Little Bites

Special thanks to Little Bites for extending this food review invitation.

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

In front of Aeon's grocery section in Queensbay Mall, there are several food counters selling various snacks ranging from sushi to fried chicken. Little Bites (小两口) is a new stall which recently moved here from the LG floor food court.

Little Bites offers a number of light snacks including its signature Durian Goreng (RM3.00). These fritters are made from pure durian flesh and coated with crispy crust. As the pioneer of this delicacy, Little Bites strives to employ some creative license while preserving the traditional recipe of Malaysia's popular street snacks.

Durian Goreng, literally "fried durian", is prepared the same way as the name suggests. Seedless durian purée is shaped into convenient shapes for finger food, then given a coat of batter before undergoing several minutes of deep-frying action. Batter coating and frying are repeated several times until the exterior is incredibly crispy.

Apart from its unique filling, Durian Goreng is quite similar to the Pisang Goreng which many Malaysians are infatuated with. However unlike bananas, the durian flesh releases lovely aroma when it is exposed. Scrumptious to the last bite, this is the closest that one can get to eating fresh durians.

The Cempedak Goreng (RM3.00) exploits the same batter recipe which the proprietor has painstakingly perfected, but uses cempedak as filling instead. This tropical fruit is similar in texture to the durian, but pales in comparison in terms of taste and aroma. The durian is not called the "king of fruits" for no reason.

Kuih Bakul is a sticky snack made from glutinous rice flour. This traditional Chinese confectionery also found its way to Little Bites' cookbook in the form of Kuih Bakul Goreng (RM3.00). Underneath the crispy layer of batter, the sticky filling is partially molten after intense heating, causing it to ooze out gradually when the snack is broken up. Unlike many other stalls, the kuih bakul is only mildly sweet; this works well for me because I feel that excessive sweetness can overwhelm the crispy appeal of this snack.

The Chicken Curry Puff (RM2.50) uses a special type of interleaving crust known locally as "pusing". Unlike the simpler hard shell solution preferred by most curry puff vendors, this "pusing" version is very delicate and flaky. According to the proprietor of Little Bites, this specially-handcrafted pastry was inherited from his relatives who have been street vendors for several decades.

Each puffs is filled with generous amount of curry chicken and potatoes, plus a slice of boiled egg. Another similar snack at Little Bites is the Sardine Puff (RM2.50) which replaces curry chicken with sardine fish.

Next up, the golf ball-sized Sesame Ball (RM1.70) is made from glutinous rice flour with an outermost coating of sesame seeds. The core is filled with yellowish mung bean paste; most stalls use black bean paste (黑豆沙) or lotus paste (蓮蓉) instead.

Besides tapioca paste, grated coconut is also used in the Tapioca Fritters (RM1.70). This is a good call as pure tapioca would have been lacking in flavor.

Last but not least, the Spring Roll (RM1.70) is a snack of golden perfection. The core of each spring roll made of juicy shredded jicama (sengkuang) wrapped in edible flour wrap.

Any four pieces of the abovementioned snacks are available for RM10.00. To maintain freshness and prevent certain types of snacks from losing their crispy appeal, only a limited number of each is prepared upfront. Pre-ordering is recommended for large orders. Little Bites uses neither pork nor lard in its ingredients and preparation process.

As for drinks, Air Mata Kuching (RM2.00) is offered at 3 cups for the price of 2.

The proprietor of Little Bites is Mr. Sim, a local Penangite who left his professional career in Singapore last year to pursue his entrepreneurship passion back home. The first outlet of Little Bites is located at Aeon Bukit Mertajam, while this outlet at Queensbay Mall is the second one.

Name: Little Bites
Address: LGF-59, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 012-527-8168
Business hours: 10:30am-10:00pm (Sunday-Thursday), 10:30am-11:00pm (Friday-Saturday)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/mylittlebites
Coordinates: 5.33253 N, 100.30667 E
Directions: Little Bites is located on the LG floor of Queensbay Mall. It faces the cashier counters of Aeon's grocery section.