(THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Since it opened in 2016, Dotty's Pastries & Coffee (owned by Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin and Nur Diana SM Nasimuddin under the Naza Group of Companies' F&B division Lyfestyle Projects) has been attracting a large following for its salted egg yolk croissant-doughnuts, with daily queues a common occurrence to this day.
"It's still the best-selling one, and it made us known," says its marketing and PR manager Nor Natrah Omar Abd Rahim, adding that Dotty's also sells salted egg yolk eclairs, doughnuts and cruffins.
Dotty's makes 150 salted egg yolk croissant-doughnuts on weekdays and between 300 and 400 pieces on weekends and often even this isn't enough to cater to demand!
The sweet, creamy salted egg yolk filling is made by double boiling cooked egg yolks with a custard on low heat for three to four hours until it thickens and attains a silky texture. Taste-wise, the salted egg yolk croissant-doughnut is very satisfying - the pastry is flaky and buttery and the salted egg yolk filling is really rich and sweet.
Also, you'll be happy to note that you're really getting your money's worth with this croissant-doughnut (priced at RM11), which weighs 120g, of which 80g is made up of the salted egg yolk filling!
Hou Sek Gourmet Snacks
Started early this year by engineering graduate Ivan Lim Huan-Wen and his mother's best friend Wong Su Mene, Hou Sek (www.housek.co) specialises in salted egg yolk fish skin and salted egg yolk potato chips.
Lim was inspired to start the business after trying a Singaporean version. "When I had my first bite, I remember telling myself, this is pretty good, but it's way too expensive after (currency) conversion. And I believe I know who can make it taste better."
So Lim and Wong (a successful home baker) worked to get their idea off the ground, researching and trying other products in the market to see what they were up against. It took them four months to perfect their own recipe.
"What makes our product special is the fact that we make them in small batches by hand, so each batch of fish skin and potato chips is evenly coated, giving the maximum taste," says Lim.
Hou Sek's salted egg yolk fish skin (RM22 or S$7.40) and salted egg yolk potato chips (RM20) are sinfully good - the former features perfectly crisp skin juxtaposed against curry leaves and grainy salted egg yolk in every mouthful. The potato chips, meanwhile, are satisfyingly crunchy, with salted egg yolk lurking in nooks and crevices.
Lim says Hou Sek's success has surpassed all his expectations. "We were initially doing it for fun. I said to myself, if we sold 100 packets in a month, that'll be quite an achievement already because we get to have some extra allowance. Let's just say we achieved almost 10 times of what we initially planned for and we project it to grow exponentially in the months to come," he says.
Ultraman salted egg yolk stall
This popular salted egg yolk stall (called Ultraman because of the Ultraman figurines in the stall) can be found in many pasar malam in the Klang Valley, like Taman OUG and SS2. The stall has been around since 2013 and is the brainchild of Chee Hoo Wong, a former cook in a Chinese restaurant.
The reticent Chee is a hard man to have a conversation with as he is constantly busy entertaining the swarm of customers hovering around his stall, hankering after his wide range of offerings, like salted egg yolk mantis prawn, squid, tofu, chicken and pumpkin, among others.
Chee says he works the night market circuit in the Klang Valley seven days a week and uses close to 1,000 salted eggs to make the many variants he cooks on site.
In a large wok, Chee adds generous ladlefuls of a homemade egg yolk paste and then the desired ingredient, which is already deep-fried, and some curry leaves until everything is well-coated. Chee's mastery is such that all the ingredients are perfectly encased in the salted egg yolk mixture - trust me, it's impossible not to fall in love.
