Bye bye! There will be no updates until the 26th ;D
I’m hopping into Jamie’s VW and joining his great journey to escape from final exam tension.
Props: miniature VW van bought in TESCO (only RM1.99!) and Next by Michael Crichton (it’s a seriously good fiction book!)
Last Sunday, I dropped by Seri Kembangan morning market. I was on the way to pick up comfort food from Penang, which my uncle brought ^_^ My favourite mung bean karipap (no curry inside but shaped like currypuff with very crunchy skin) and beh teh saw :3
The market was huge! I need to get used to the bigger scale of everything in KL. Hehe. Some of the foods sold here are never seen back in hometown. I didn’t manage to take many photos as I had to dodge from bumping into people. I saw a ham chim peng like kuih, instead of deep fried, it is steamed. Nasi lemak kukus sold by a Chinese lady, where the fragrant rice is kept warm in a wooden bucket. I must try it, one of the days this week!
So special! Phoenix’s claw, already cleaned and boiled in some dark sauce. And fried beancurd skin, some with stuffing. Yummy! I realise, fu pei can be found everywhere in KL ;)
Fishballs, meatballs, crabballs, and more fu pei. I want to eat some steamboat! Maybe I will buy a rice cooker next semester and enjoy it in the dorm. Haha. Jian, I get to stay in hostel in year 2 too, thank God :)
With only a few days away from Qing Ming, there were many makeshift stalls selling this distinctive pink steamed cakes (fatt koh). They look very pretty and fluffy. Are they edible or solely for prayer purpose? Hehe, paiseh… I’m not very informed about Chinese culture.
The reason I love this market – plenty of fresh handmade foods. The lady is rolling and kneading the dough before deep frying it to make crispy yau char kwai.
I was absolutely captivated by this lor mai chee. I cannot believe how cottony soft it was when I took the first bite! The reason was because it was freshly made on order. The man scoops up the steamed glutinous rice dough from a container like how it is done for tau fu fah. His wife proceeds to wrap grounded peanut in.
Torrendous rain poured down the moment I reach Hang Tuah. So I walked to the market to take cover before heading to ku por’s home. I had the black sesame tong sui again. Ooh… exceptionally delicious on rainy day! This time, I took a picture. Due to bad lighting, it somehow turns out like a lomo photo.
I went to Wai Sek Kai at Jalan Sayur, Pudu. The steamed egg custard has sold out! *cries* I had dan cha (tea egg) instead. The soup is quite good, as it is not bitter. Slightly sweet in fact. I enjoyed the egg a lot (love eggs! n_n
A few more stalls open up after I licked the bowl clean. I past this stall with a stack of chee cheong fun and curiousity had the better of me. I asked for 1 small chee cheong fun with tim cheong (sweet sauce). You can have it with curry and yong tau foo as well, but the pot of curry has slices of fried beancurd with bubbly pork skin floating around. Not very appealing.
I intentionally took a seat beside this beautiful view! I located no shops nor stalls selling buns, but this man is sweating out in front the antique fan kneading dough. I wanted to ask but then, suddenly this cranky man pushed away my stuff on the table and plopped down my plate of chee cheong fun O_o
My uplifted spirit was reduced by half. At least the chee cheong fun in front of me looks good to eat. Unrolled rice dough chopped into the shape of koey teow, doused with tim cheong and garnished with lots of sesame before topping it with crispy dried shrimps. Simple yet effectively caused me to salivate. The chee cheong fun was tasty; soft and crunchy textures compliment well. Though, I would prefer it served warm. So yeah, no more open air chee cheong fun next time! Except one last try for this chee cheong fun roll stuffed with ingredients which I only spotted when I was paying. Jian — this will be part of our makan mission.
I have to get this off my chest. I know that Landscape students and my roommate who takes Architecture are a bunch of busy people with unending assignments. But stop reiterating that our homeworks are easy and we have too much time to ourselves! It’s a bit unfair when what they see is only on the surface. They have no idea the struggles we go through in electronic lab. The hours we crack our head figuring the algorithm and coding for programming. Our work of course gets increasingly complicated with each semester. We are just going to end up like them in second and third year, ok!
Last Saturday, 31 March… my overzealous group members in Pertanian & Manusia drove to a farm in Bagan Datoh to do filming for our assignment. The assignment is New Research in Biofuel from Nipah Palm. One of my group member’s father is involved in the project and has direct contact with the proprietor of this farm.
Driving along this tranquil scenic stretch, we came to this stall run by Mr Azmi and his wife, Mrs Norsidah. Behind this stall, is where their small scale farm located! :)
The fruit of the nipah palm. It’s very pretty! The photo that comes out from my camera doesn’t do its justice.
This is the ripen fruit. I tried to carry it but it’s like weighing a tonne!
After the fruit has been removed and inflorescence of the nipah palm is cut, the stalk is tied in such a way to draw air nira.
Mr Azmi explains that air nira is usually collected twice a day, in the morning and afternoon. If it is done in the evening, the sap obtained will be sour. He asked if anyone was wearing perfume or anything that exude a fragrant smell, because they have a taboo that the air nira will not drip in the presence of aromatic molecules :o
Attaching a plastic bag to collect air nira.
Refreshing air nira served for us! It is supremely sweet, even after I’ve topped the glass with ice cubes. And it is claimed to be able to cure diabetes, besides having cooling effects like coconut water. Unlike coconut water, air nira tastes thick and flavourful (or could be pungent to some people). After 2 to 3 hours being extracted, fermentation process turns air nira into toddy nira with a sourish taste that hits you at the first drink. It is also made into vinegar which they sell for RM2.50 per 500ml and salt.
Banana and sweet potato fritters. Yummy! Mrs Norsidah said that she sometimes uses air nira in her fritters. The hospitality provided by this couple is wonderful and they are very friendly.
Our crew, pretending to interview the owner. Keke.
Darth Tater – he hacks bushes in the day, villains at night.
It was really fun spending the day with them. A hilarious and crazy bunch. As the night inch closer, we decided to drive by Bukit Bintang on the way back to experience dazzling KL lights ^_^ Before that, we stopped by Kampung Baru at Chop & Steak for dinner (sorry, no pics of the food :P). I remember the place being featured in Jalan Jalan Cari Makan before. They serve big portions of Western food at cheap prices and also noodles and pasta. The place is mostly frequented by Malays. I had the Cordon Bleu Chicken which was written as Gordon in the menu. Haha, I’m not sure if it was intentional. The food is quite delicious and the service is fast despite being full house. I have to the try their steak sometime, which is served in sizzling hotplate. Each time the waiter walks by with it, the aroma makes my mouth water! There is a branch in Sri Serdang, 5 minutes walk from my dorm but I never try it though!
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