Apom Guan @ Lebuh Burma
Apom Guan known as the ‘Don of Apom’ has been on the street doing his best work for the past 49 years to be exact and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon! Located opposite Primary School of Union, Apom Guan has been housing generations worth of nostalgia with a bite-size sweetness and a cheeky attitude. Many have said for him to be grumpy. We thought that was the case until he offered to sing us a song! While you’re at it, be sure to request a song to witness a happy version of uncle Guan!
What is Apom?
There is plenty of Indian food adapted and signified in Malaysia. One of em would be apom or appam; a pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk that is very popular in the Southern Indian. What we get here are very similar yet innovated and varied resulting in pancakes with a pillowy surface sandwiched with corn, banana and any sort of savory ingredients with nuts for a crunchier effect.
The first tip is to get there early as 09.30 am if not 11.00 am in order to avoid the crowd or a 30 minutes wait and receive a first-class attention of apom straight out of the wok hot and fluffy for an ultimate satisfaction. Parking can be a hassle so either is a drive-thru or bring along someone to wait in the car while the other queues up. The famous NS Nasi Kandar is opposite Apom Guan accompanied by a few hawker stalls right beside if you find yourself hungry-er.
Uncle Guan sells them by 5 for RM3 as the palm-sized snack is sold for 0.50sen each so either you take 5 or more. He’s known to make 100 pieces at one go so nothing frets this gruff fella. 5 apom per person is just nice to satiate one’s craving.
There is only one kind of Apong being served here, which comes with a batter of flour enclosing thin slices of banana and sweet corns. Made into a nine-hole griddle, he fills up the pan with batter rich with coconut milk. Halfway through the process, he opens the lid, flips the apom to the other side to cook it evenly and adds the slices of bananas and sweet corns on one side. Half a minute later, the apom is ready to be served.
Verdict
Thin enough to be fluffy with a nice crunch from the corn and delicately sweetened by bananas. One way for apom to go wrong is through an overpowering flavor of coconut milk in it and this was least the case with Uncle Guan’s apom! The base had a slightly gritty texture from the grated coconut in the batter. I personally prefer more bananas on mine so do not hesitate to ask for more. All in all, it’s a snack to sweeten the taste buds and the rest of the day.
No let-downs until the apom turns cold and soft. SO WASTE NO TIME AND HAVE IT QUICK!
Hours: 9.30 am to 8.30pm.Closed on Sundays
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