The passenger…

Tumpang in Malay means to hitch a ride or get a lift from somebody and as I was browsing through some blogs, I came across something called nasi tumpang.

According to Wikepedia, it is a rice dish that originates from Kelantan comprising rice with different layers of dishes wrapped in a cone shape with banana leaf. Traditionally, it was the staple food for travellers or farmers in Kelantan to bring to work. I guess if I eat that, I would be the penumpang then, the passenger. LOL!!!

Jokes aside, I noted that it was available here , formerly known by a different name, and since my girl was in KL at the time, staying around there, I asked to to buy one home for me to try and she got me two…

…one fish (RM9.00) and the other, prawn (RM10.00).

I tried the fish one first…

I guess the rice was pressed into the cone so it was something like ketupat or nasi impit which I rather like so I did not have a problem with that.

The fish…

…was nice – I don’t know exactly what fish it was, probably ikan tongkol but yes, I liked it. However, when eating it, one would have to be careful with the bones…

I did come across a piece of tauhu pok (tofu puff) in it as well but it was the serunding…

…in the lower part of the cone that I enjoyed a lot. I think it was shrimp, I’m not too sure – in the aforementioned article, it said beef or fish.

I had tried the prawn one as well but I think I would prefer the fish – I thought it tasted better. There were two small prawns in it and a stamp-sized piece of egg/omelette. The serunding part was the same as what was in the one with the fish.

My girl saw something online about them having nasi tumpang here as well that would be nicer than the ones that she bought for me but she went twice – the first time it was not available and the second time, it was not ready. In the end, she just gave up and settled for this one instead. Too bad I did not get to try that other one – it does look nicer in the photographs in that blog.

I wouldn’t say it swept me off my feet though. It did not stand out as something unique or special that is quite different from anything and everything else like the Kelantanese nasi kerabu or laksam  but at least I’ve tried and I know what it is now.

I did tell my girl to go and look for gluten-free products while she was there to buy and cart home and yes, she was thrilled to see a lot of what she wanted, so much so that she was on the verge of tears, tears of joy, that is.

This was one of the many…

…that she managed to get hold of and she used that to make her own pizza…

…enough for just two pieces of this size. It was very nice and all of us enjoyed it very much. She had not had pizza for a long long time but thankfully, we can get this gluten-free spaghetti here…

…and the other day, the nice Payung Café boss, Peter, gave her some of his mushroom pasta sauce and she was able to enjoy it with the aforementioned pasta…

…adding her own bacon to it. Unfortunately, what we can get here is few and far between, nothing much really…and knowing that the budget airline is rather strict with the baggage allowance these days, I told her not to get me anything while she was in KL.

Yes, the mum did bring home a whole lot of edibles from here, there and everywhere but it was my girl who bought some croissants from Lavender and these…

…specially for me, knowing how I love those M&S all butter biscuits and Scottish shortbread as well. Isn’t she so very thoughtful and sweet?

I remember in 1986, when I was in KL for a year, I used to grab the Scottish shortbread from their sole outlet at Bukit Bintang Plaza, so many different kinds in all shapes and sizes going for only RM2.00 a pack when the expiry dates drew near. Then, there was none available for a long time.

Personally, I did not like any of their other biscuits until they came out with those all butter ones so of course I was delighted to get those as well. I am nibbling them very very slowly, bit by bit, to stretch them for as long as I can! LOL!!!