11.26.08
Pulling a Jamie Oliver.
Also guest blogging at Backseat Radio: When we were young…
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I may be able to pull a fake British accent, but I am still an amateur when it comes to the kitchen department. Growing up in a house, where I have a mother who is more concerned of the floor being sparkling clean than putting awesome food on the table, I rarely have the opportunity to cook. Nonetheless, cooking is still a favourite past time I like to do on special occasions.
As many of you may know, November is the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival month. What better way to get into the spirit of things by, not only trying out the beautiful food all around, but trying to make them yourself.
Who would have known that hidden in the folds of suburbia is a humble abode to learn some traditional Malaysian dishes. I have never heard of LaZat before. In fact, I never knew there is a place that is not in a hotel or a fancy restaurant where we can learn to cook the simplest dishes. It can be easily passed off as an ordinary family next door, with its green picket fence and perfectly mowed lawn. There is no flashy signboards or a gourmet kitchen inside; just a normal setting you would usually come home to.
Along with me that day were three other ladies, who are all cooking enthusiasts: Elaine from Canada, Leigh Ann from Sydney and Janet from Los Angeles who is currently residing in Perth. Compared to them, I am like I was in Form 2’s HomeEc class, learning to cook long beans and curry chicken. Gulps.
LaZat has six menus that they rotate throughout the month, and we will learn to cook four dishes: an appertiser, two main courses and a dessert. I thought we would be cooking as they teach, but instead, before trying out every dish, there would be a demonstration every time at the counter up front. Ana, the hostess, would brief us on the ingredients as well as some tips on how to make the dishes taste better and more unique. While she was doing that, Saadiah, the chef, would do the demonstration. We were also given a recipe book each, in which we could make notes.
I have never been to a cooking class before, and honestly, I had trouble remembering the steps. The recipe book did not really do much help as the directions were quite vague, as it is with home cooking. So, I was constantly checking out the lady next to me to refresh my memory, as if a kid peeking during spelling tests. Heh.
The last time I cooked, and I mean really cooked, was at the beginning of the year in Brisbane, making my mom’s homemade prawns for Chinese New Year. So, as you can imagine, it has been quite a while. I was a little nervous, wondering if I would mess things up. But all the same, the excitement was there, like a captain anxious to head out to the football field for his first game.
Besides, Ana and Saadiah would walk around guiding us while we were cooking anyway, so we were not lost toally.
The first dish we made was Prawn Fritters (Cucur Udang).
It was a simple dish, where you throw everything into the mixing bowl and mix before chucking the pieces in the boiling oil to deep fry. I forgot to turn up the fire for my first batch as we should do, so the insides were still a little uncooked, but all the same, it was edible. It was nicer when dipped in their homemade sweet chilli sauce. Saadiah also taught us to make the decorations on the sides. However, with these unsteady hands, I did not manage to come up with the curvy shapes like she could. Yet, the more important thing was, my food was edible. Heh.
The second dish and the highlight on the menu was Beef Rendang.
It was probably the toughest dish to cook as well, what with the need to watch the pot so the sauce would be in the right moistness, and to make sure the beef is cooked thoroughly. Ana also gave us a tip on how to get the right taste out of it. The not-so-secret ingredient? Grated coconut, a.k.a kerisik, an ingredient commonly left out for foreign chefs making rendang in other countries. Yes, now you know.
It was funny how by at the end, everyone’s rendang came out looking differently. Leigh Ann’s got the more runny sauce, while Janet’s looked more dried up, and Elaine’s looked darker in texture. Mine was just right; not too dry, which I dislike, and not too watery, how it was not supposed to be. It was not too spicy too, so yes.
The Beef Rendang took a longer time to cook, as we needed to let the meat simmer in the pot. So while we were waiting, we made the third dish: Spicy Cucumber Salad (Acar Timun).
Once again, this was another simple dish to make, throwing everything in and cook. I just had a problem with what I should do first and next. And I had a problem at the mortar pounder, where I needed to mash out the dried shrimps. I am not exactly skilled with that, and I was more attentive towards keeping the ingredients from spilling out all over. Heh.
I am no veggie eater, but I enjoyed this dish, probably because it tasted a tad bit sour and it had cucumbers and carrots instead of leafy vegetables.
Last but not least, and probably the favourite dish to prepare out of the four for me was the Onde Onde, palm sugared glutinous balls.
