Pastries, The Local Way @ Ming Xiang Tai

One cannot talk about Penang and not have food come up as a red hot topic. There is something for everyone here, be it Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, anything ranging from the humble hawker fare to restaurants, cafes, coffee shops. The options are just mind boggling if you are a keen foodie (and have the stomach space for a sampling of this and that). Unfortunately I do not have a bottomless pit for a stomach and I can only consume so much (so many more I've yet to sink my teeth into), and also, unfortunately, with age hurriedly catching up with me, the waistline is also rapidly expanding with every mouthful of food I consume, and every gaspful of air I breathe.
I discovered this yummylious little shop just next to the where the famous Chendol stalls are, and a quick visit there yielded me some extra kilos in weight after succumbing to the wonderfully aromatic local Chinese pastries freshly baked in-store.

I cannot read Chinese characters for the life of me, but I can guess that this spells out "Ming Xiang Tai"

They make a multitude of pastries, egg tart, durian puff, kaya puff, tau sar piah with funky fillings (think chicken floss, pandan paste, salted egg, ok, maybe salted egg is not so funky anymore, but hey, anything salted egg gets my vote), baos.

 

An air-well type internal courtyard was a common incorporation in the design of old shophouses. It is basically a space/opening in the middle of the shophouse, which opens up all the way to the roof of the unit. Depending on their sizes, this space could be used to dry laundry, vents for cooking fumes, or simply a quiet space for relaxing. Shophouses were typically built in a terraced style, each unit built right next to each other, with just a single wall that separates one from the other. An air-well allows for greater ventilation throughout the shophouse and brings in natural daylight in a space which could otherwise be dark because of its layout (elongated spaces with no windows on the sides, except on the front and back of the unit).

 Perfect for gifting, there are gift set options to make the decision making a little less complicated.

There is a live kitchen located at the back of the shophouse. Watch (gawk rather, haha) and be ready to have your tastebuds tantalized.

One cannot quite describe how a smell actually smells like, can they. Think warm, savoury, creamy buttery, eggy sweetness slowly coming together into one heavenly ecstastic unison.

Freshness guaranteed. Nothing like the satisfaction of getting it fresh from the oven, quite literally.

I could have eaten many more of these, if only my tummy permitted..

They were really good! The pastry was buttery (I like my pastry buttery), with the right amount of crunch, and not too crumbly. The egg custard and pastry melts away effortlessly in the mouth, each bite leaving the mouth longing for more..

I decided upon the set (RM26) which had 3 pieces of each kind of piah - Salted egg pastry, Pandan salted egg pastry, Chicken floss and Pandan glutinous rice lotus.

From left : Pandan Glutinous Rice Coconut (my least favourite, because it is the least decadent, such a glutton I am. Don't get me wrong, it is delicious, the glutinous rice filling gives it that extra "chew" and it does work quite well with the pandan paste), Signature Salted Egg Pastry (lotus paste with a salted duck egg center, sedap!)

From left - Chicken Floss Pastry (oohh, this I love. Not the most healthy but hey, you only live once. Perfect harmony of sweet and savoury), Pandan Paste with Salted Egg (a "pandan-ed" version of their signature flavor above).
All in all, everything that I've sampled (and added to the expanding waistline) was delicious, most importantly, not too sweet. The pastry was light, flaky, just like how all good pastries should be.



There are a few outlets around Georgetown (click on link for more information)
The one featured here is located on Penang Road.
Here's the address:
475-A, Jalan Penang, George Town, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Tel : +60 4261 2511

Opens daily 8.30am - 7.00pm