Visiting

In about six weeks’ time, my parents are going to Malaysia. They are going to spend about a month there. It will be their first visit for many years. Apart from catching up with old friends, what they are looking forward to most is the food.

Mum says she can’t wait to have some putu piring, while Dad wants to have nangka curry. Mum’s choice is somewhat unusual for her, as she is not normally a sweets fan – putu piring is a rice flour cake, steamed and served, preferably piping hot, with grated coconut and gula melaka (palm sugar). Check out EatingAsia’s description (great foodie blog!) for a far more mouth-watering depiction than mine, and the photos give a good indication of the dish, too. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind a nice hot putu piring myself…

Dad’s choice, nangka or jack fruit curry, is far more rustic. I’ve never had it, so I can’t attest to its goodness (or otherwise). In fact I have no idea what it would look, smell or taste like. This curry is made with unripe or immature nangka, and one description says that “The seeds are soft and taste like potatoes whilst the other parts nicely absorb the curry sauce.”

It kind of makes me wish that I was going with them, mainly because when we moved here I was a young, sheltered and ignorant fifteen year old with only a limited sense of the culture I was born into. (Now I’m a not-so-young, still pretty sheltered and definitely ignorant thirty five year old.) Going back there with them would be interesting – I’d love to hear their views of how things were and how they’ve changed. I’ve been back to KL once, and had a great time, but can’t help wondering what a visit with locals (Mum and Dad’s friends!), or at least a guide who wasn’t relying on a map and a Lonely Planet guidebook, would be like.

Categories: food, culture, travel, Malaysia