SI'ET (Sago Worm)

This is the famous sago worm among the Melanaus in Sarawak. In Melanau we call it si'et. People say that this worm is full of protein.

To prepare the worm is easy, firstly we need to put the whole packet of live worms into a bucket of clean tap water, this process is to let the worm "cleaned themselves" (berak & kemeh). It will take around half an hour tops. Then put a little cooking oil into the pan and fry them, then add soy sause to taste. When they are fried, they smell like pop-corns. The worm is best eaten with sago pearls.

This is how we eat it, with sago pearls....the sago worms taste like chicken pop-corn (a soggy chicken pop-corn) ;-)

This is the inside of the sago worm after I have chewed half of it. It's oily & soggy...but taste really delicious. Sometimes you can also eat the head....but at times the head can be a little too hard to chew.

PENGILAN (The Malay Wedding)

Last Sunday (12/10/08) I attended a malay wedding or Pengilan at a kampung called Kampung Sourabaya Hilir in Kuching. If you're lost trying to locate the venue, don't be, there will always be a flag flying high on a pole sometimes from the roof or on the front porch or the gate to indicate the location of the Pengilan reception...unless there are other weddings going on at the same time and at the same kampung, then you'll need to identify familiar faces to get yourself to the right wedding reception.

The happy pengantin baru (newly weds) dressed in stunning green. The stage is called Pelamin. This is where elders will perform the tepung tawar over the pegantin baru. This ceremony is a must for the malay culture. It is a sort of a blessings if I may say for the newly weds. The Akad Nikah (holy matrimony) ceremony is always performed earlier before the 'Bersanding di atas Pelamin". Actually the Malay wedding has a lot of 'Adat Istiadat' (local customs or cultural practices or belief) depending on the family roots and their ancestors.

Another couple dressed in Pink, also the pengantin baru. They are all in a family. The bride in pink is the sibling of the groom in green.

Some of the guests & relatives at the meja kenduri makan.

Hai, serious nampak kakak tu...!!

There's another thing too, usually the men & women will be devided during makan time...the men will eat first then the women & children will eat later. This is because usually the women folks and children (terpaksalah because kena ikut mak) will be in the house to see and admiring

the "pengantin baru" at the pelamin....

and men don't have time to do that..so that's the reason the men eat first....

And this is always the time when you can see malay women dressed in their best and latest designed baju kurung or kebaya......the more glitter, the better. Even how hot the weather can be but I'm amazed that they can still maintained their fashion before and after the reception...as for me I did try but I only maintained to keep my fresh look and beauty for about 20 mins or so. Then, I reckoned it would be best for me to wear the most comfortable outfit....jeans/slacks & blouse or sometimes nice T-shirt.

The menu served during the kenduri, the usual not to be missed "nasi minyak" (this menu is a must in all malay weddings...so far that I've attended)..When a malay folk asked, "Bila lagi nak makan nasi minyak?" (meaning: When are you getting married?)
Other dishes also includes curry chicken, beef rendang, daging masak itam and acar buah & limo. My old time favourite for such kenduri is always chicken masak merah and acar limo (preserved lime). Oh ya, usually fork & spoon will not be laid on the table (unless you request for it, but it's always best eaten with your fingers for these type of reception) so you need to eat with your fingers but there's always a bowl of water or sometimes a plastic or tin shiny tea-pot (please be warned, it is not meant for drinking) on the table for you to rinse your fingers....but if you must, don't forget to keep handy a packet of 'wet-tissues' in your handbag or pocket.

They always say..men are the better cooks, that's why the best chefs in the world are men.

The men waiting for another batch of food trays to be served. I've always notice that most of the server for a malay wedding are men....I reckoned it's because of the heavy food tray which they have to carry to the meja makan for serving...sometime it can goes to 10 or more rounds of serving depending on the invitees and guests...usually for a malay wedding in a kampung, all the kampung folks are cordially invited with their whole family members.

The canopies at the tempat makan....to shelter the guests & relatives from sun and rain.

After the reception, guests will bersalam-salaman and say thank you to the pengantin's family members.

The proud parents of the pengantin are dressed in red. That's Pakcik Sahari and wife.

The nicely decorated arched entrance to the wedding reception...I reckoned thru my experienced of Pengilan'ing, I've always felt overwhelmed with their occasion...because you can always see that, all kampung folks will come together and assist the family to make the whole ceremony a success and enjoyable eventhough how limited the space could be but thru the cooperation and harmonious of the kampung folks, how small or big the kenduri is going to be makes no difference at all. What matters most is everyone comes together to witness the ceremony of the pengantin baru and the beautifully designed Pelamin (stage) for the newly weds.


