Appearance
🎉 your bitcoin🥳
"Char kway teow (; ) is a popular noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. In Hokkien, Char means “stir-fried” and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. The dish is considered a national favourite in Malaysia and Singapore. It is made from flat rice noodles () or kway teow (; ) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, blood cockles without shells, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, fishcake, bean sprouts, and less commonly with other ingredients. Char kway teow is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard. In Penang, Char kway teow is commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate, so as to enhance the aroma on the noodles. Char kway teow has a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. However, when the dish was first invented, it was mainly served to labourers. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients. When the dish was first served, it was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled as char kway teow hawkers in the evening to supplement their income. History and etymology The term "char kway teow" is a transliteration of the Chinese characters 炒粿條 (in simplified Chinese 炒粿条). The dish's name is Hokkien (chhá- kóe-tiâu?), but the dish may have its roots in Chaozhou in China’s Guangdong province and is mostly associated with the Teochew. The word kóe-tiâu (literally meaning "ricecake strips") generally refers to flat rice noodles, which are the usual ingredient in West Malaysia and Singapore. In East Malaysia, on the other hand, actual sliced ricecake strips are used to make this dish. In popular transliterations, there is no fixed way of spelling chhá-kóe-tiâu, and many variants can be found: e.g., "char kueh teow", "char kuey teow", "char koay teow", "char kueh tiao" etc. Owing to the dish's popularity and spread to Cantonese-speaking areas, the term "char kway teow" has been corrupted into "炒貴刁" (). The term "" has no real meaning, but its pronunciation in Cantonese and Mandarin is similar to "粿條" in Min Nan. In Hong Kong, "char kway teow" is often known as "Penang char kway teow" (檳城炒粿條 or 檳城炒貴刁). Variations Char Kway Teow Penang Char Kway Teow As the dish has become increasingly popular, many cooks have come up with their own interpretations of the same basic main ingredient of ricecake strips/flat rice noodles fried with anything from eggs (chicken or duck), onions, garlic, prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, chives, etc. In the past, it was usual to stir-fry char kway teow in pork fat without eggs (which were, however, available on request). More recently, ordinary cooking oil is commonly used for health or religious reasons, and eggs have become a standard ingredient in the dish. Versions of char kway teow prepared by Muslims in Malaysia will exclude pork fat and may include extra soy sauces and spices and the use of broader-width flat rice noodles. A popular version of char kway teow in Malaysia is also known as fried kway teow, where it is not as drenched in sauce as much as char kway teow is. There are also vegetarian varieties that may or may not include eggs. There are also "gourmet" versions of char kway teow, commonly found in Ipoh and Penang, where the dish may be prepared with more seafood, with crab meat and with duck eggs. Char kway teow is also popular at takeaways in Australia and New Zealand. In Myanmar, a variety called the Beik Kut kyae kaik (the Beik Scissor Cut) exists. It is popular in the southern coastal regions around the town of Myeik ("Baik" is the Burmese pronunciation) and in Yangon, the largest city in the country. It uses more pepper and seafood compared to the kway teow of Singapore and Malaysia. The rice noodles are slightly thinner and are stir-fried with boiled yellow peas, bean sprouts, squid and prawns, spring onions and dark sweet soy sauce. After being stir-fried, the noodles are cut with scissors (kut kyae in Burmese), thus its name. In many Asian fusion restaurants in America, such as the popular Cafe Asia chain, this dish is offered under the name Gway Tiao. Many Southeast Asian restaurants in Hong Kong offer char kway teow as a Malay speciality although it is of Southeast Asian Chinese origin. The char kway teow served in Hong Kong is an entirely different dish: stir-fried Chinese- style flat rice noodles with prawns, char siu, onions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with curry and bright yellow in colour. In some places this is known as Fried "Good Dale", a transliteration of the characters "炒貴刁". In Indonesia, there is a similar dish known as kwetiau goreng () and is served in Chinese restaurants, street side tent warung, and by traveling street hawkers' carts. This Indonesian version tastes mildly sweet with generous addition of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), has spicier and stronger flavor with addition of sambal condiment, less oily, mostly halal which means uses no lard or pork, and normally incorporates beef or chicken to cater to the majority Indonesian Muslim population. However, some Chinese restaurants in Indonesia that mainly serve non-Muslim customers might use pork and pork fat. In Vietnamese cuisine, a similar stir-fried noodle dish is called hủ tiếu xào. Thai cuisine has its own version called Pad see ew. In Singapore, the char kway teow is a popular, inexpensive dish usually eaten for breakfast and sold at food stalls in Singapore.Cheong, S. (2007, March 24). Orr koay teow, anyone. New Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva. A unique feature to Singaporean style char kway teow is the use of yellow wheat noodles alongside the flat rice noodles. There are also healthier versions with more vegetables and less oil. Furthermore, the greens and bean sprouts give off a fresh, crunchy texture that makes the dish stand out even more from other dishes of the cuisine. There is also an incorporation of seafood (like prawns, cuttlefish, squid, lobster meat), although the typical hawker variety usually uses blood cockles. This version is also common in Perth, Western Australia, which has a large expatriate Singaporean population. See also * Beef chow fun * Chinese noodles * Rice noodles * Shahe fen References External links Category:Fried noodles Category:Hong Kong noodle dishes Category:Indonesian noodle dishes Category:Malaysian noodle dishes Category:Singaporean noodle dishes "
