June 10, 2010

Back to Malaysia - Day Four AM

On Saturday, the fourth day of our visit to Malaysia, our morning activities began with a tour of Pasar Tani, a comprehensive farmers' market.  When traveling, I always love checking out the local markets and this is a great place to shop for local produce, seafood, meats and a large assortment of freshly prepared foods.  After the market, we were given a tour of the very interesting Royal Selangor Visitor Center and Pewter Factory by Datin Chen, the grand-daughter of its founder, Yong Koon.  This famous pewter factory is one of the oldest and largest in the world.  It was so amazing to see 'live' the different pewter production processes from casting, filing, polishing, soldering, hammering, and engraving.  We also visited their School of Hard Knocks, where we discovered that hammering pewter requires great skill.

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  • This sounds incredible! So fascinating to learn where everything comes from! Open markets are my favorite! Haggling for price sometimes is an art form! Thanks again Martha!!! http://www.meandmartha.net

    Your fans really appreciate YOU!

    Dan Viger
    Hollis center,Maine.
    Hollis 5 Corners

  • The stuff in Pic. #11 is not a fish cake. Its called "Tempeh", made from the fermentation of boiled soy beans & yeast. In US, Tempeh can be easily found at the health stores.

  • Wow...really great pictures, wonderful experiences. I think this is the post that I like the most, I keep "flipping" it again 7 again. Thanks Martha for your effort sharing them here.

  • Pic 20 of 78 is called Kek Lapis ( Layered Cake). Very famous in Sarawak Malaysia.

    Pic 23&24 of 78 - This is Murtabak. The skin is the same as the famous Roti Canai. The savory filling was made from either beef/lamb/chicken cooked with curry paste, onions and eggs were added just before placing the prepared filling on the Roti Canai skin.

    Pic 25&26 of 78 - This is called Apom Balik. And the lady is not adding condensed milk but creamy sweet corn in a can.

    Pic 27 of 78 - The cylinder looking delicasies is called Lemang while the triangle delicasies is called Ketupat Palas. Both these are best eaten with either chicken/beef/lamb curry or rendang.

  • Thank you for sharing this blog.

  • The Roti Canai dough used to make the Murtabak skin can be replaced by Popiah Skin Wrapper ( Chinese Spring Roll Wrapper).... in the US can be easily found at most Asian Grocery Stores.

  • For Rosmawati Mansor - Thank you so much for providing information and the names of these delicious foods!

  • Markets are so wonderful for experiencing and tasting different foods...very colorful, too. I loved the photos of the pewter factory tour...i have some lovely pieces of this pewter so it was fun to see where it comes from. Thanks for sharing!

  • Hi Martha,
    I had no idea there were so many species of ginger. Even in one of our Asian markets, I have only seen one kind which looks like the kind you always use. I wonder if they all taste about the same. I have never been to a market where they sell so much fish – I was curious as to how they kept it cold. Lots of ice maybe or they sell or cook it right away. Anyway, I see many tubs but no ice.
    ~
    I love that woman’s apron in picture #34 – so American! Too bad you didn’t have one of yours with you from the Martha Show to give as a gift. All the food looks great to me and I would really like to taste the meat & rice cooked in banana leaves or the noodles with different toppings. Heck, I would like to taste everything – I love Asian food!
    ~
    I found a new Asian Market/cafeteria nearby but they only had a Malaysian rice dish so I didn’t order. At the front door was a Tri-Shaw that I took a picture of for twitpic. I think they put the boxes in the front of it to keep people from trying it out and it’s not as decorated as the ones you pictured on your blog the other day but here’s my picture: http://www.twitpic.com/1v454x
    ~
    I wonder how many of your visitors to this blog knew about Malaysian Pewter – I know I didn’t. I have 2 pieces, a single flower vase and pitcher with a handle and it was made in Norway. Maybe you could show us how to pound out some dents – one of the bases got mangled somehow.
    ~
    Thanks again for sharing your adventure with us. I’m enjoying ‘Amazing America’ in the July issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine also! Trish

  • Thank you for sharing this marvelous trip to Malaysia! Delicious food!

