Fullamak! Nasi Lemak!

Well this is not to talk about the other type of nasi lemak but is to continue my series on the Malay food haven in the vicinity of Sungei Besi, today I would like to take you to the Fullamak soup stall in front of the Desa Tasik mosque along the main road heading towards Sungei Besi Town. More known for their northern style fortified spicy soups and noodle soups that cames in various types of meats, this stall is to me a favourite stop for breakfast on my Sunday marketing for the family not for the soups but for the nasi lemak packets.

These nasi lemak packets look ordinary in their plastic containers and still cost a ringgit each todate. Even the first impression when you open it up is still ordinary, as you still see some sambal with slivers of ikan bilis or white bait and a slice of hard boil egg on top. Only when you break up the packed rice do you find a hidden treasure that is the main attraction to my kids, pieces of salted cat fish that brings the nasi lemak to a higher level. Eaten with the nasi lemak that is just lemak or milky enough to qualify itself as a nasi lemak, the salted cat fish brings to the flavour a cache of taste that actually is quite indescribable, not to mention the aroma the salted fish imparts on the rice. The kids will look for packets that has less sambal not only because it is too spicy for them, but the sambal may overwhelmed the taste and aroma if there is too much. But for me either way is okay, because biting into a mouthful of rice mixed with sambal and the saltfish is a pleasure of a different plateau. I have no idea which region traditionally adds salted fish as condiment in their nasi lemak, but I suspect this age-old practise may have been forgotten in its place of origin as in my travels I have yet to find a nasi lemak with the same condiments.

But wait, do remember that this is still a soup stall as it is. What many people will do is eat a packet of nasi lemak as an appetiser before proceeding with their meal of noodle soup like this kueytiau soup that my missus had. I must say that the noodle soup here is the best amongst the three competing soup stalls along the street, and they are the most generous with their meats. However my preference is to order just soup instead to eat with the nasi lemaks, and either lungs, tripes or even mixed meats will accompany the nasi lemak as shown herewith. This is a delicious way to have a full meal that can last you until the afternoon, as Sundays we usually have high tea instead of brunch. So if ever you are in the neighbourhood, come try the nasi lemak and the soup dishes here. You might find a new way to enjoy your breakfast. By the way, they charge a really cheap standard price for all drinks here, so if you want to have your beverages on the cheap still, this is also a good place to have your cuppa.

Come On Everybody! Get The Big Picturelah!

Continuing the series of articles that I feel would be interesting to post here.

Sunday June 22, 2008

Get the big picture?

Contradictheory

By DZOF AZMI

We’re all thinking, ‘Oh woe is me, my life is harder because the price of petrol has gone up’. But what about the country’s well being as a whole?

A STRANGE thing happened in Kapar, Selangor, this week. While the rest of the country was worrying about the rising price of oil, motorists in this sleepy town were lining up to get free petrol. In the end, it was revealed that the petrol station’s owner had unknowingly left somebody who is mentally unstable in charge during his lunch break.

The hike in the price of oil may not be the looming, dire threat it seems at first. – File photo .

No way these otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying citizens genuinely thought they were getting something for nothing. They were just succumbing to their base human nature – see, want, take. It worked when you were in kindergarten, it’s obviously still whirring away in your amygdala when somebody offers you free petrol. We are inherently selfish, and that goes a long way in explaining why the media has devoted so much space to this issue.
(Why am I taking up space? Well, I had not planned to, but some things I’ve heard people say over the past few weeks has me riled up enough to address this issue – again.)

This recent surge in noise has made me think: who is really complaining about the current increase? Is it the rakyat who don’t have a car or a motorcycle? Well, they haven’t been hit directly by the hike, and they wouldn’t really be so vehement about knock-on inflation because it hasn’t really happened yet. Is it the members of the public who drive cars less than 2,000cc? I’m not sure how much they are complaining after getting their RM625 rebate. Incidentally, these people are better off than if the Government had just raised the price of petrol by 30 sen with no rebates. However, I agree that all you luxury car and SUV drivers out there, on the other hand, have been told to just cope with life as it is now. Here’s a tip for you guys: tell the driver in front to switch off the air-conditioner if you want to save on petrol.

But still the rakyat are suffering, the cry continues: road tax is expensive. But, hang on. If you’re driving a car less than 1,600cc, you pay less than RM100 for road tax. That’s less than a tank full of petrol. If it’s a 2,000cc car, your road tax would be RM380, which is three tanks full of petrol. The real pain only starts for those who own cars 3,000cc or more. Yes, more than RM2,000 is a lot to pay just for the privilege of driving on the road. But, my, that’s a nice shiny, petrol-guzzling behemoth of a ride you have....