Surprisingly, the others did not like the taste of it, but me, I loved it. I guess it has something to do with it being sweet to the core. Yum. And as surprising as that, it was quite easy to make as well: stuff blocks of palm sugar in the dough, roll them into balls, plop them into a pot of boiling water and then roll them out on the grated coconut. Voila.
After cooking every dish, we sat outside at the porch and enjoyed our own food, tried them out with slow mouthfuls and let them linger on the tongue to have a better feel of our hardwork well done. That day, the weather was cloudy and it was not humid to sit out there for lunch. No raging sunlight or depressing rain, just everything in between for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Mmm, tasted just like home. Or at least, how our idea of home would be.
If you are up for some kitchenery mischief yourself, I would recommend stopping by LaZat to learn some Malaysian cuisine. The price is just right for a half-day class, and you have quite a selection of menus to choose and learn from. Ana and Saadiah are the most down-to-earth bunch as well, so it is the making of everything heartwarming, just like a home should feel like.
Also seen at VM @ Travel Talk.
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LaZat Cooking Class
584, Jalan 17/17
Section 17
46400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
T: +6 019 238 1198
E: enquiries@malaysia-klcookingclass.com
W: http://www.malaysia-klcookingclass.com
11.21.08
Don’t think, just shoot.
We were hanging around the Orang Asli village, still drying up our asses from the rapids shooting up the Tembeling River earlier, when a great kingdom of rain clouds started moving towards our direction. As we tried to speed up the tour, the wind grew stronger and rustled the trees around us. We had all just escaped into our boats, ready to head back to our resort when the rain started to fall like big teardrops.
It was like a race as we tried to speed back down the river bends without actually overturning the boats at the rapid areas. The boats were roofless, and everyone was scrambling to shelter themselves under soaked towels and pathetic deflated cushions. And all I could think of was, I have spent all my life running away from rain and keeping myself dry in the car during traffic jams, why should it be the same now?
Ah, what the heck, I thought, as I unveiled the towel over my head and felt the heavy rain soaked me inside out instantly. I was already wet from the water activity earlier, and it would be futile anyway to hide from the rain with nothing concrete as a shelter, so why even try? It is not everyday one gets to be covered in rain within the premises of a rainforest, so why not just embrace it all now?
I saw the rain lasering down to the river, and remembered a scene from Forrest Gump, where he talked about the raindrops coming from all sides of him: front, back, downwards and even those shooting upwards. I saw elderly trees watching us on both sides of the river, with branches of leaves cascading down on us like a girl drying her hair off her shoulders. The world beyond the lush green borders fell away, and I smelt the great outdoors of green and blue.
I felt a sense of freedom as I looked up at the sky raining down on me. The feeling of the cool raindrops caressing my face like happy tears streaking my cheeks, and the feeling of not having to worry about things that were supposed to happen and just going with the flow. Growing up, I have never been one who would leave my life up to fate, but that day, amidst the rainforest, it was liberating to just throw all cautions in the air and embrace what Mother Nature has given to me.
I could not help smiling towards the sky.
The rain had slowed down when our boats kissed the dock. We walked back to our rooms with squishy slippers and drenched forms. I took a hot shower the moment I peeled my clothes off of me like a second skin, and afterwards, buried myself under the sheets and felt this sense of comfort and cuddle that would lull me to sleep dreaming of flying with clouds.
I would not trade that with anything else in the world.
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Mutiara Taman Negara Resort
Kuala Tahan
27000 Jerantut
Pahang Darul Makmur
Malaysia
T: +6 09 266 3500 / +6 09 266 2200
E: cro@mutiarahotels.com
W: http://www.mutiarahotels.com
11.17.08
Something fishy.
Also guest blogging at Backseat Radio: Just watch the explosions in the sky.
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Many people have asked me which is the most interesting place I have been to around Malaysia, and to their surprise – and my own – I have said it was Terengganu. I like it that the state is untouched by rapid modernisation. I like it that it is still holding on strong to the heritage heirlooms that has been passed down by their forefathers. And, being one of the few states straddling the Malaysian coastlines, I like it that their food will always have the freshest seafood on their menu.
I guess part of the reason why I had fun during the trip was because we had a heck of a tour guide bringing us around. He knows Terengganu from back to front, and he even brought us to the core of all things that made Terengganu the way it is. We did not visit retails selling songket and wau, but we went to the makers’ homes while they were still weaving the songket, and carving out the wau designs. We did not simply visit any restaurants serving their staple food, but we went to the breadwinners of the industries.
