Best handmade pau – Balik Pulau steam dumplings

“STOP! STOP! STOP!”

That’s what I shrieked when my hubby was driving us around Balik Pulau pekan. We love going to Balik Pulau because it is still very much kampong-ish. It has villages with paddy fields, fruits plantations, good laksa and pickled fruits. Life is much more laidback in Balik Pulau.

This little vendor was what got me so excited. I had heard from people that Balik Pulau has one of the nicest handmade pau or dumplings.

I must say that buying the pau from the man is too stressful for me. A big crowd gathered around him, each yelling their orders. However, the man seems so blur and not aware who comes first and who comes last. So, in the end, the person with the loudest voice will get his/her order first.

He has a varieties of pau but the most famous pau is the vegetable pau which is made from turnips and dried shrimps. The pau skin has a nice, fluffy texture. Very unlike those mass produced sticky, gooey ones. The flavour of the fillings is just right, with a hint of pepper, a not too pungent smell of the dried prawns and the right sweetness to the turnips.

Another pau that I had not seen before is the brown sugar pau. I did not put a photo of the pau because it looks unsightly in pictures but it tastes good. As can be seen from the above pic, the pau has an uneven outer layer and looks yellowish. Actually, yellowish pau flour is much preferred than the very white Hongkong flour used for making pau. The type where it is super white contains a lot of bleaching agent in the flour. I had tried making pau before with my bread maker. The result is not bad. However, it is too much of a chore really. I would prefer grabbing some from the shops instead.

If I ever go to Balik Pulau again, I will probably ask my hubby to do the yelling for the pau order.