Cut income tax is the next suggestion. But – and you know what I’m going to say here already, don’t you? – if you earn less than RM1,500 a month, you don’t pay any tax. If you’re lucky enough to have found the love of your life and married her legally, you can earn up to RM2,500 and still not have to pay any tax. In fact, only 10% percent of 10 million eligible Malaysians file a tax return. Just imagine what the Inland Revenue Board offices would be like every April if everyone suddenly decided to be a responsible citizen.

In fact, a lot of the complaints and suggestions out there are not ones that affect the hard-core poor – who don’t really have that loud a voice anyway. It seems we only complain about things when the pain directly affects us, and the solutions we propose usually directly benefit us first. But then, as I’ve pointed out, we are a selfish species. As a friend of mine pointed out, the people making the loudest noise are those in the middle-income bracket who have suddenly seen their disposable income of RM300-RM500 a month suddenly cut by half. We can’t buy that plasma TV so easily, or eat out so often. Saving up for our child’s university years is going to be a lot harder. But the way this has been played out in the media makes it sound like people are starving as a direct result of the price increase. This is not true; the poor have always been poor, they’ve always been struggling. Nobody is falling into poverty because the price of petrol is now closer to its true price than before.

The one thing that affects all is inflation. About 100,000 fleet cardholders in the country still buying diesel at the pre-April subsidised price. So, the price of fuel going up cannot be a direct reason why buses are increasing their fees. Or why my Char Kuey Teow has gone up again in price.In fact, complaints about this whole petrol price raising exercise has been focused on how much harder my life is after the increase. But what about the country’s well being as a whole? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again (I wish this newspaper would bump up the font size from its usual nine to 14 here so people will pay attention): We are running out of petrol. Malaysia will probably become a nett importer of petroleum goods within the next half decade. When we buy more of this stuff than we sell, the nation will find it impossible to pamper its citizens with subsidies.

This five-year estimate is largely dependant on how wisely we conserve fuel from now on. Subsidising petrol does not encourage people to be careful with it. It doesn’t encourage people to carpool, or to walk instead of drive, or to take public transportation (however abominable some may find it), or to buy a smaller, more fuel-economical car. We are happy when the Government absorbs our burden, even though we are wasting a God-given resource. But it’s not quite all gloom and doom. There is still a lot of natural gas in Malaysian oil wells, so that could be a fall back, but that will eventually run out too. We need to start investigating alternative sources of energy, and not just invest in solutions that remain dependent on fossil fuels (like improving public transport).

The truth is that we are selfish to the point of myopia about this. I’m sure some even think that since it’s still five years away, we should be hedonistically pumping away at the stations until that crunch day comes. But you also know, young grasshopper, that there will be a heavy hangover after that party.

Logic is the antithesis of emotion but mathematician-turned-scriptwriter Dzof Azmi’s theory is that people need both to make sense of life’s vagaries and contradictions.

Is The Honeymoon Over?

This Letter to The Sun struck my mind because I faced a somewhat similar incident. If the Government goons who were so active reading the grassroots' reaction before the elections but somehow misread the signs, these indicators should be an opportunity for you to make amends if you could take advantage of it.

Letters
letters@thesundaily.com

Mosque project halted for
no reason

IN THE euphoria of celebrating 100 days of the Pakatan Rakyat-controlled Selangor government, a section of the population has been forgotten. This is especially so in the construction of a new mosque in Taman Melawati.After waiting for nearly 30 years with several changes of people’s representatives from opposing parties, residents saw a glimmer of hope when a ground-breaking ceremony was held just before the last general election.

The residents thought that they would perhaps enjoy holding the Aidilfitri or Aidiladha prayers in a new mosque before the end of the year. With the area cleared, a zinc wall plus a signboard in place, residents thought that the promised mosque would soon be up. This is was due to the hard work put in by residents who were mostly retirees from either the government or private sectors with no political affiliations. They had only one aim – to see a new mosque within their lifetime near their surroundings.

All of a sudden, the Pakatan government reviewed the project. Thus, work has stopped. Residents are asking why such a thing has occurred, when no politics were involved from the start. The Selangor government may be exercising its right to put things in order with regard to questionable acts of the previous government. However, the residents seem to have a different view. This was clear during the thanksgiving prayers held after Friday prayers in the temporary mosque on June 20 to mark the state government’s 100 days in power. Of the more that 400 who attended Friday prayers, hardly 40 answered the call. The rest walked out without carrying out any voluntary prayers seen on normal Fridays. Is this not enough warning to those in power?