We stopped by this fishing village in Seberang Takir, where about four families were there managing the processing of Keropok Lekor: one going out to sea to catch the fish, another waiting at the dock for the day’s catch, another to grind the fish to bits, and another to put them together as crackers. I swear that the final packed product does not look as gross as it does in the picture above, this is merely at the last stage of the processing.
Keropok Lekor is a kind of fish crackers originated from Terengganu, and it is a must-buy staple food. It is made up majorly of fish, and because of that, it is high in protein. The crackers are sold in two kinds: one in thin slices, and another in sausage-form slices. The more recommended type is the latter, and it is usually eaten dipped in chilli sauce. However, I like eating it the way it is to taste out the overwhelming aroma of the fish.
Drive down any streets in Terengganu and you are sure to run into at least one stall selling Keropok Lekor. I suppose as long as the produce is straight from the sea, one would not miss out on the genuinity of the crackers. As Kek Lapis Sarawak is the food from Sarawak to bring home , Keropok Lekor is the unique souvenir from Terengganu to bring home.
We also visited this family in Rhu Tapai bulk-selling Otak-Otak and Sata. In the morning hours still too early for me, they were already up mashing fish bits to paste and stuffing them into folded banana leaves to grill over the fire, before their clients come buy from them to sell at their stalls.
Otak-Otak is fish mousse grilled in banana leaf, and it is already quite a known dish around Malaysia. This one I taste was blended with chilli and it tasted awesome. Unlike most Otak-Otak you can find in KL, which is overwhelmed with the smell of grated coconut, you could still taste the freshness of the fish as if not too long ago, they were still swimming their merry way in the great big ocean, not knowing they would be breakfast soon.
My favourite dish from Terengganu would have to be Sata, another kind of Malaysian fish cake. Like Otak-Otak, it is mashed to paste form, stuffed in a cone-size banana leaf and grilled over the fire. I just cannot get enough of them. What got me hooked was of course the freshness of the fish, without any false pretenses of grated coconut. And they are so cute in those cone pockets. You just cannot help eating one after the other.
For dessert, one can go for something sweet and traditional from Terengganu. Kuih Akok is another popular traditional pastry, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu. It is an oven-baked pastry that tastes kind of sweet with a sticky texture. It is not usually kept overnight, so you are guaranteed a fresh batch every day.
Our tour guide brought us to the home of a Kuih Akok maker still making her pastries the traditional way, when everyone around her has moved on to a modernised oven. She would wake up at the wee hours of the morning and start making the bater to be baked in a makeshift oven of coconut shells. Then, she would sell them to her clients to be sold at restaurants and retails.
Her Kuih Akok tasted really sweet, and they were so oily that you could print out your fingers on the tracing paper. Nonetheless, it tasted good, and the amount of grated coconut was just right. However, as you know me as one who could not stomach too much sweetness, I could only eat as much as two or three pieces.
11.12.08
A wasteland for your disposal.
The tide was low as the boat pushed up the coastline of the Bako National Park. Far off the distance, some 6.3 metres away was the entrance sign, where the king tides would reach every six hours. Guarding the coastline were hard, porous rock formation known as sandstones that is a making of 23 millions of years. As everyone made their way to the park headquarter, I stayed back a little waiting for Yusman to photograph the sandstones, as I played with the jelly-like mud mixed with sand. (What can I say, I like cheap thrills). I looked around me and thought to myself there is something unusual about this place. All I ever know of a national park is lush greens of a bloated jungle. Seeing the faces of the rock formations, I believe there is a lot more about the great outdoors that I still need to learn of.
We were barely in the park for an hour and already I hated the sun. Mind you, I have never done any serious outdoor trekking and would probably always not look forward to the ones to come. God knows what I will run into in the jungle, and I will always have this perpetuous fear of leeches. (Kind of not helping whenever you colleagues come back from the jungle complaining about their leech-bites). The sun was unkind that day and every move I made felt like a thousand tonnes, and already I was whining mentally to go back to the city.
I was barely paying attention as the tour guide stopped every once too often to talk about the vegetation lining the trail, and as the tourists in front blocked the path talking gazillion shots of the Proboscis Monkeys. All I could think about was the cosy bed in my city hotel room and how much more sleep I could help myself to if I were there.
Suddenly, the scenery around me changed. The ambiance fell off as the trees stopped their stroll with us down the trail. It was like the curtains opened and I was face with something beyond the cloth in front of me. The canopying trees opened up to a clearing and my breath was taken away. My thoughts of the city just disappeared as suddenly as the scene before me emerged.
