Ubat Gendut

So today is the 2nd day of Eid. At the last minute, we decided to make our way to Melaka yesterday after episodes of indecisiveness. Nak balik ke tak? Makwe( my step grandma) had earlier requested me to bring her some briyani. I was having quite a bit of a jam thinking about the amount of cooking that would take, as briyani MUST be complemented by other similarly tedious to prepare dishes like, dalcha and achar. On other days it would not be that harrowing lah, but for hari raya there are other staple dishes to help MIL prepare. Where got time and energy ma? So sorry lah Makwe, I could only prepare the dalcha and some 20 pieces of fluffy baguettes to distract you from your briyani fantasies. Bless Rasool(our masala supplier) for the idiot proof dalcha masala, I made a huge belanga without having to kill myself. InsyaAllah come Raya Haji, I will make you some briyani. That's what we eat for Eid Ul Adha anyway. Tak lah kelam kabut kan?

Dalcha

MIL, the executive chef, prepared her specialties, Bombay Chicken, Lontong and its condiments(kuah lodeh, sambal sotong and serunding). Missing from the table were ketupat, kuah kacang and rendang. This, my friends, is a big, big neon sign. This really means that MIL is about ready to hang her apron. Die! Die! Die la if next year I have to masak for raya.

Ayam Masak Merah aka Bombay Chicken

Naturally I ta pau-ed the Hari Raya spread for the Melaka folks to bedal. Ayah loves kambing but because of Mak's condition, it's been a while since he indulged in dishes that are essentially recipes to hypertension and cancer. He just said, "Ha? Kambing? Elok la tu!" And proceeded to kendurikan the stuff I brought from Singapore. I am reminded of the days when I used to menggigil when I was serving Ayah his meals. He used to be quite finicky, or perhaps I was such a terrible cook then. Heh.

Clockwise from T-L:

Gulai Ayam Belanda,Rendang Palembang, Rendang Minang & Sambal Bali

In exchange, I was given 4 different types of curries and a few sticks of lemang. Truth be told, I could not bring myself to eat duck, chicken and turkey in one seating. Dah le dalam perut ada kambing. No one's mentioned that Pakwo Akob( our family game hunter) caught anything this year, so I did not get my annual kijang, kancil and rusa feast. I was having a terrible headache almost the whole time I was in Melaka so I was not in the right state to really eat. Dang!

Asam Podeh Ikan Sagai

Turned out, I didn't really eat anything save for Mak's lychee jelly and Diana's cookie until much, much later when I visited Achik, my Ayah's brother. The first words Achik uttered when I arrived was a soulful tune to my head. He had just returned from the sea earlier and that there was a spread of all my favourite things waiting for me at the dinner table.

Sambal Belacan, Ikan Cencaru Bakar & Ulam Jering/Kacang Botol

Ese paling gomar yang nia la. Humang Aihh!

Achik Nuar really knows the way to my gut, eh, heart. Everything tasted just the way arwah Makwe used to cook. None too overpowering, yet refreshingly flavourful. Looks like Achik Aziah has inherited her MIL's skills. Even CA thinks, "Rumah Achik memang boleh makan". Hehe.Sorry, B. Keluarga lain macam2 pantang makan. Heh.

Makan at Achik's is truly worth the balik kampung trip!