Noor Ikhsan Raffii
Kuala Lumpur

The thing is, I was doing my Friday prayers at THE State Mosque at Shah Alam whose administration is now clearly under the new government control with all the flags flying in the prayer hall. The Imam also made a call for the thanksgiving prayers and I thought that at the end of the Friday prayers I would be one of the few who would be leaving the prayer hall. Well I am not one of the state's citizens who put this government into power so why should I offer my thanksgivings, especially since I do not support them. Imagine my surprise that I was not joined not only by a few but easily more than half the congregation in leaving the prayer halls. So could it be that the parishioners has now realised the realities of what they have done a hundred days after the elections. This should be good news to the beleaguered Federal Government, if only they know how to take advantage of it.

So Can We Get On With The Business Of Nation Building Now

Well the proposed "show of no confidence" as proposed by SAPP has now passed without a whimper with their MP's not even showing up to initiate such a motion. So can we now let the government get on with their job of nation building in this trying times. The passage of the motion on the increase in the price of fuel and other goods in the Dewan Rakyat Monday, is a reflection of the strong support by Barisan Nasional members towards the leadership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government. Thus those threaten by our PM's reforms should stop their feud and either get in line or get out. It is as simple as that. And stop making silly allegations like 'being threatened" when you coward out from carrying out your high-fatulating intimidation. Last I checked we are still not a banana republic though some quarters in our society is determined to bring this nation to that state. I sincerely believe that a silent majority are still of the civil society, and will not allow that to pass. The alternative is too dreadful to consider.

Feeding My Inner Child

Well I had no idea what to have for lunch so I thought I might as well walk around the supermarket we have near my office and what do you know, some of the snacks that I remember so well of my childhood days are still available on the supermarket shelves. So I bought three of them to fill the larder in my office as I have been somewhat peckish during office hours recently and it is time to be replenished, so what better with these snacks of my childhood. First up is this Chinese Danhua cake or peanut brittle. Basically a peanut filled confection, this was one of my favourite desserts after partaking of my savoury meals in my school tuck shop, which for those who may not have come across the word , the school canteen. But looking at the price nowadays, it will not be an affordable treat for the schoolkids as it cost a princely sum of forty cents a piece for what is an essentially a single gulp treat. My how inflation has affected even such simple snacks eh when it only cost me about five cents for a multi pack at the tuck shop. I must say however that the cake nowadays is a poor version of the old, as the sweet layering is now not as sweet and they are now quite stingy with the peanut filling. Another cost saving exercise to increase profits I guess. But hey for a ringgit sixty cents to relive your childhood it is okay right.

The next snack to refresh my nostalgia is this white rabbit candies. I actually made a mistake when buying this as I thought this was the savoury sweet prawn filled version, but instead this was the pure cream version. But beggars can't be choosers so this will have to do for the moment while I look for the savoury version. About this sweet creamy version, how should I describe it? Well to take into consideration our normal sweet experience, the closest that I can compare it to is a very sweet English toffee, that has its sweet content multiplied by at least ten-fold. I guess its ingredients of cane sugar, glucose, butter and milk approximates the toffee recipe closely, but what beats me is how they maintained the white colour of the confection. The Japanese has a close relation to this creamy candy but the Chinese version beats the Japanese hands down in terms of sweetness. I just remembered a controversy we had in my childhood days about the candy, in particular the rice paper wrapping that encloses the candy if you look closely at the photo. The controversy was whether it was edible or otherwise as everyone thought it was a plastic covering instead of the rice paper sheet it came in. I guess this was because at that time rice paper normally was thought of as something akin to spring roll skins, so to have such a thin layer of rice paper covering the sweet was quite beyond comprehension at the time as the wonders of machine made sweets has not sunk in yet. Remember it was still a time of mostly handmade candies so such machine made item was quite a novelty still. But then it sets you thinking, China was not such a backward country then eh as they could make this machined candy already at the time.