The first thing I thought of was “The Blasted Lands”. Blame it on the book I was reading then: Stephen King’s The Talisman. It was like a wasteland that stretched for miles. Broken tree trunks littered the muddy ground and everything was flattened out to connect to the waters miles away. Bald fig trees stood like crooked soldiers further off on the trail saluting you with their fractured limbs. Roots planted unsteadily on the dry soil beneath, as if trying to drink from the pathetic stream in front of them. The hills behind the setting seemed rocky and about to tumble down on us due to the dry weather.
We set foot along the creaking boardwalk with nothing over our heads. The sun glared down on us, threatening to burn us flat like the land around us. Short shadows imprinted their blacks on the soil that is peppered with Fidelious Crabs, tinting the sand with their inappropriately striking blue, crawling about drunkenly with their oversized claw. Half of me was drowsy from the heat, but another half of me could not believe the sight in front of me. How could a piece of land like this exist in my side of the world?
While everyone was taking interest in the Proboscis Monkeys basking in the sun, I was staring about at the fig trees, as if it were from a bad nightmare and at any moment now, one was going to reach forward, grab me and tear me to pieces. There was an eerie atmosphere hanging around that I could not get enough of.
It was not so fun anymore when we return to the mangrove forest later in the afternoon. The tide came up and the army of fig trees finally had their dips of sea water. The wasteland was no more, water filling in the empty space that it was supposed to be. The place seemed more alive. Even the Long-tailed Macaques came out to play, stealing food from the boatmen’s lunchboxes and crossing path with us on the bridge as if it were a normal affair.
I found a favourite spot in Sarawak as I sat in one of the porches waiting for our boat to bring us back to the city. Well, at least a favourite spot thus far.
Although Bako National Park is one of the smallest in Sarawak, it is still one of the oldeest, and its treasures are abundant from what I have read about it. With its rainforest housing interesting flora and fauna, an extensive network of trekking trails leading to jungle streams and waterfalls, secluded beaches with a panoramic rocky shoreline… if Mother Nature were to seat herself on the coastline of Borneo, Bako would probably be her womb. What I have seen then was probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Perhaps, I thought, it was not so bad throwing myself in the wilderness like that. It would definitely be nice to return to Bako and try out one of their 18 trails and who knows, I might come out a converted.
Also seen on VM @ Travel Talk.
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Bako National Park
Opens daily @ 8AM-5.15PM
National Parks Booking Office
Visitors Information Centre
Jalan Tun Abang Haji openg
93000 Kuching
Sarawak
Malaysia
T: +6 082 248 088
W: http://www.ebooking.com.my
11.10.08
Bliss, however, is not ignorance.
Also guest blogging at Backseat Radio: Judging this book by its cover.
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After being on the edge of my seat for more than two months, what better way to let it all go in a whoosh over a spa session with some of the people who share the same stress over the same period in time. Although it is commonly known that a lady does not need a reason for relaxation, but it is always fun to have one nonetheless. After hearing there is such a thing as a ’sparty’, best gather up some of your female colleagues for a different kind of bachelorette party.
Generally, a sparty is a party at a spa for, say, about 10 or less of your closest friends. You girls get to do stuff there together, like a steam bath, chilling at the patio, getting your own choice of massage – maybe not the in the same room, because face it, we will probably never be that close - and enjoy a spa cuisine with practically the whole spa outlet to yourselves.
Elaine from Energy Health and Day Spa hooked us up at their Mont Kiara branch for a few relaxing hours on a lazy Saturday all to ourselves. We got to choose from a few kinds of massage we would like, such as a facial treatment, a body wrap treatment, and a few different kinds of massages. I was torn between going the conventional treatment of a Shiatsu massage, or a unchartered territory of a Hot stone massage. After some not-so-deep consideration, I went for the latter, and boy was I up for a treat.
After changing into our own robes at their changing room, we all got into a few minutes of steam bathing. Basically, it is just to lock yourselves up in a small room, where there is constantly steam gushing out from a scorching pipe. This is to open up your pores and get all the icky stuff out of your skin. Half of the time while I was in there, I could barely see who I was talking to. And I was wondering if I were going to pass out anytime soon because the weather outside was not exactly a cooling one that day. I think we were only in there for about 15 minutes, and all of us scurried out before we turned into lobsters.
We took a time out at their patio that has been reserved for us only. Sipping over a cup of tea with a cooling towel over your face, you could just sit back and relax as the world goes by around you while you listen to the rustling of the leaves around you.
