piece cost less than S$1! A similar one would likely be in the range of S$2-3 in Singapore! 

My haul back to Singapore! Don't be mistaken; two packs of Heong Peah were missing from the picture. My record was eight packs. 

I could not remember exactly how much i paid for the Heong Peah; should be less than RM 10 a pack. In the case of the pineapple cakes, it RM 18.80 for twelve pieces. 

Personally, the pineapple cake was a total letdown! I could not accept the pastry flaking all over me as i gave a very gentle bite! Not only that, it was not buttery and the paste tasted nothing like the marvellous ones from Taiwan; strangely, the first thought that came to mind was Nonya style pineapple tarts.

Ahhh! The signature ma ti su; the appetising fragrance of freshly baked sesame seeds, those crunchy layers of paper thin crust that didn't overwhelm like many in the market and i just could not stop relishing the maltose filling that was, thankfully, not sickeningly sweet! 

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Location
lLot 1523, Batu 1/2, Jalan Muar, 
83700 Yong Peng, Johor

Directions
For motorists, just go your normal route to Lucky Garden but instead of stopping, continue driving ahead and you should see Ming Ang just two hundred meters away.

Coach-Takers
So far, i have come to the conclusion that almost all coaches under the brand name of Five Stars and Konsortium would stop at Lucky Garden. Coaches under Transtar and Grasslands seem to prefer Ming Ang more. 

Additional Information
As usual, there would be a supermarket stationed in Ming Ang where you can spend all your remaining ringgit on local foodstuffs for family, friends and colleagues back home.

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