(All pictures were snapped from my hp - SE-W660i)

DRAGON FRUIT (PITAYA)

Also known as the Dragon Fruit, the Pitaya is a stunningly beautiful fruit with an intense colour and shape, magnificent flowers and a delicious taste. The fruit, apart from being refreshing and tasty, contains a lot of water and minerals with many different nutrition ingredients. It tastes light sweet and it's good for liver, laxative, supplementing fiber and very suitable for diet. Besides, dragon fruit is also good for person who has a high blood pressure. According to popular experience, obese person who has eaten dragon fruit regularly can reduce his/her weight naturally and have a beautiful balanced body but it does not influence on his/her health. Moreover, eating this fruit can stop and reduce diabetes. Hence, dragon fruit is a favorite fruit of many people especially Asian people.

The dragon fruit tree. Looks like a cactus tree.

The Flower of the Dragon Fruit. The smell of the flower is sweet (like jasmine)

The tentacles or the tongue inside of the dragon fruit flower.

Insects were found inside of the flower. The sweet smell attracts the insects I reckoned.

The back of the flower, you can see the fruit taking it's shape.
After a a week or two the flower dried out and give way for the fruit to grow.

The effects after eating dragon fruit...your tongue & teeth will become red...don't worry it's only temporary once you gargled with water it will be gone.

(picture of my nephew Niels, he loves to eat the dragon fruit)

MANOK PANSOH

One of the best known Iban dishes is manok pansoh (ayam pansuh). Back to basics style of culinary experience......Chicken pieces are cut and stuffed into the bamboo together with other ingredients like mushrooms, lemongrass, tapioca leaves etc and cooked over an open fire - similar to the way lemang is cooked. This natural way of cooking seals in the flavors and produces astonishingly tender chicken with a gravy perfumed with lemongrass and bamboo.

IKAN TERUBOK SARAWAK

The only species of Terubok Sarawak “Tenualosa Toli” that can be found in this world is in the rivers of Sarawak. It is a river fish and the best ones are from the rivers of Sebuyau. The fish has 2 gendre, male & female, during the 1st year it will become a male and thereafter the 2nd year it will transformed into a female and will lay eggs. The best species are from the Sarawak rivers (Tenualosa Toli), to recognise this species among the rest of the imported teruboks, you can see that it's mouth will be longer but the head is smaller, the body will be wider but short and the scales are silvery bluish in color. Best prepared is either grilled or salted.

KEK LAPIS SARAWAK

SARAWAK's LAYERED CAKE

It is said that the layered cakes were commercially introduced by Indonesians about 20 years ago. Originally the Kek Lapis was during the Dutch colonization in Indonesia. But of course, kek Lapis Sarawak has been modernized and uniquely designed by the Sarawakians, as it is traditionally the main staple for the Malays as they celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. The cakes are interesting and beautifull and it is almost always colourful. It can be kept stored in the refrigerator and can last for six months.

BUBUR PEDAS SARAWAK

SPICY PORRIDGE....

Spicy Sarawak’s Broth, usually taken during Ramadan month. It consist of thin sliced beef, midin, Bean curd Sticks, long beans, young corns, potatoes, dried Black Fungus, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, fresh chilies, dried Prawns, green chilies, red chilies, lemon grass, turmeric leaves… and the secret ingredient…. Bumbu Bubur Pedas. All the nutrients in one bowl that one can enjoy after a hard days at work....And this is what I call “COMFORT FOOD”.

MY VEGE PLATTER @ HOTEL ZENTRAL, AUSTRIA

Potatoes, beans, peas, baby carrots, spinach, cauliflower & an egg (sunny side up...almost well done). I had this for lunch while I was on summer vacation in Austria .....and they kept saying...there are no kangaroos in Austria, well said....alright back to my platter.....This vege platter was served to me while my stay at the Hotel Zentral, Kitzbuehl, Austria. When I pre-ordered for my vege platter, never thought it could looked like this. It was an easy cooked meal, boiled (well the egg was fried obviously) & baked it in the oven, sprinkled with lil' salt & pepper, pour a lil' olive oil and garnished it with some herbs. Thus, it was a very healthy menu indeed. Nevertheless, I finished my vege platter cleaned.