The last post in here , dated July 2 nd, 2015..i remember i HAD to put it up, coz it was special.It was someone's birthday. Amelia...of Amelia's Dessert.
And today...i get back to posting in here ..coz of Amelia again !! A never ever expected thing to happen. To meet up with her...at her home..and enjoy some lovely homemade malaysian food !!!
It was during the later days of our 10 day visit to Malaysia and Singapore. Legoland was definitely on the list...and a casual message to her asking details about the place that she mentioned her home is in close proximity to Legoland.
That was definiely a good news..a great chance to meet up with a co-blogger, my second actually. First was Rafeeda..the Big Sweet Tooth lady in Dubai last year .
That's Amelia with the huge spread she had prepared for us !!! Our first experience in some homemade food in a Chinese home. It was a good experience.
I am the BEST !!! in this regard...i can say.....and sure,..many would like to tag along..is it not ! (found this on a wall in a Thai Restaurant in Singapore )
So..back to Amelia's treats...
and oops, first to her exceptionally lovely hospitality..she would book a hotel room for us, near to her home for two hours...so that we can go fresh up after a day of walking in the hot sunny humid climate around Legoland. Now is that not really sweet of her to do that. She was waiting for us at the hotel..which she already had settled the bills !!! , took us to the room, so that we relax and fresh up ..came back again to take us to her home...where the lovely spread was awaiting us !
We reached her home by 7:45, and we had around 1 and a half hours to head to the railway station to catch the night train back to Kuala Lumpur...which again..she would drop us back !! Hospitality....i repeat !!!
So..basically..we headed straight to the dining table once entering the home. Starting off with the cocktail...that was cold lime/lemon juice with pineapple and sorry.....i dont remember the name of the white fruit in there. The syrup from the canned pineapple adds to the sweetness and it was reallly refreshing !!! very..very !!!
The main course now ! Traditional Nasi Lemak, Inche Kabin Chicken, Grilled \chicken wings, Nyonya Prawn Curry, Nyonya Chicken Tempra, Sago Pudding, Fruit Salad !!!!
Just drop by her blog if you are interested in the recipes. Basically.what i felt is both our Malayali (keralite) and Malay flavours carry a great similarity...so it definitely would not be difficult to try these out...and also with quite some cooking loot ;) i have acquired during the travel. (images below )
The sago pudding..which surprising is soo simple to make.
Just cooked sago (the coloured type which you get there)set into a mould..served with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
Thats us together... before heading to the Rail station !!!
Big thanks once again dear !!
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And..now to my next personal best part of the travel. The kitchen shopping.
To be honest..i didn't get time to get around looking for these..so it was my brother who purchased literally all of these for me. Thanks darling bro !!! Love...
Kainanese Kaya , or rather, coconut jam - a food spread, a fruit curd made from a base of coconut milk, eggs and sugar. He suggests i toast bread with butter , and apply this kaya spread. A mild flavoured toast for breakfast !
Read more about this kaya "here"
Nyonya Curry Paste. Nonya cuisine comes from the descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia inter-marrying with local Malays and combines Chinese, Malay and other influences. And as one of our halts was in Melacca, this name was defintiely familiar to us. So some Nyonya stuff too ..goes into the baggage for trial.
The third in the image , is a salad dressing suggested to my brother by his chinese neighbour. Its seseme based with peanut flavour standing up. We had it at home with a bowl of fresh salad, and it tasted great..so that goes in the cart as well.
The last is an all purpose cooking sauce..just for trial. Its all purpose anyways...
Seaweed Snack....Tom Yum Paste (for the Thai touch. Love the soup !! )
More thai stuff . Pineapple Rice paste.... Green curry paste.... Chicken Rice Mix...and ....and....
and...and......
these are malaysian !
This was nice actually ! a crunchy snack bite.
Some liquids as well !!!
