Beriani Peha Kambing

If a thing is worth doing, then it's worth overdoing. I am going for three strikes in a row in posting about food...

I'm in Penang at the moment with a colleague. We left KL yesterday after lunch and after a leisurely drive on the NSE, arrived at Butterworth slightly past 6pm. It has been quite a while since I was last here having previously been a regular visitor while handling a project around five years back.

One of the things that I love about Penang is the variety of really delicious food that can be found. I know I've mentioned this previously but it is something that is worth overstating.

Last night, friends from Butterworth took us to a place we have not been to before, to taste fresh locally-reared mutton. The place is called Puncak Mutiara Cafe and it forms part of an agro-tourism enterprise located in Kg. Pelet in Permatang Pauh. The place is actually a goat farm and fruit orchard with a restaurant built within the compounds.

Putting our cholesterol worries aside for the moment, my colleague and I tried the Beriani Peha Kambing while our local friends had the so-called lighter meal of Grilled Kambing. The `peha kambing' in the name refers to a shank of leg bone with a huge chunk of meat on it. The taste was simply exquisite... soft, fresh and tender cooked to perfection. I'm not saying anymore except that I'll be coming to this place again for sure.

Nasi Ambang

It's back-to-back posting about food this week.

On my travel from KL to JB on the North-South Expressway, I would normally make a rest stop at Pagoh RnR. Apart from being located at about halfway of the total distance, the other main reason for stopping here is to taste the nasi ambang sold at one of the foodstalls. In all my travels up and down the NSE, there is only this one stall that sells it.

Nasi ambang is a speciality of Malay kampung folk of Javanese ethnic origin. It is basically plain rice with portions of beef rendang or chicken, sambal goreng tempe (a mix of vegetables and soybean cake), serunding kelapa (fried grated coconut), salted fish and sambal belacan (pounded chilli and prawn paste), all served on a piece of banana leaf. Sometimes a small portion of mee goreng is also added.

I have fond childhood memories of nasi ambang (sometimes spelled as nasi ambeng, because of the specific way to pronounce it). We lived in a neighbourhood of mixed communities but with a fairly large number of orang Jawa. Almost every month, there would be khenduri or thanksgiving feasts, and the ones held by my Javanese neighbours were those I most look forward to... because the nasi ambang they served were simply delicious.

After recital of the surah Yasin and prayers, the meal would be served in large round trays (dulang or talam, in Malay). Plain rice would be packed on the tray and layered with a piece of banana leaf, cut to a round shape slightly smaller than the tray. The other delicacies (meat, chicken, vegetables etc.) are then placed on the leaf. Four persons would share to eat from one tray but we were not supposed to finish it because the balance is meant to be packed and taken home. The task of splitting the stuff on the tray into four equal portions, so that no one party feel deprived, is actually quite enviable. The person who does it has to make sure that one guy doesn't get more meat or chicken from another. In the end, it is the spirit of cooperation and semangat bertimbang rasa that wins the day. That's why the relationships among neighbours were so close in those days.

I had a craving to eat nasi ambang again today... and so for lunch, we headed out to Bandar Baru Uda in Tampoi, JB where the best nasi ambang stall is located. The stall is called Mat Corner and a normal plate of nasi ambang daging or ayam costs RM4. The special plate which has both beef and chicken, costs RM5.50. My wife had the normal plate while my son and I both went for the special, of course. Selagi selera masih ada...

Kueyteow Doli dan Mee Kicap

In May last year, I posted about a makan place called Mali's Corner in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. That place is famous for its Penang Char Kuetiaw. Blogger friend Ladymarko then suggested that I should try the famous Kuey Teow Doli in Taiping, Perak.

I was in Taiping with a colleague on Monday, for the first time. I remembered Ladymarko's comment and decided to look for the place. We had to stop to ask for directions. An elderly gentleman manning a provision shop gave me vague directions but we found the restaurant soon enough.

Doli Kuey Teow Goreng, Taiping

The bill shows standard plate RM4 and large plate RM6

I had the big plate kuetiaw while my colleague had the standard sized one. The taste was okay la.... tapi saya lebih suka yang Mali's Corner.

Driving back to KL later that afternoon, I stopped at Tapah Rest Area for a break. Although I had just eaten a large plate of kuetiaw a few hours earlier, I couldn't resist buying myself a plate of mee kicap from the Chinese-owned Express Stall. This place was a regular stopping point during my frequent trips up north a few years ago.