Last but not least is the cheese cracker peanut butter filled sandwich. Yeah I know this is a very common food item but I have to tell you that I have yet to find a brand that is as good as the one I had in my childhood days. At that time you do not have the sandwich packaged in such convenient packaging as we have nowadays. Instead you buy it by the pound where you weigh your measure out of a big cookie tin and it was then packed in a plastic bag and when you get home you have to find an air-tight container to keep it in. Cheese crackers was already a treat at the time but once in a while as a special treat the peanut butter sandwich version would be bought for the family. Yes people at the time it was a special treat and not a casual purchase as it is usually is nowadays. And you only had the peanut butter as a filling, and not cheese, strawberry or the myriad flavours you have nowadays. But I tell you the peanut butter was something else, really creamy and peanuty goodness. I pity those who are allergic to nuts, as this is one food that is really a food from the gods. Come to think of it, this now reminds me of the jar of peanut butter from China which has a thick layer of peanut (?) oil on top that you have to mix in the peanut butter when you open it, and the taste I tell you is quite heavenly. But let's keep this tale for another time in case I ever find again such a jar of peanut butter, okay.

Dance Of The Butterflies

I do not know why but in the course of my life I have managed to tame some butterflies into landing on my body parts, and usually when I visited butterfly farms I have even managed to coax them into landing on my fingers. The reason for this is simple, the butterflies are usually already tame and I usually have a dirty trick up my sleeves, whereby I will dip my fingers into the nectar that the farm usually lay out to feed the butterflies. So naturally some will flock to my fingers right.

However it is a rare occasion to see butterflies dancing in midair and rarer still to capture it with your camera. Though I have seen such a butterfly dance twice before, I was happy enough to be able to film this two butterfly dancing merrily in my porch yesterday. Nothing distracted them from their dance, even when my wife held out a flower between them. However after observing the clip more closely, I have come to the conclusion that this is not really a mid-air ballet between a loving butterfly couple, but more of a dogfight between two male butterflies. Have a look and make your own conclusions.

First Time Going To Market Or Just Blur!

I just wanted to relate something that happened when I was at my fishmonger this morning. While we were buying our seafood supply for the week, along came a guy asking for the price of some large seaprawns remaining. My fishmonger replied it was 48 ringgit a kilo and the guy said to wrap it up and after weighing the prawns the fishmonger told the guy the price was 28 ringgit. The funny thing was when it came to make a payment the guys wanted to pass over three ringgit and that stopped my fishmonger hands in midair. With the prawns hanging, he repeated to the guy that the price of the prawns were 28 ringgit and not two ringgit and eighty cents. And the conclusion of this drama was the guy moved away with his tail between his legs. Well I remarked to my wife that this guys was either a first time market goer, blur or just trying his luck to outsmart the fishmonger. If really sea prawns are being sold for two eighty for half a kilo, I'll take ten kilos please! Honey, please fire up the barbie when we get home then!

Yes Minister! Science Can Be Fun!

I read this newspaper article with both bemusement and admiration. Finally someone who is thinking out of the box and trying to make studying science interesting.

Saturday June 21, 2008

Wacky show to promote science

GEORGE TOWN: A reality show on scientists and inventors with wild ideas may debut on television to promote science. Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Fadillah Yusof said the aim was to make science as sensational as the entertainment industry.

“Besides scientists and inventors, we also want to draw people with practical ideas to participate in the reality show. “Cash prizes will be offered to the winners,” he said after opening exhibitions on science and art at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Gallery here yesterday.

Fadillah said the ministry was discussing the reality show proposal with the ministries of Information and Youth and Sports.He said his ministry was planning to increase the ratio of scientists and engineers to 60 per 1,000 population by 2010.

The fact is that even though I was a student of science stream in my secondary school, I finally drifted to business studies for my tertiary education. But mind you, science still played an important role for such a degree, with subjects like consumer behaviour studies, research and development and other scientific endeavours that business making actually uses. Thus I was really grateful that I had a grounding in science even though I thought I was taking a non-science degree. So it is true, studying science is important for everybody and should not be limited to science students and this proposal is a good way to attract people by teaching science in a fun way.

However I wonder if this is being pursued properly as even though it is nice to have local media content, why reinvent the wheel and why are they not talking to the Information Ministry about showing ready made wacky science shows that are currently only available to those who can afford satellite television. Shows like mythbusters, mad labs and their ilk are already attracting kids like my daughters and people like me to watch them with their wacky science content, and we are silently absorbing the science that are being taught. So do make these shows available on free tv and you can get a double bang for the buck.

It Has Come To Pass

So it has come to pass, a no confidence vote has been called against the Prime Minister as reported below :

Wednesday June 18, 2008 MYT 4:43:08 PM

SAPP's vote of no confidence against PM (Update 2)

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has lost confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, it said at a press conference here Wednesday.

In the coming sitting of the Parliament session on Monday, its two Members of Parliament will support a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister, the party said. Whether its MPs table the vote of no confidence, or whether other MPs will do it, would be determined in due course, it said in a statement.