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And now, to some traditional Malay dishes we did get to try. Thanks to the very expertise guide we had with us, Mr. Tony of iMDriven (check out his facebook page and the nice reviews his customers give him) ... he gave a good briefing of the different cuisines available in Malaysia -
Proper Malay..Malay Chinese and Malay Chettinad ..based on the three different nationalities of people settled in the country.
Tony, even during the emial clarifications before the trip..would ask if we had any specific food requirements - like being Indian..most people are sceptic if we would take beef, or pork. And we were open to all..any...a i replied..well..we are ready to experiment..as long as we know what we are eating !
So, on the very first day...He took us to an East Coast Traditional Malay Restaurant - Leha Kelfood, Gombak. This was enroute are drive to hillstation called Bukit Tinggi.
I got no clue what the items were... but a glance on his fb page (while putting up this post ;) gave me names of some of these and did a quick google search on it )
Thats Nasi Kerabu, (the blue coloured rice in the image.(The blue color of rice is from the petals of Clitoria ternatea (butterfly-pea) flowers (kembang telang) used in cooking it)
Nasi Dagang , the black and white sticky rice kind in my words. It consists of rice steamed in coconut milk, fish curry and extra ingredients such as fried shaved coconut, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable pickles. Nasi Dagang literally means "Trading Rice". It is a well-known breakfast food in the states on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, The combination of fenugreek seeds and coconut milk gives Nasi Dagang its unique flavour and fragrance. The rice may first be soaked in water for several hours to soften it. It is then mixed with thick coconut milk, sliced shallots, lemon grass and fenugreek seeds. The rice is steamed until cooked. It may also be steamed twice, where more coconut milk is added when it is half-cooked. Then the rice is steamed again until cooked. This method ensures a more creamy finish to the rice.
-and of course, biriyani rice..which was a very familiar call . So safely..gave the biriyani rice to the kids and tried a whee bit of the others, ourselves.
-and of course, biriyani rice..which was a very familiar call . So safely..gave the biriyani rice to the kids and tried a whee bit of the others, ourselves.
Fish..in various flavours....colours..
We left our food options, all to him...and he would suggest which to try..with what..and the various combinations !!! Like....Nasi Kerabu, the blue-coloured rice is eaten with dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles and other salads. ..and Tony would help us in taking the sides for each.
Definitely..i was a bit sceptic in try out most of the dishes...dint try lamb and livers. stuck to rice, chicken, egg and a small trial of pork.
The omelettes. Our younger ones mostly had these .
Gave a search in Google typing this name just out of curiosity..but cudn't find anything in the language i could follow. So..i will just leave it as fish (dried ?? ) with lots of condiments over it.
Grilled veggies
Air Asam...again couldnt find some english description to that..but think something in tamarind paste. Sorry, if i am wrong. Sambal ....is definitely a "must" condiment in the malay cuisine..especially along with nasi lemak.
click "here" to know how its prepared.
Grilled fish counter
These looks like pickles to me.
Thats us trying our our portions.
This was some squid fries being prepared in front of the restaurant we ate in.
Day 2 , Lunch : It was time for Malay Chinese . We had opted out Malay Chettinad..as basically its the indian one, and we can have it in India anyways.
Malay Chinese traditions roots from the Chinese Malaysian immigrants and their descendants, who have adapted or modified their culinary traditions under the influence of Malaysian culture as well as immigration patterns of Chinese to Malaysia.
And..Tony's pick for the day was this. Tanjung Karang Seafood Restaurant..right in the hearts of Kuala Lumpur..i would say. Its not the very high end one..but like what i really believe..good food need not always be at the very sophisticated looking places. it can come from simple humble little outlets as well. And this was definitely one such.
Address : 53 Jalan Barat, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur City, Kuala Lumpur
- Cantonese fried noodles Noodles shallow/deep fried, served as the base for a thick egg and cornstarch white sauce cooked with sliced lean pork, seafood, and green vegetables like choy sum. ...and it was pretty good !
