[Food] Heritage Dish of Johor: Laksa Johor

Laksa Johor [Photo Source: The Star Online]

When I first saw the headlines, I thought it must have been one of those arguments between countries over who has the heritage rights over a certain food. Though what Johor is saying here is that they want to gazette two of their local dishes - Laksa Johor and Asam Pedas. (Musa, 2016)

State Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage committee chairman Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan vaguely explained the difference of Johor's Asam Pedas to that of the other Malaysian states, saying that there's a difference in terms of its "hot and spicy gravy".

Laksa Johor
 
It's much clearer a difference for the Laksa Johor dish. It is said that the late Sultan of Johor, Abu Bakar, visited Italy in the 1800s. After that particular trip, he came up with the idea of replacing normal noodles with Italian spaghetti.

According to Makansutra, this dish is not commonly found even in Johor as it is tedious to prepare. The website then went on to provide the addresses of places that are offering Laksa Johor.

Even in the Johor Istana, the dish is only served at "special occasions and Hari Raya celebrations" (Loh, 2016). I'm pretty sure that our Singapore Ministers would have the opportunity to try the very best of Laksa Johor when they visit the Sultan during Hari Raya.

only at special ceremonies and Hari Raya celebrations.

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/07/158409/rich-and-royal-taste

only at special ceremonies and Hari Raya celebrations.

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/07/158409/rich-and-royal-taste

So other than being a favourite dish of royalty, what else makes Laksa Johor a heritage dish? I like how this article puts it - it's a heritage dish when it helps to Bind Generations. (Ismail, 2016)


References

Ismail, S. September 22 2016. Dishes that bind generations. New Straits Times Online. Accessed on October 2, 2016. http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/175063/dishes-bind-generations

Loh, P. July 15 2016. Rich and royal taste. New Straits Times Online. Accessed on October 2, 2016.
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/07/158409/rich-and-royal-taste

Makansutra. November 26 2013. The Royal Laksa Johor. Accessed on October 2, 2016. http://www.makansutra.com/stories/5/1029/TheRoyalLaksaJohor

Musa Z. September 30 2016. The Star Online. Johor to gazette ‘laksa’ and ‘asam pedas’ as heritage dishes. Accessed on October 1, 2016. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/09/30/johor-to-gazette-laksa-and-asam-pedas-as-heritage-dishes/

[Cameron Highlands] Brinchang: A Stop Point

After spending my first few hours in Cameron Highlands, I was confident enough to go beyond the boundaries of Kea Farm. In truth, there was only one road that leads to the different townships and as such, one cannot get lost. 

Visitors who want to head from Tanah Rata to Brinchang and vice versa will thus need to pass by the this township. To get to Brinchang from where I'd stayed, it took me just a simple 10 minutes drive through the soft meandering road and breathtaking mountains.

This town has its own fire station and mosque. There are also many small hostels if you're looking at budget stays. You can even find Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken here! My family drove into this town on a wet evening and we had our very first steamboat in Cameron Highands. It was not the best though. (For our fav steamboat, check out my post on Kea Farm). 

1. Big Red Strawberry Farm

There are a number of strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands. But if you're staying around Brinchang, then this strawberry farm is one that you should visit. The drive in was already interesting enough. I'd to take a 15 degree slope all the way up to the farm. Though called a strawberry farm, the owners chose to also grow flowers and vegetables. They also had a good collection of cactus.

2. Food Galore

Brinchang is brimming with restaurants ranging from normal zhichar (Cooked dishes) to their tall chimney steamboat. If ever you want fast food, KFC is on hand to serve you that 13 herbs and spices chicken. But what got my family excited about was the roadside food stalls that sold fired stuff. From crackers and curry puffs to tapioca and sweet potatoes. We threw all cares into the wind as we usually do not eat road side food. The taste of the food was just extraordinary. I'm sure that the piping hot food also helped play a part in increasing the level of tastiness.

