Kenang Rendang Kerang

This Nasi Lemak Rendang Kerang has been making my Southbound trips a little bit more interesting than they mostly are.  Though R&R Nilai is just 15 minutes away from Bangi Exit, I'd seldom passed it unnoticed. Bila nampak je signboard Hentian Nilai, terus lemah longlai letihnya.  Terus nak rehat.  Terus rasa nak luruskan kaki.  Terus nak rawat.  

.

And what other rawatan that could possibly work better than a plate of Nasi Lemak Rendang Kerang?  Rendang kerang tau, bukan sambal kerang.  Banyak bezanya di situ.

.

The nasi lemak is almost biasa to me.  But the rendang kerang, that's the culprit.
.

Truthfully though, I don't know if it's really that green rendang, or is it just me and my memory of it back when I was a child.(Aha, yeah.  Here comes the 'memory' part.)
.

Ummi used to make it with nasi impit and she'd sell those at Kedai Salam, a grocery store at Lorong Dua Kampung Jana Baru Kamunting.  We lived there.  I grew up there.  All memories of my childhood began there.
.

She'd pack the rendang kerang in plastics and put them together with the rice cubes.  I could still see her packing them in the kitchen of our tiny house, I could still smell the rendang.
.

Once in a while now I would make them for Eid.  It's been a dish for celebration.  And now since Ummi's passing, we have not thought of rendang kerang, without ever thinking of her and comparing it to hers. 
.

But it's funny though.  No matter how similar the rendang looks and tastes, it will never have that 'it' and I don't even know what IT is!
.

I guess we can always cherish the past, reminiscing and imitating it as best as we possibly thought we could. 
.

We just can never repeat it.  

.

Kan.

.  

Cakoi Koi.

My first recollection of Cakoi is when I was in Temerloh Pahang. My late grandpa would buy it every weekend from a Pekan Sari there every Saturday apart from his favorite deep fried chicken liver. He would come home from his early morning walk to Pekan Sari with jabeis (bags) of little kuehs. Waiting for him to return then was one of the things I looked forward to.

Anyway, since the village folks there called themselves Koi, I thought Cakoi 'belonged' to them, like Buah Melaka 'belongs' to Melaka. Hehe...

Cakoi (deep fried long-shaped dough) then as I remember vaguely was sold with this sweet green sauce made of...mmm sugar? I never quite get that combination though. I think Cakoi is best eaten with a dip in sambal tumis ikan bilis or simply, a thick hot sweet Kopi O.

For Chinese however, I see that they love having it with rice porridge. Another combination I have yet to find...compatible?

The other day I was at a mall and walking through the Food Court I saw it. To be honest, it wasn't the first time I saw it at a Mall's Food Court but it was the first time I stopped and bought it. There was no sauce with it. All they asked was if I wanted it cut.

I ate it all as is, by myself...with the memory of Pekan Sari, and my late Aki.

Bila-bila di Bali

The top photo below, that's Ayam Presto. I'd say it's a twin chicken to Ayam Penyet except that this one, is edible to the very bone. Everything's pressed - as in a pressure cooker hence the name Presto - so sedap benor la ngunyohnya, lembut belaka. Unless... well, that blanket of red chili sambal stops you from it. The heat I tell ya! Sends me to the loo. Woohoo!

The bottom left photo shouldn't be anything new to us Malaysians, that's Sambal Ikan Bilis Petai. Yup. It looked so sexy in the menu we had to have it too. Hehe.

Now the last photo there, that's no flying fish, or err was it? Well, maybe it tried but landing in hot oil obviously didn't help. I believe it's called Ikan Garumi. Aha, Garumi. Not Gwiyomi? Please?

Everything was highly recommended by our excellent tourist guide Pak...mmm... Pak... Pak aaaapa ya? Gue hilang ingatan lagi dehh ya ampuuuun!

So, there you go. To Bali.

Mensyukuri Cucur Special

Namanya Cucur Special.  Kalau tak silap lah.  (Yeah, this is another case of not remembering what it's called because it just didn't matter at the time).  We were busy ooh-ing and wow-ing this simple-looking everyday snack akan tetapi rasa nya di mulut amat lah tidak sesimple bila mana kita mendengar akan perkataan sebiasa 'cucur'

Anyway, a cucur usually has more flour than everything else kan?  But this one is almost like a Vegetable Tempura with julienned carrots, some long beans, onion rings and prawns dipped in batter, and deep fried.   

Now the better part is that sweet peanut gravy.  Uiiii... Rasanya tiada kata dalam bahasa orang puteh yang mampu menggambarkan akan nikmatnya apabila bersentuh sahaja lidah dengan Cucur Special ini beserta dengan celupan (ada ke?) kuah kacang nya sekali.  Any other restaurants would simply 'serve' a bottle of chili sauce instead.  

Try it.  The serving is big you would wish you could leave the plate clean.  

Then it'll haunt you.

Find this at Danau Golf Club, UKM Bangi.

Happy to Meat You!

Ok, here's the thing.  I can't even remember what's it called.  But boy I sure remember how it tasted.  If you wanna experience how meat could literally surrender to your effortless bite in your mouth, this is it people.  Moo no longer, take a bite of this beef and you'll never look at cows the same way again. 

I had this for my birthday dinner quite recently.  The night could not have ended better!

Find this at Midori Japanese Restaurant, Marriott Hotel Putrajaya.