  • Hello Martha...great soup today...you just said you are almost at 2 million..Wow!...I want a KitchenAid Mixer...just in case you're wondering! Have a great day.

  • Our pastor when i was a child was born and raised in Malaysia. His stories were always so fascinating.

  • Oh! None of you tried the durians? They may smell awful but they taste heavenly! Give it a try next time! : )

  • Your photos of Malaysia are so informative & wonderful, thanks! I'd never heard of jack or dragon fruits, loved the coconut bird houses, roasted chickpeas looked good, & cheesecake looked devine! My biggest question; why did you need a body guard in the pewter museum?

  • Talking about pewter, do you know that they produce some in Woodbury, CT too. Here is the weblink:
    http://www.woodburypewter.com/default.asp
    I have some small items from this store. The location is not very far from the Hopkins Vineyard in Warren. I've been there couple of times especially during the autumn to enjoy the colors & the crisp weather by the lake.

  • I have to be honest, I think I would be very nervous about eating from those vendors. Weren't you nervous about getting sick? I would think safety regulations would be different and just the fact that your body might not be acclimated to possible microbial differences.

  • That mold for the dessert looks really neat. Did they share the recipe for it -- the one with the dragon fruit -- and will you post it online?

  • Dear Martha

    Pic 27 of 78 - The Lemang is actually wrapped using banana's leaves.

    Pic 28 of 78 - This snack is called Keropok Lekor made from fish paste n tapiocca flour.

    Pic 29 of 78 - This snack is called Pasembor....a famous delicasies by the Indian Muslim people here in Malaysia. The Pasembor is eaten with special sauce made from grounded peanuts n spices.

    Pic 30 of 78 - These a Yong Tau Foo...customer can choose to eat them with clear fish soup or fried n dip with special chilli sauce.

    Pic 34&35 of 78 - These are called Yu Char Kway (Crispy Chinese Cruller). POpular among the Malaysian Chinese. These can be eaten as accompany with Congee (Rice porridge) or with Kaya (Malaysian custard made from egg, coconut cream n palm sugar)

    Pic 37 of 78 - These are Nasi Lemak wrapped in Banana Leaves

    Pic 42 of 78 - These are Otak-Otak.....famous delicasies from the Southern part of Malaysia....the state of Johore

  • Hi Martha, This was another absolutely interesting blog about the fascinating country, Malaysia. Everything you have shown us so far, seems so different from how things are in the USA. If I ever went there, now I would know what kind of things to expect. Your photos and comments are superior and once again all three of you look like you are having a fabulous time.I love the photo of the coconut bird houses. They really look great. The food in photo #29 looks delightful. Thanks again for taking us on this wonderful trip! Love, Jan

  • this is for mike:

    Mike -- for anyone to be a vendor, he or she needs to get a licence and observe the safety/hygiene standards. You are right. Our safety regulations maybe different but they are just as strict. We are not a third world country. Our (piped) water is clean. The only thing you may get "ill" from is eating too much hot and spicy dishes.

    nevertheless, I do understand your reservations and fears.

    Thank you.

  • Just to respond to Suzanne Allen's question, I believed the bodyguard was attached all the time to the entourage, normal security procedure for visiting VIPs/celebrities here.

  • The Dragon Fruit(Hylocereus costaricensis/undatus) or "Buah Naga" in Malay is a type of cactus, originated from Mexico & Central American regions. The varieties that are available in Malaysia were actually brought from Vietnam around 10 years ago. The plants require granite post with the height of 4 feet to support the vines & the fruit loads.

  • Beautiful pics. I have to admit that i have not even been to Pasar Tani 🙂

  • Malayia is such a hospitable country. We always accord our special guests at least a body-guard.
    It's not because we are an unsafe country. But the guard to to attend to your needs and faciliate your visit.