SAPP’s two MPs are Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (P171 Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (P190 Tawau). The party also has four state representatives. The statement was read out by Dr Chua and signed by Majimbun, who was overseas on official duties. He will be back for the Parliament sitting next Monday, June 23.

The statement listed four areas of dissatisfaction with Abdullah's premiership:

1) That no concrete action had been taken on the issue of illegal immigrants, despite repeated requests by SAPP and other Barisan component parties;
2) That the government had offered no holistic economic solutions to cushion the blow of the sudden hike in fuel prices, which had greatly burdened the people and threatened further hardcore poverty;
3) That not enough attention had been paid to issues raised by the people of Sabah -- poor delivery systems, corruption, wastage, lack of transparency and accountability -- and that SAPP would have failed in its duty as elected representatives if these issues continued to be ignored; and
4) That the people have lost confidence in Abdullah, and that if he can't perform, he should step aside and make way for another leader to take over.

Talk had been rife Wednesday morning that SAPP was going to abandon the Barisan Nasional coalition and defect to the Pakatan Rakyat alliance. The party is running a
poll on its blog, asking members of the public whether it should stay on in Barisan, leave the coalition but remain independent, or join Pakatan.

At press time, there were 2,828 votes tallied, with 85% (2,411 votes) asking SAPP to join Pakatan. Only 2% (80 votes) urged it to stay on with Barisan, while the remainder suggested it quit Barisan but remained unaligned.

I say let it happened! Let's see if all this talk about our PM having no support has legs or just butt wind blown off by political arseholes.

If the PM wins it, it will lay to rest all the speculations so he can get on with the job at hand. If he loses it, cest la vie and let's see if his successor can do any better! By the way to those who will support the motion but loses the vote, don't come crying back okay! We really do not need two-faced shameless politikus in government.

Eating Well Off The Beaten Track

I have always been an advocate of old school food and it is my experience that such establishments serving such food is usually found off the beaten track, where the best foods are usually found way off the next corner, most probably under a tree or off beat food courts. We do not really need a slow food movement here, as our foods can be pre-prepared but if prepared well can compare with the best of gourmet foods. So we can get 'fast food' that are tasty, but it would be a bonus if you can find it being cooked on the spot. Today I proved it to my staff when I took them to Damai Corner stall solitarily located in Jalan Damai under a tree, where we had delicious kampung style mixed rice and mee bandung, topped off with fresh made Malay kuehs. I especially like the kueh kertas made here on the premises, softly chewy rice flour cakes glazed with sugar that are usually rock hard elsewhere, as they do not stinge with the coconut milk that you can actually taste that makes the dough so pliant, making it an excellent example of a Malay style doughnut. This place proves that in a good Malay stall, you can get good pre-prepared food in their mixed rice dishes and made to order ala minute dishes that can satisfy any slow foodie, with the bonus of having just out off the frying pan kuehs.


But this post is not about Damai Corner but instead about a small haven of Malay food in Kota Cheras that I believe is virtually unknown for those not from the Cheras area. Standing in front of rows of public flats beside the main road, here you will find the local authority's stalls and self built stalls serving various Malay dishes, usually specialising in their own particular specialities. I have come here today to a Malay Kuih stall that becomes the centrepoint for the Malay ladies staying in the flats to sell their home made kuehs, as that is the traditional way for a Malay Kuih stall to operate. The stall operator may sell some of the kueh or even fry some the kuehs like banana fritters, but then he will accept for these housewives to 'letak' or put their own kuehs in his stall for a commission on their sales. This is indeed a win-win or social way of commerce that has mostly faded, as the stall keeper can increase his menu without increasing his capital, while the housewives obtain an outlet to sell their wares without needing to sink much resources to open their own stall. And for the customers it is definitely a win, as he can be assured he will get the best examples of kuehs available for the area, as naturally the kueh stall will only sell teh kuehs that gains acceptance from the public who will surely reject substandard offerings. So that is why in addition to the freshly fried fritters in the large trays, you will also find rows of different coloured plastic containers holding different types of kuehs, the colours denoting the origin of the kueh. Peek into the different containers to find your favourite kuehs, and those that has their covers permanently opened would well denote that this are the popular and best stuff to be had here.


