I’m not sure where the etymology of the word “lok lok” comes from,
but it’s basically stuff skewed onto a stick (like a satay or kebab)
which you can pick and choose from the large selection on offer. There
are two different styles of lok lok – it’s either boiled (more common
here) or deep fried. This is Ming Corner in Kuching, it has become a
staple where me and my friends go for lok-lok and nasi lemak. It’s
along Jalan Padungan and you can’t miss the neon sign.
Here are photos of the many varieties of selectable items that can be found in places specializing in loklok:
These are the more common offerings. There’s fishballs and meatballs of
all sorts and shapes and mystery meat made in the likeness of shapes
like fishes, barrels etc.
You’ll also notice that some of the lok lok sticks comes interspaced
with different items e.g. one sausage followed by half a meatball till
the stick is filled. There’s also more esoteric items like the mussel
(with shell intact) topped with a fish ball you can see beside the
sausages. The far end of the picture shows the items that are less in
demand like chicken stomachs.
Here’s a picture of tofu, cuttlefish, shrimp and crab claw lok loks.
There’s also vegetables strung onto a stick and sotong interspaced with vegetables.
Now this is something I won’t miss out on every time we go for lok lok
– quail eggs! =D I love these things. The white ones are normal boiled
quail eggs and the dark ones are century quail eggs!
I’m surprised that century eggs comes in the quail egg size in addition
to the chicken egg size. I love them all! Quail eggs! Quail eggs! Quail
eggs!
Last, but not least, is the staple of lok lok – clams. These are the
small clams you can find in Penang style char kueh tiaw. There are also
unshelled clams and whole fishes in addition to stingrays and whole
prawns.
Anyway, what you do is grab a plate from the stack and pick up the
sticks of lok lok you want. I had two plates, this is the first one:
It contains jellyfish, clams, squid, a crab claw and meatball combo, and a prawn ball and half fish ball combo.
You pass your plate to the attendant when you’re done choosing from
the selection and she cooks it by dipping it into the small boiling pot
of broth. The time it takes for each item is different e.g. vegetables
are just dipped in for a second while squid will be simmering in the
pot for a while. Thus, each batch is cooked separately.
In the meantime, you can take another plate and fill it up with the
sauce(s) of your choice. Personally, I mix all four together in
different ratios. My personal preference is – two portions of satay
sauce (peanut based sweet sauce), 2 portions of oyster sauce, one
portion of chili sauce (it dilutes the sauce mix and I like mine to
have a thick consistency) and one portion of this unknown salty tasting
sauce which is not soy sauce (just to make it salty).
Here’s a photo of the cooked plate, served to your table. This is
Plate #2 – it contains vegetables (yes, I do eat
veggies…occasionally), quail eggs, century (preserved) quail eggs
spaced with cuttlefish, prawns and clams.
Ming Corner (or just “the lok lok place”, as we call it due to the
prominent neon sign) serves a mean plate of nasi lemak as well – the
dish that makes the meal, since lok lok isn’t filling per se. Yes, I
realize how cheesy the adjective “mean” sounds when used in this
context. 😉