Buttered Chicken..or something the name was in english..but it was very mild..rich and the kids loved it.
To my surprise..this was the fried rice..way different form the indian versions you get in the indain chinese restaurants. Small rice..kind of sticky.
Veggies...sorry..was not in demand at all :/
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Day 2 - Dinner from Petaling Street(Chinatown @KL)
Was suggested by Tony to try the Hokkien Noodles (click on the link if you need to know the exact location of the best hokkien noodles in KL) along the street..but we got confused with the number of restaurants along the place...decided to get some take away of tropical fresh fruits and few lok lok's .
Now, that was a new name to me. Lok Lok .
And it was interestign to see this wide ..wide...range of fresh foods - meat, seafood, fish balls, vegetables, quail eggs, ....... !!! They call it satay celup in Melaka where they use spicy peanut sauce to cook...while Penangites call it lok-lok and use boiling water.
Click "here" if you need to know more about this means of cooking.
Click "here" if you need to know more about this means of cooking.
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Dip the sticks in the super hot boiling water, wait for it to cook, dip in the sauce and eat.
Tell them its for take away..and they would prepare it for you with the sauce. And it did taste great..got to say.
The boiling water pot to which the skewers are dipped .
NO DOUBLE DIPPING !!! the rule says...especially while having it as a communal cooking pot.
NO DOUBLE DIPPING !!! the rule says...especially while having it as a communal cooking pot.
Chicken, Pork, Prawns, Small....jumbo, Sausages, Ladiesfinger, Tofu, lettuce...literally anything !!
Claypot Chicken Rice. Just stayed a while watching him cook while our take away from the nearby Satay stall was getting ready.
DURIAN !! DURIAN !! The notorious fruit which we had been so warned about. Its either a Love or Hate relationship ship..we have been told. Either you love it..or hate it. It smells awful..but tastes heavenly.
Food writer Richard Sterling has written “its odor is best described as…turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away.”
It was really tempting to give a try..but coz we were travelling daily..didnt want to take a risk..especially with something which is said to be banned on the "Singapore Mass Rapid Transit" and many other places as well.
Click "here" to read more about this fruit and why it smells so awful.
Click "here" to read more about this fruit and why it smells so awful.
We took in few chicken sticks and fruits for a light dinner .
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Day 3 - was for the traditional Nyonya cuisine.
The old Malay word nonya (also spelled nyonya), is term of respect and affection for women of prominent social standing (part “madame” and part “auntie”). Nonya cooking is the result of blending Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and cooking techniques used by the Malay/Indonesian community.
And as our day 3 was in historical Melacca, which was the main centre of Nyonya cuisine..we definitely had to try some out.
The famous Chicken Rice Balls
Chicken rice is one of the most popular Chinese-inspired dishes in Malaysia. It involves steeping the entire chicken at sub-boiling temperatures within a master stock until cooked, to ensure the chicken meat becomes moist and tender. The chicken is then chopped up, and served with a bowl or plate of rice cooked in chicken fat and chicken stock, along with another bowl of clear chicken broth and a set of dips and condiments. Sometimes the chicken is dipped in ice to produce a jelly-like skin finishing upon the completion of the poaching process.
InMalacca, the chicken rice is served shaped into balls.
That was a noodles platter for the younger ones.
Just a look at the menu board gives an idea of how cheap the foods are in and around Malaysia..especially Melaka, but....very good portions too !!!
A main course portion of noodles is each cheaper than a glass of lime juice there !!
Thats the food bill for 5 of us. 2 adults, 3 kids. We dont eat huge..but try small portions of different stuff. So basically three main course, and three drinks would suffix for us on sharing. The younger ones were more filled up with the milk shakes than the solids.
.....freshness to the core !
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And with that, it was good bye the Malaysia off to Singapore..to get a feel of what that rich country had to offer.
And before signoff... just sharing a link to a blog with some stunning images of Malay foods and its recipes. Its not in English thou. "here"
Worth a visit.