When I look at the savoury kuehs available here, I remember EatingAsia's request for good cucur badak locations and this stall's version would surely be recommended by me. Although it does not have the traditional prawn topping, the cucur badak is made from a dough that is a good mix of mashed tapioca and tapioca flour that does not retain much oil, so biting into it will not be an oily affair. Instead you will bite into a spicy filling of grated coconut fried with pounded dried prawns chili and turmeric paste and a smattering of fresh prawn bits, a welcome bonus if you are lucky enough to have it in your cucur badak. Thus they do get their cucur badak right in that it should have a prawny filling within a tapioca bun, and not just a pasty tapioca pastry . Another savoury kueh that has a similar filling as the cucur badak is the pulut panggang, a grilled glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves that nowadays is more commonly griddled, sadly . So you no longer get the smokiness from grill's coals and the pulut is also more oily than it should be. What is also common nowadays is that the oil acts as the flavouring for the pulut, in that the rice becomes fried, when it should actually the filling that that lends the rice its flavour. Nonetheless since the filling here is flavourful and runs the length of the pulut, the pulut thus becomes well flavoured and the griddling actually enhances the flavour somewhat, compensating for the lack of smokiness. Thus to me the pulut panggang here is one of the better ones you can have in Kuala Lumpur even though it is not grilled and is quite a best seller here because if you come here a little too late, they will be sold out.

Talking about being sold out, the spring rolls or popiah here is also quite good and one of my favoured kuehs to buy and they top tend to sell very fast. Coming in both the fried and wet versions, I prefer their fried version as the wet version needs to be eaten early as it can get spoiled if kept too long. Anyway the fried version comes in way that I like it to be prepared, glazed with a sweet chilly and fried onion sauce and with crushed peanuts on top, so you do not need to dip it into a sauce the way it is more commonly eaten. The glaze also actually has seeped into the turnip filling, enhancing the taste when you bite into it. And I can tell you it is easier way to eat the spring rolls and very portable, as you do not need a dip or sauce plate to dip the spring roll into. Convenient finger food in this case. But I hate those that is fully glazed so I am glad that the glazing only the top part of the spring roll here. Otherwise it is a mess to hold actually.

So let's get on with sweet kuehs now and the firm favourite here is the kueh limas as we Perakians call it or tepung pelita as it is more commonly known. It is now sold in a pack of five pieces each as I believe it is a rare occassion for someone to buy just one as one will not be enough. Of similar layered construction as the Siamese Tako, the bottom part here is of a mixture of sugar syrup and pandan steeped glutinous rice jelly while the top is coconut milk custard. Best served after being chilled in the refrigerator, it should be eaten with all the components together so you get a mix of sweet, exotic and saltiness in a mouthful. Yummy and the younger daughter fully agrees as she can down three in one go. A caveat is that some stalls mix in 'kapur' or lime chalk as a thickener for the coconut milk custard topping and if this is not done well you will get a bitter taste instead.


And lastly I want to introduce to you a rare kueh item that I have not found elsewhere, the first time I found this was in the Ramadhan Bazaar here last year and it seems to have found favour locally as it is now regularly sold by the stall owner, and judging by the three pieces left in the container seems to be a crowd favourite. Called Apam Sarawak though the owner cheekily cautions if we to Sarawak they will have no idea what we are talking about, the apam actually reminds me of the regular kuih ketayap or kuih dadar/gulung which is a type of filled Malay crepe. However unlike kuih ketayap, the crepe here taste like kuih apam (malay sponge cake) so I guess the crepe batter mix is quite similar to an apam's batter but like kuih gulung it is flavoured with essence of pandan that gives it the green colour. The filling though is a little bit different than a kuih ketayap in that the coconut gratings are mixed with some red beans, though I must say this time there are more coconut than red beans like as when I first discovered this kueh, maybe the recipe has been modified for local tastes. The shape of the kueh is also different than a kueh ketayap whereby it is not rolled(gulung) but is crimped like a currypuff. Anyway I hope an East Malaysian can identify the actual name of this kueh as I do not think we in the Peninsular has it. It would be deeply appreciated.

Thus I come to the end to this posting without commenting on many more Malay kuehs that is available in this store, like this rare kuih bom that is the original item and not the supersized cekodok that the term is being used nowadays. What I can just say is this, since the stall collects kuehs from the various people to sell on their behalf in addition to what the stall owner make themselves, the variety available is quite large. Therefore you can make repeat visits to the stall and and can have a different kueh for tea and this includes kuehs that you may no longer find elsewhere. So if you are in the neighbourhood, turn right after the Batu 9 exit on the Grand Saga Highway if your are from Kuala Lumpur, and keep a watch out for the row of foodstalls on your left. Bon Appetit!