Just one time…

Believe it or not, I had pulut kuning (yellow glutinous rice) just one time before and that was in 1986 when I was attending a one-year TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) specialist’s course at the Language Institute, Lembah Pantai in KL.

I would venture far and wide on weekends, using the mini buses to get around. I think it was only 50 sen any distance in any direction and one Saturday, I was around the vicinity of the Jaya Supermarket in Petaling Jaya. I liked to hang around there and once I met Sheila Majid in person! Too bad selfies were not the in-thing at that time or I sure would have had one taken with her. She was very small though, pint-sized – I bet I would look like a giant beside her.

One Saturday, I decided to walk around the shops in the area to see if I could find anything of interest and not far from the mall, I came across a coffee shop with a simple stall serving peranakan/nyonya dishes including pulut kuning. I was very familiar with nasi kuning (yellow rice) or whatever you call it but that was the first time I had seen anybody cooking it using pulut (glutinous rice). Needless to say, I simply must give that a try so I had it for my lunch with a curry dish and oh boy! It was so good!!!

I did not know then its significance in the Malay culture. I read in one website that it is used as a special dish in the celebration (happy ceremony) of a marriage, a birth or a circumcision, the Khatam Quran and any feast of thanksgiving. I never came across it ever again though so that was the one time when I ate that and enjoyed it so much.

Well, it so happened that last Sunday morning, after our early morning church service and our breakfast after that, I dropped by here to see if I could get hold of any of their very nice laksam. As expected, they were all sold out – one would have to go real early as they open at around 7.00 a.m. and all would be gone by around 8 or 9.00 a.m.

There were just a few plastic containers of whatever things they were selling left and among them, I spotted this…

– I was attracted by the yellow colour and much to my delight, it was pulut kuning with chicken rendang…

…just one tub of that left, selling for RM5.00 only and of course, without a second thought, I grabbed it straight away.

Despite having had our breakfast already, I could not wait to get home to give it…

…a try and yes, it was so so good!!! I certainly would make my way back there soon to grab some more to enjoy, that’s for sure!

In the meantime, my missus harvested some more of her terung Dayak/assam…

…and she gave some to our immediate neighbour. I saw one more in the tree, a big one yet to completely ripen and many small ones, all still green. We certainly are looking forward to more and it is good that they grow and ripen slowly but steadily, not a whole lot at one go.

NASI KERABU ASLI KELATE (2.311303, 111.820699) is located to the extreme left of the stalls at Pelangi Food Kiosks…

…in front of Wisma Azra, Jalan Kampung Nangka.