Medan 27th Dec till 1st Jan

I would like to thank my kind and generous host, Le`Yiau and her family for having me there in Medan for 6 days.

This is my first time taking MAS after 10 years. The taxi fare to KLIA was RM20 cheaper than to LCCT.



This is my 1st time taking MAS after 10 years.

Le`Yiau picked me up from the airport which was only 5 minutes from her townhouse and took me for breakfast. I was a little hesitant as my tummy was home fed and wasn't "perut besi" but surprisingly, I didn't get food posoining at all throughout my trip to Medan.

Solet's start with what I ate in Medan....

Breakfast after I arrived was Chicken Curry BiHun and I forgot what drink. It was delicious and although santan enriched, I had no tummyache at all.

We went to a lovely natural concept restaurant made out of mengkuang leave roof and timber. The front of the restaurant was a dessert shop owned by the restaurant owner's son who was trained in French pastries.

There were fruits hanging at the corridor of the restaurant sourced from the restaurant's own orchard. The pineapples were so ultra sweet, juicy and yummy.

Miracle Fruit Tree at the Entrance of the restaurant

Once you eat this sour fruit, a chemical reaction will turn any sourness in to sweetness for about 30 minutes
 

Nasi Bakar

My favourite Petai served with Salt. The Petai was fried lightly first. They tasted really nutty and delicious.

My photos of the other food didn't turn out nice as my hands were really shaky. As we ordered too much during our late lunch at Binnekha, we also had it for dinner later on.

Curry Chicken with Petai. Yummy!

The array of dishes from Binnekha, Tingkat and some of Le`Yiau's home cooked food

Le`Yiau introduced me to Badak which is a similar tasting drink to our A&W Rootbeer. It was delicious and not too sweet.

Failed to open the bottle though. Le`Yiau opened it in the end.

We were here to eat really tasty pork porridge. Really nice comfort food.

No MSG and really yummy

For dinner on one of the nights, Le`Yiau took me to Medan's Chinatown. There were many food stalls there and we sat at one side of the street.

We requested smaller portion of BiHun but the portion came so big and I couldn't finish it.

Duck Noodles

Medan style Lo Hon Kor

Medan's version of popiah but in Msia, we call it Nyonya Pie Tee. It was served in such a dirty dish FOC. I ate all but the base of the casing. Le`Yiau only ate the filling. Lol....

Le`Yiau's seafood Char Koay Teow came with a chockful of meat and seafood.

 At Sun Plaza, we visited 2 cafes on the Food Court Level. Sunday cafe had really nice decor but I can't seem to find any photos of the interior. We tasted their Nasi Prang which was a mini sized nasi lemak and their famous oxtail stew rice on 2 separate occassions.

Nasi Prang with a normal dinner spoon...2 spoonfuls can finish this packet of rice

Oxtail Stew with Petai. It was tender, slightly spicy and delicious. I couldn't finish the rice portion though.

Then for brunch on one of the days, Le`Yiau took me to eat more comfort food - Medan calls it Heng Hwa Mee but in Malaysia, we call it Pan Mee.

5 Flavours - Carrot, Spinach, Beet, Original and Sweet Potato if I am not mistaken

The noodles were yummy and QQ. Love it!

A specialty of the shop - Uyen. This is deep fried yam sticks. Not oily at all. Served with chilli sauce. Yummy!

 

I have an obsession with Petai. When I was young, I never appreciate them as they gave the stinkiest pee and it was green in color. Le`Yiau introduced me to another variety of wild petai which in Malaysia is known as Petai Belalang. They were growing by the roadside and basically free petai. I also just realized that I have 4 of these trees at my condo but they are too tall and I can't reach to pluck them.

Don't look too small here, right? But they are really tiny

This is how small they are compared to a normal sized cherry but they do pack a stinky kick like their cousin

Can be eaten raw or cooked

Le`Yiau introduced me to many of their local fruits. Amongst them are their local passionfruit or Markisa which was so ultra sweet unlike the sour ones in Malaysia and Buah Salak.

Passionfruit or Markisa

Delicious Sweetness Crunchy Goodness

Buah salak. An acquired taste but the dog Caesar's favorite and he ate most of it

While driving by the roadside, Le`Yiau got so excited when she spotted wild passionfruit and did a u-turn to go harvest the fruit.

Beautiful Passionfruit Flower

Mini Passionfruit growing in the wild

The harvested wild mini passionfruits

Here are some of the other food that I ate in Medan

Dry Pork Mee with QQ noodles and stewed pork

Pork satay

This is one of the popular Nasi Padang Restaurant chain in Medan. It's chap farn (economy rice) malay style but a pricier version.

They will serve many dishes of meats and veges and will only charge you for those that you have eaten out of

Delicious Cucumber Juice that I have not been able to replicate at home yet. Very refreshing.

At Roemah Kopi Wak Noer loacted next to the India Embassy



Grilled Butterfsih

Yummy Marsala Tea

Le`Yiau's Lontong

Nasi Prang

Le`Yiau's home balcony garden has many fruits and vegetables but the highlight of her garden is her mini mushroom farm.

The Oyster Mushroom Farm

Baby Oyster Mushrooms sprouting. By evening or the next morning, they will be ready to be harvested

In Progress

Ready to be harvested

Harvesting

Bountiful Harvest

A different day's harvest

A snapshot of her fruiting pomegranate

Le`Yiau and her family brought me on a 5 hour journey to Brastagi which is like Cameron Highlands but more rustic and lovelier than Camerom Highlands which has turned too commercialized nowadays.

They took me to a resort located at the edge of Danau Toba/Lake Toba.

A view of Danau Toba

Makan Chalets with a view of Danau Toba

View Of Danau Toba from inside the makan chalet. Hence, a view as you eat

Lovely Flowers

At Brastagi Markets

Look at the bunches of passionfruits! Yummy!!!

I am holding on to a Pepito that is commonly used for juicing. It tastes like a cross between a melon and cucumber but Le`yiau said it's juicy but tasteless

On our way back during a toilet vreak, we bought some snacks to eat and this is a local kuih like pancake made from rice flour, coconut milk and sugar. Very yummy and not too sweet.

This wraps up my trip to Medan. On my next trip there, I wanna visit Lake Toba but I will need minimum 5 days and a few more friends to accompany me as well.