Hentian Limau Tambun, Ipoh, June 2012

Dear Diary,

Next morning, we woke up feeling fresh and energetic. Instantly we knew that we definitely made the right decision to stay overnight in Ipoh. We checked out from the hotel and had an early lunch at a humble stall selling nasi campur. Purposely using the old trunk road to find a place to eat, we passed by Hentian Limau Tambun.

There’s a row of shops selling limau bali (pomelo) at this place. Sellers are persuasively friendly maybe due to high competition among them. Both Hubby and I are not fanatic limau bali lovers. Still, I recommended buying at least one because all my children have never eaten the fruit before. Saja nak bagi depa kenal dan rasa limau bali.

The fruit is priced according to its sizes; small RM12, medium RM15 and big RM18. We bought 1 medium sized limau bali. Fortunately, the flesh is sweet. Only Imran ate it; whereas, Zarra and Irfan didn’t favor it much.

Limau bali or pomelo is the largest citrus fruit with thick rind. Its outer skin is normally green in color but turns yellow when ripen. Its flesh inside usually is translucent white or pink. For more info, please surf Wikipedia.

Location: Jalan Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, Ipoh, Perak.

Pulut Fiesta

Dear Diary,

Do you believe me or not if I say that shopping was not the main agenda of our short trip to Padang Besar last May? The genuine reason was pulut ayam (glutinous rice with chicken). Sanggup tu drive jauh-jauh sebab nak merasa pulut ayam.

Pak Yang, my uncle, has been enticing us with stories of how appetizing pulut ayam is. He successfully influenced all of us to drive all the way up north just to have a taste of the dish. I tell you it’s worth every liter of petrol to and fro.

The eatery that we patronized serves 3 types of pulut dishes which are pulut ayam, pulut durian and pulut mangga. We ordered all three varieties and shared among us. The durians and mangoes used were fleshy and juicy. The coconut milk is fresh too.

Since pulut durian and pulut mangga are quite norm for me, my attention is focused more towards pulut ayam. Pulut ayam consists of glutinous rice, a piece of fried chicken with a type of chili sauce. The sweet and mildly spicy sauce brings together the meal splendidly. Each dish is priced at RM5.

Pulasan

Dear Diary,

This is pulasan. A local fruit that is seasonal. Its appearance looks much like rambutan but the hairs on its outer skin are thicker and shorter. Its flesh texture is also smoother and softer than rambutan. Personally, I like pulasan more than rambutan.

To open this fruit, you just need to twist the outer skin like you’re opening a mineral water bottle thus the name Pulasan. Pulas (Bahasa Malaysia) loosely means to twist open something. The seed looks exactly the same as rambutan’s seed.

After surfing the net, I got to know that pulasan seed can be eaten raw. Next time, can give it a try hihihi.

For detailed info about this fruit, click here.

Rice with Durian / Nasi Durian

Dear Diary,

Sometimes when I’ve had enough of eating durian just like that (ratah) and am too lazy to cook something out of it, I just prepare nasi durian.

Mix durian, warm water, a dash of salt with rice and tadaa your meal is ready to be eaten. Lucky the kids also love this dish. Jom makan nasi durian!

Rice with Mango / Nasi Mangga

Dear Diary,

A few days ago I posted an entry about Nasi Pisang. Today, I’m gonna share another childhood food of mine. It’s more or less the same with Nasi Pisang. All the elements are the same. The only twist is you substitute the banana with mango and you’ll have Nasi Mangga or Nasi Mempelam as I’m more familiar with. Ooh, my children also love to eat this just like their mother used to love it when she was a little girl.

Ps: I’m way overdue on stories to share yea hihihi

Rice with Banana / Nasi Pisang

Dear Diary,

This is a dish that I love as a kid. Nasi Pisang, as we call it, is just a simple dish. Now, years later, my two eldest children also like it.

The ingredients needed to prepare Nasi Pisang are obviously rice (nasi) and banana (pisang). Besides that, you’ll also need condensed milk, water (I prefer warm water) and a pinch of salt.

Just mix all the ingredients together and tadaa there you have it - Nasi Pisang.

Durian Eating by the Roadside in Perak

Dear Diary,

For our trip home, we used old trunk road from Ipoh until Tapah. There were many stalls selling durian along the Gopeng-Kampar-Tapah route. Most of the stalls are makeshift booths build up by the owner or grower of the durians themselves.

We made a pit stop at one of the booths. There we were by the roadside eating durians….

Glutinous Rice with Durian / Pulut Durian

Dear Diary,

I love durian! How do you all normally eat durian? Apart from eating it just like that (ratah cam gitu je), we also eat it with rice (nasi durian) and glutinous rice (pulut durian).

Let’s check out what are needed in preparing pulut durian.

The ingredients are durian, glutinous rice (pulut), coconut milk (with a pinch of salt for taste) and sugar (preferably brown sugar/manisan/gula kabung/gula merah). The method is you just mix all ingredients until they blend well together. I usually skip sugar since durian is already sweet and creamy.

Voila! Pulut durian is served. Savor the glorious taste of the king of fruits!!

Genting Strawberry Leisure Farms, Feb 2011

Dear Diary,

A simple plan to the bird park for Chinese New Year holidays turned into a day packed with activities up on a hilly terrain. During breakfast on the day that we were supposed to go to the bird park, Hubby shocked us by saying, “Change of plans! We’re going to Genting instead!” Imagine my surprise.

In a record setting pace, we got everything and everyone ready and started our journey. Look at the traffic that we had to endure in order to get to Genting. Bear in mind, it was a long Chinese New Year weekend and it’s Genting!

On the way up, we made a pit stop at Genting Strawberry Leisure Farms in Gohtong Jaya. It’s strawberry picking time for Imran and Zarra who had fun. Both of them looked like successful farmers with Imran being the cutter (tukang gunting) and Zarra as the gatherer (tukang bawak bakul). The funny thing was they only liked to pick but they don’t favor the fresh strawberry taste.

This farm is a one stop center for farming, leisure and business. A section of the strawberry farm is allocated for self picking. My problem is the designated section is small so visitors have to “compete” to get good beautiful fruits. If there are many pickers, there would not be many ripe strawberries left to pick and you have to pick a minimum of 100 gram. If you want to buy your harvest, RM6 is charged for every 100 gram strawberry picked.

Other than fresh strawberries, there are also jam, tea, juices, mugs, plush toys, fridge magnets, key chains and many more things being sold. After spending time at the farm, visitors can wind down at Strawberry Farmhouse Café and choose from a variety of menus offered. Along the way towards the exit, visitors will pass by shops (selling clothes, toys, honey, etc), organic farm (with vegetables, plants and flowers) and mushroom park (with all types of fungi being cultivated).

These were our harvest for the day hihi...If you’re interested to know more, please click here.