However, being in Mont Kiara, where the area is still under heavy construction, and being just next to an apartment swimming pool, you cannot really get the total tranquility you would hope for with all the machines hammering and the kids screaming and splashing in the water. But, the atmosphere is there and if you could channel the right wavelength, you could actually find peace.
Next, would be the main course of the sparty. I was escorted to a curtained room where I would get my massage treatment. The masseuse uses these black stones that are probably the same ones decorating the floors of the patio outside. The stones are of different sizes and they are warmed up in a pot of boiling water. The stones are supposed to work with your body’s blood circulation or something, and eases up your tensed muscles.
There is no direct contact between the stones and the skin; there will always be a towel to prevent first degree burns. The masseuse placed a line of stones on my spine first, and every passing second, I was holding my breath for the heat to hit, and when it did, wow it burned and half of the time I was contemplating if I should just call the thing off.
Unlike a Shiatsu massage, which I would fall asleep to all of the time, I was constantly driven awake whenever the masseuse rubbed the stones over my body. It took a while to get used to the heat. Sometimes, it felt like I was putting myself through more torture than easing everything up. Like asking someone to please burn me to death with a fire torch, and eat me up crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
I will not lie that I did not really get a lot of ‘relaxing’ time with this kind of massage. But once it was over, it did felt nice. Whether it was nice because it was finally over, or because the stones have perfected my muscles and blood circulation, I would have to come back to you on that. It is going to be a while before I go through that again. Perhaps I am more used to hands doing the massage rather than stones.
We finished off our sparty with a tête-à-tête at the patio over a glass of fruit juice and over some salad thingamajig. A jumble of capsicum, salad greens, pineapples, chickens and the likes that taste sweet, salty and sour all at the same time. Perhaps it was the massage, but I was chomping down the food like I were to go back to the jungle the next day with no food to eat. I am even putting things in my mouth I would never do that on a normal day. Except the greens, because I do not eat greens. I just make them. Heh.
All in all, it was a well-deserved escape. Quiet time to throw work to the back of your mind and just hide between the seconds of euphoria. I would definitely look forward to something similar to this in the near future, though not too near as not to kill the novelty of it. Ladies, do try something different like this once in a while too with your girl friends to get all the pampering you deserve. In fact, do it with your man. I am sure most spa outlets out there have couple treatments now. I do not know about you men, but you can probably try that with your guy friends if you all are into this kind of stuff. Or not. Heh.
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Energy Health & Day Spa
Damai Sari, Mont Kiara Damai
3, Jalan Kiara 2
Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
T: +6 03 6201 7833
W: http://www.energymindbodyspirit.com
11.04.08
CAT-astrophe!
Here’s a kitty.
There’s a kitty.
And a whole lot of kitties when you walk through this entrance.
I thought it was ridiculous at first. Of all things you can make a museum out of, a Cat Museum. Now I have seen everything. Heh. And I would at least say it is cool if there are live cats in the museum, but sadly, all they have is some 2,000 exhibits of anything and everything about the felines from around the world.
But, how can I say no to something as cute as this?
I mean, just look at it! How could you say no? It would be a sin to overlook this house of the felines when they are looking like that.
I have to give it to them for coming up with the time to go out there and find everything that they could about cats. Whatever cats you have encountered throughout your years on this fair Earth, you can see them once again shelved up in this museum to go down in history.
There are figurines.
There are pop-up books. Although this looks more like a horror story than a bedtime story. Giant kitties attacking baby cribs is not something one would recommend reading to your kids before bed.
There are framed posters and pictures. I especially love the serial ones here. Definitely something I would like decorating my walls. Simple yet adorable.
And these cute ones peeking out at you at the turn of the corner.
And also the more popular ones you have seen growing up. My childhood favourite, Tom & Jerry, which is still something nice to watch on the Cartoon Network from time to time. From the purple Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, to the black kitty in Pinocchio, to the fat and lazy orange cat who loves lasagna – Garfield, to the itty-bitty kitties in The Aristocats.
Also, the Japanese future wonder Doraemon.
And who could forget the unexplainable phenomena that is Hello Kitty. Taking the world by storm in any form of memoriabilia from school bags and water tumblers to fans and balloons. Merely looking at it gives me the creeps.
The praise-worthy Maneki Neko for good fortune.