Mee kicap at RSA Tapah, southbound

There's actually nothing much to shout about this mee kicap. It is an exceedingly simple dish of yellow noodles with beansprouts blanched in hot water, splashed with some soy sauce and topped with slices of fishcake and fishballs. I ordered an additional portion of chicken meat (the one meant for nasi ayam) to give the dish extra flavour. Complete the meal with a glass of apple asam boi from the stall next door and I'm one satisfied customer...

The last person to know

Not many of the younger generation on Facebook want to be friends with their relatives of the older generation for fear that news of their activity posted on FB profiles would reach unwanted parties, namely their parents. Not that they are doing anything terribly nasty or the like... but more on matters of the heart.

A few of my nieces have added me as friends and it has been interesting for me to see the things that are going on with their life from their status and photo updates. It is how I know who's just been traveling to where, who's having problem with boyfriends or other stuff young girls like to chat about. I drop in once in awhile, dropping a comment or two... mostly in jest. But the things I learn about them, I keep to myself... because I'm not a spy. I do not leak info to their parents or even to my wife. That's why I'm such a cool uncle :-)

One such niece, I observed, is seeing a new guy and I reckon the relationship is heading a serious direction with marital commitments becoming likelihood. But I wasn't sure if anybody else knew because nobody else in the family is talking about it... not even the young lady's parents whom I met a few weeks ago.

Last weekend, the young lady went home to her kampung. Accompanying her was her boyfriend who's being introduced to the parents for the first time. My sister-in-law received one of the biggest shocks of her life. The young man her daughter brought home is a Chinese.

News is now spreading fast through the family grapevine that so-and-so is dating a Chinese guy. The story reached my wife from another sister and she's just told me about it this evening. I feigned a little surprise as if I knew nothing about it.

This niece of mine is really a pretty lass and is known to be involved in relationships with a few Malay men before, at various stages. Apparently, none of them worked out. She's following her heart and hoping that her jodoh is now with a man of another race.

To my lovely niece from Mersing who shall remain nameless for now, I pray that you find the happiness that you seek. I wish you all the best and hope everything will work itself out in the end...

Water Conservation Initiative

 Bank of Sungai Johor near Ladang Sungai Papan in Kota Tinggi

I owe blogger Versedanggerik a tag since more than a week ago, so I guess I better get cracking. The tag is intended to raise awareness about water conservation.

I agree to do the tag because water used to be in my line of work. I was involved in managing and construction of water treatment plants for more than 5 years, part of it in a project to help reduce leakage and losses (Non-revenue water or NRW). Many Malaysians take our water supply for granted, as if it is an endless resource. As it is at present, Johor is facing a dry spell and the water levels at dams and reservoirs are falling . So here goes...

Water is precious, yet it is being wasted or poorly managed. You can help promote water conservation by sending on this meme.

If you do, simply follow these rules:

1. Create a blog entry entitled "Water Conservation Initiative".

2. Post the Water Initiative Network's Water Facts in your post.

3. List 3 things YOU will do to save water.

4. Add in the photo above, or any photo you have taken of a waterfall, river or lake.

5. End with the line: "Find out more about water conservation and good governance by joining the Water Initiative Network on Facebook! Visit us here at: Water Initiative Network!

Tag 5 or more blog/FB friends. Be sure to copy the rules, okay?

WATER FACTS
1. Of every 100 drops of water on earth, 97 are too salty to drink, 2 are locked in ice and snow, and 1 is fresh water.

2. The daily requirement for sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, as well as for assuring survival, is about 50 litres per person.

3. Reducing shower time from 20 mins to 8 mins saves up to 360 litres of water per shower.

4. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.

5. Two thirds of the water used in a home is used in the bathroom. To flush a toilet, we use up to 9 litres of water.

6. Water-efficient toilets and washing machines are good ways to save water.

7. A low-tech way to save water is to form the habit of turning on the tap to low flow and turning it off when the water is not needed.

8. Non-revenue water (i.e. stolen or wasted water) constitutes 36% of water 'used' in Selangor, Malaysia, and this raises the cost of water for everyone.

9. Water supply infrastructure cost billions of ringgit. This money could be spent in more useful ways.

10. Large areas of forests are cleared to make way for water supply dams to accommodate our soaring demand for water. These forests and their wildlife represent our natural heritage.


3 THINGS I WILL DO TO SAVE WATER

1. I will collect rainwater to be used for replacement of the clouded water in my fish tank. The dirty water would then be used to to water my plants.

2. I will fill my water bottle with filtered water from my RO unit instead of buying bottled water!

3. I will make sure that all taps in my house do not leak and the overflow valve in the toilet cisterns all work properly.

Like Pat of The English Cottage, I'm not tagging anybody because it seems that most of the bloggers I know are doing the same thing or have already been tagged.