The 7 Lontong Song…

Have you heard the 7 Lontong Song before? I’m sure you have but if you insist that you haven’t, then just click and watch this video clip…

Hahahahaha!!! I told you that you’ve heard it before but you would not believe me! Anyway, it’s not the season yet – still a long way to go! But seriously, this post is about lontong. Well, this is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia:

Lontong is an Asian dish made of compressed rice that is then cut into small cakes. Popular in Indonesia and Malaysia, the dish is usually served cold or at room temperature with sauce-based dishes such as gado-gado and salads, although it can be eaten as an accompaniment to other dishes such as satay and curries. It is also used in soto as an alternative to vermicelli noodles.

Lontong is traditionally made by partly cooking the rice and packing it tightly into a rolled-up banana leaf. The leaf is then secured and cooked in boiling water for about 90 minutes. Once it is cooled, the rice compacts and can be cut up into bite-sized pieces.

Well, if you have never tried lontong before, there is a West Malaysian lady from Negeri Sembilan selling that at Bandong here in Sibu in the morning. Her stall is right next to the surau opposite the primary school. For RM3.00, you get the rice cut into cubes…

…plus the ikan bilis (anchovies) sambal and half an egg. Other than that, you will also be given the gravy…

I remember eating lontong for the very first time (and probably the last as I don’t recall ever eating it again) in 1973 at the Lontong House in Singapore along one of the lanes in the vicinity of Orchard Road and my reaction was that it was ketupat served in sayur masak lemak (vegetables cooked in santan/coconut milk). Well, that is exactly what it is – cabbage and long beans cooked with a bit of santan. You put the rice cubes in a bowl and pour in the gravy…

…and then you mix in the sambal and eat it. I found that it was not lemak enough (not enough santan) and for RM3.00, it could do with a little bit more ingredients – maybe a few thin slices of fish cake or some fish balls or shrimps…and I think a bit of tung hoon (glass noodles) would be nice too.

Well, if you have never eaten lontong before, you can just pop over to Bandong one morning and get a packet…and you can add the extra ingredients yourself! LOL!!!

Footnote:
She also sells other things like nasi lemak and chicken rice but her stall as well as the one selling murtabak (The guy’s from Penang, somewhere near the Penang/Kedah border) are not open on Saturdays and Sundays.