thinking of nasi ulam

when she was young, she looked forward to Ramadhan for the food especially. being a kid .

iftar would have delicious home made kuehs. tepung talam. buah melaka. kueh koci. mertabak. cucur udang and kuah kacang. curry puffs. kueh kosui. seri muka. abuk-abuk. pulut udang. each evening would have one type of really tasty kueh. made with love.

and the nasi ulam. gorgeous nasi ulam. boiled rice mixed with lots and lots of herbs (daun mata itik, daun sekentut, daun kadok, cekur etc etc) collected from the hills. kerisik. salted fish. paste of shallots and dried chillies. ginger. onions, bunga kantan.

the herbal mix was also sold by some enterprising villagers. brought around the village by children on bicycles. wrapped in banana leaves like the nasi lemak, one cost only about 20 sen then.

she also remembered ice blocks were sold by these kids too. in those days there were no fridges in the village homes. each block of ice the size of a brick cost 10 sen. but then a kati of sugar was only 30 sen !

ah, yesterday when she was young....