Not forgetting mascots like Sawasdee for the 1995 SEA Games and Kuching’s own yellow cat mascot that comes out to greet everyone during the Kuching Festival in August.
Back in the old days of 1788, people puffed – or purred – up a storm with the Black Cat.
And the not-so-cute ones: some figurines made out of seashells or pistachio shells or something. And these cat teapots that looks as if they were asking for more milk.
And a gravestone ala Stephen King’s 1983 Pet Sematary. Or not. Looks more like a comedy rather than horror. Heh.
It is not really a place I would put on top of my list when visiting Kuching and/or Sarawak. But, it would be a fun trip to just be in the middle of it all. It is, after all, the first and only Cat Museum available. Ever. And you do not have to worry about coming out with cat hair all over you. However, I would not recommend it to you if you were a ailurophobe. It might give you nightmares for life.
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Cat Museum
Bukit Siol, Jalan Semariang
Petra Jaya
93050 Kuching
Sarawak
Malaysia
Opens Tuesday to Sunday @ 9AM – 5PM
T: +6 082 446 688 ext. 805
11.02.08
Sarawak’s sweetheart.
There is a cake shop in Penang known as the Sunflower Layer Cake Shop, and it is holed up in a down-to-earth double-storey terrace in Tanjung Bungah. When I was still staying in that area when I was in high school, I went to a Baptist church there, and every month they would have a birthday celebration for the church members of that particular month. My parents were in charge of the birthday cakes, and they would always get a 30kg cake from Sunflower.
There are two cakes that I will take without thinking twice: my mom’s homemade chocolate cake, and a split between Secret Recipe’s Oreo Cheesecake, or New York Baked Cheesecake. I like layer cakes. I think they are an art in the form of eatery. It is hard enough to bake a cake, but to bake it with a mix of two colours, that is like a chef’s rocket science. But. You know what they say: Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. That is why my mom does not bake the chocolate cake every weekend anymore, and I will only go have a slice at Secret Recipe’s in an empty stomach. And I have slowly laid off layered cakes after having to eat it every month for almost two years.
I was taken aback when I heard of the Sarawak Layered Cake. Only available in Sarawak, it is like a cross between Picasso and Anthony Bourdain. Whilst a normal day layer cake comes in brown and light brown, the Sarawak Layered Cake comes in all kinds of colours, all kinds of patterns, and all kinds of flavours. And I heard that some of these cakes, you can actually see different types of patterns forming with every single slice of the knife. Unbelievable? Believe it.
It is definitely a must-buy and a must-try for anyone visiting Sarawak. So, during my short stint to the state a month back, no matter how crammed up our schedule was, we made sure particularly to drop by a specialised store to get some home. Or at least try some.
We visited the Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis in Kampung Gersik, Kuching. It is just right across the river from the city centre, and a short boat ride away. The place has gained popularity amongst the locals, and because Hari Raya was just around the corner when we dropped by, the place was packed with people picking and choosing their favourite flavours. Heck, even our photographer, Yusman, emerged with a box – yes, a box – full of layer cakes. They sell the cakes at as cheap as RM10, much cheaper compared to some of those sold in the markets. My colleague spotted a small slice going at RM25 or more.
Now, I am not a fan of really sweet confectionaries. And especially if they are really colourful and bright, I would not even touch it. These cakes are reeking of Buncho poster paints, and call me a chicken, but I settled for colours and flavours that are edible on my usual day.
The Sarawak Layered Cake is moister and sweeter. Though it is a different kind of dessert to try out, it was not really a taste-imploding moment for me. In fact, the jelak moment – you know, the kind of moment when you felt like purging after having too much pasta or sweet stuff or just ate too much of something – came much quicker and I had to put away the cake. Guess I was not over the Sunflower debacle just yet. And a more colourful cousin from the East Coast is not going to change my mind either.
But I would not take my own word for it if I have not tried it myself. Some of my colleagues actually enjoyed the cake. So, if you are ever stopping by Sarawak, or having friends stopping by there, get some back as souvenirs, as it is quite a unique gift unavailable anywhere else in Malaysia, or the world. Try it yourself, and be the judge.
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Kek Lapis Dayang Salhah
40 Kampung Gersik
Petra Jaya
93050 Kuching
Sarawak
Malaysia
Opens daily @ 8.30AM – 10PM
T: +6 082 445 040 / +6 082 371 348 / +6 019 877 7220
E: sedap@keklapisdayangsalhah.com / keklapisdayangsalhah@gmail.com
W: http://www.keklapisdayangsalhah.com
