Went back again to Marine Live Seafood (which is directly behind Hotel Pagoda) last night. My partner wanted to eat the prawns again. This time - just normal dinner without any more expensive dishes like crab and crayfish, and
without any MSG.
Denny insisted we try his own-made tofu . I jokingly yet firmly told him I am a very big tofu fan and the bar is very high up for this particular food. No problem he said - if I personally dun like it - its FOC. ONZ I said.
Ordered dishes as per his simple non-MSG dinner recommendation (including prawns which she die die wanted)
1 x Steam live prawns
1 x Clams stir fried in soy chilipadi sauce
1 x Tahu Seafood (his insistent recommendation)
1 x Pakis Polos (love this dish)
3 x Nasi Putih
Total = RP222K
Really solid value. Quality is definitely there. Taste is *great* (no MSG!). She did not have any allergic reaction. This confirmed our go-to seafood resto in downtown Batam
After my feedback that even without his trace MSG food tastes the same, Denny was confident and considering to putting up "no MSG" signage. LOL.
What struck me , blew me away, was indeed his own-made tofu. His tofu is *BETTER* than any tofu I've eaten at coffee shops and restos in SEA. Let me describe how fantastic it was :
I sucked the tofu from its skin-crusted "shell" ! It is that newtonian-soft and silky-smooth. His tofu is the best in SEA - due to a combination of how he made them *and* how he cooked them.
I exclaimed at the tofu at Denny. Beaming - he said any customer who tried will always order this dish whenever they patronise again together with the Pakis Polos (vege dish).
He led me into the kitchen to show me his tofu. His tofu contains trace egg-yolk (to give that aroma after deep frying - which tofu on its own doesn't have), and a dash of salt to taste (again. tofu is bland).
He handed me a small bit from the tray - I ate it and my body gave 2 thumbs up. 100% no preservatives. LOL. I insisted to buy 1/3 of the tray to bring it back to my Batam residence so that I could enjoy it as breakfast or cook it with other dishes. He relented.
Side note 1 : On reflection, his top dishes (to me) aren't seafood at all. LOOOOL!
Side note 2 : told my partner to eat more this type of quality preservative/binder-free tofu, as it contains good amounts of natural estrogen - grow bigger breasts as I'm a breast man. LOL!
For sharing. Cheers.