""
"Rastan is a fantasy-themed side-scrolling action game originally released for arcades in 1987 by Taito and later ported to various platforms. The player controls a barbarian warrior who has embarked on a quest to slay a dragon. While on his way to the dragon's lair, Rastan must fight hordes of enemy monsters based on mythical creatures such as chimeras and harpies. Plot Gameplay The controls of Rastan consists of an eight-way joystick, a button for attacking, and a button for jumping. By using the joystick in combination with either button, the player can determine the height of Rastan's jumps, as well as the direction he swings his weapon (including downwards while jumping). The game uses a health gauge system along with limited lives, although certain obstacles (such as falling into a body of water or being crushed by a spiked ceiling) will instantly kill Rastan regardless of how much health he has left. There are a total of six rounds, each consisting of three areas: an outdoor scene, a castle scene and a throne room where the player must confront the stage's boss. The backgrounds of the outdoor areas feature broad landscapes with changing sunlight effects with detail. The game's bosses (names according to the MSX2 version), in order of appearance, consist of: #King Graton, a halberd-wielding skeletal warrior; #King Slay, a demonic winged sword-master; #Symplegades, the wizard-king; #Laios, the dragon-king; #The Hydra, a five-headed snake-like monster; #The Dragon The player can pick up any item by touching it, as well as new weapons by striking them with his current one. All the weapons and power-ups picked by Rastan will be equipped only for a limited time, except for the Ring power up. The Ring will remain equipped on Rastan for the entirety of his current life, even carrying over to the next stage. When Rastan picks up any equipable item, an icon will appear on the lower right corner of the screen as an indicator of the item's effect until it wears out. Rastan can only wield one weapon at a time (a mace, an axe, a fireball-shooting sword, or his standard sword), as well as only one type of protector (a shield, a mantle, or a body armor), but other items (such as the necklace and ring) can be worn at the same time. There are also jewels that gives out bonus points, as well potion bottles that restore or deplete the player's health depending on the color. The rare golden sheep's head restores Rastan's health completely. Regional differences Rastan Saga (the Japanese version) features an opening sequence, when the player starts the game, which explains the purpose of Rastan's journey. It is not included in the versions released in other countries (which are simply titled Rastan). Also, in the Japanese version when the player completes a stage ("Round") the "victory" screen has text pertaining to the storyline. In the international versions, there is a "generic" victory screen with generic text ("You are a brave fighter to have cleared such a difficult stage."). However, the international versions feature a different attract sequence which shows all the items that can be obtained by the player along with their effect. In the Japanese version there are far fewer bats during the bat swarm sequences in the castle of level 1 than in other versions. Ports Rastan was initially ported to various 8-bit home computers in Europe (the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC) by Imagine Software in 1987. The ZX Spectrum version was awarded 9/10 in the July 1988 issue of Your SinclairRastan and was placed at number 54 in the Your Sinclair's Top 100 list. Taito imported Imagine's C64 version to the United States, releasing it alongside two additional versions for the IBM PC and Apple IIGS, both of which were ported by Novalogic. An unreleased version for the Atari ST was discovered in demo form only. In 1988, Taito developed its own conversions for the MSX2 in Japan, and the Master System in North America and Europe. Both ports featured redesigned level layouts, with the Master System version replacing some of the boss characters as well. This version was itself later ported to the Game Gear and released exclusively in Japan on August 9, 1991 as Rastan Saga. Reception In Japan, Game Machine listed Rastan on their May 1, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the year. Legacy An emulation of the Rastan arcade game is included in Taito Legends, released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows PC in 2006. The game was followed by two sequels, Rastan Saga II (known as Nastar in Europe and Nastar Warrior in North America) and Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III. Rastan also made an appearance in another Taito game titled Champion Wrestler as "Miracle Rastan". The Saffire developed game Barbarian was released under the name Warrior Blade: Rastan vs. Barbarian in Japan as Taito published the game in the region. The game has nothing to do with Rastan despite the title change. The game was released in Japan on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. The GameCube version's release was cancelled in North America and Europe due to poor sales. Indie game Völgarr the Viking, developed by Crazy Viking Studios for Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox One, and Dreamcast, was described on its Kickstarter page as based on Rastan. Notes References External links * *Rastan Saga at arcade-history **Rastan at arcade-history *Gameplay Video of Rastan Category:1987 video games Category:Amstrad CPC games Category:Apple IIGS games Category:Arcade games Category:Commodore 64 games Category:DOS games Category:MSX2 games Category:Platform games Category:Master System games Category:Sega Game Gear games Category:Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Category:Square Enix franchises Category:Taito beat 'em ups Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games scored by David Whittaker Category:Video games scored by Martin Galway Category:Video games scored by Masahiko Takaki Category:ZX Spectrum games "