3. Time Tunnel Museum

After all the feasting, you come to this oddity of a place. How is it that there's a museum at 1,000m? Well, the museum provides visitors with the history about the Orang Asli around the mountainous area, and also interesting vintage memorabilia of Cameron Highlands over the years.

[Cameron Highlands] Kea Farm: 3 Worthy Things to do

Kea Farm is known to be an agricultural area of Cameron highlands. (1) From this area, there is a road that will lead you up the renowned Mossy Forest and the BOH Tea Plantation. It was one adventure that I would have liked to take but I had wanted to spare my elderly parents and children the walk. There were still plenty to do at Kea Farm.


1. Steamboat - Warming Up the Stomach

I've read articles about how good some of the steamboat restaurants are. Some came with tall steamboat chimneys while others proclaimed that kids eat free. But the best steamboat that I've tasted is located at Nova Hotel called Hometown Steamboat Restaurant. Like other steamboat gimmicks, this restaurant uses charcoal stoves for their steamboat. 

Beyond the gimmick, the food quality was pretty decent and the amount of food, enormous. I had with me my family of six, and I was advised by one of the locals that ordering three sets was sufficient. He was totally correct! The serving staff were lovely too, especially the restaurant manager.

Warning: You will smell like BBQ after you have finished your meal. But I loved the smoked smell.

2. Plucking Strawberries

With such a lovely weather that Cameron Highlands offers, fresh temperate fruits are abound. One of which are strawberries. Up in the highlands, strawberries are aplenty and you can buy load full of this fruit. But a better way to get your strawberries is to pluck them yourself. Adults and children alike are able to do their own picking of the reddest and juiciest strawberries from the strawberry plantation. It is something worth experiencing.

3. Fruits and Vegetable Market

Throughout my stay at Cameron highlands, I'd passed by the market numerous times since it was pretty close to my hotel. Nestled just next to a hill, the market sees a narrow two-lane road that made it difficult to drive through. As such, most people would thus park their cars along the side of the main road. Here, you can get oranges, sweet potatoes, corns, and of course, strawberries (Which are much cheaper than if you were to pay for the plucking of strawberries).

Unless you're a vegetable shopaholic, there is really nothing much to do here. Still, it's a good opportunity to soak in the sight and sound of such a market. 

Reference

1. Cameron Highlands.net. http://www.cameronhighland.net/kea-farm.htm Accessed on June 20, 2015.

[Cameron Highlands] Driving Up the Highlands

We started out at about 2:30pm from Ipoh and the first thing I saw was the massive destruction of nature. Hill after hill have been chopped off and big tipper trucks continued their extraction of stones, rocks and soil from these hills. I'll make this statement and keep it as that because I do not want to be involved in the politics of this matter. I hope the Malaysian government will ensure that the destruction of these hills do come with very good reasons other than just for development and modernization. 

Two Routes to Cameron Highlands

There are two roads from the opposite end that will lead you to this "hill station" in the clouds. Hill station is a term given by the British to signify a town that is up in the highlands or mountains that are generally above 1,000 metres. These two roads are from the western side of Malaysia. 

Tapah 

One is through Tapah which would be a curvy 1.30 hours drive. Even though it's a closer route to Singapore and KL, more people are skipping this route since it's more windy. This route though is more scenic and you can also stop to see the Lata Iskandar Waterfall.

Simpang Pulai

This road starts from Ipoh. As I did not want to be wrecked by the dizzy spell because of the windy road up to Cameron, I used this road. The roads are said to be much wider here. The ride up took me 1:45 hours and it was totally interesting for me. 

Firstly, I enjoyed navigating the bends. I tried to keep my speed low so that when I turn, the car does not gravitate too much to the left or to the right, thus reducing the probability of my passengers getting motion sickness.

Secondly, I faced all the elements as I drove up to Cameron - sweltering sun at the start of the road, then with intermittent showers, before feeling the coldness of the air that started to deep into the car. The temperature monitor in the car showed a drop of temperature from 33 degrees to 21 degrees. What a huge jump in temperature!

Thirdly, the road signs were well put together. So the chances of getting lost is rather low. Halfway through the journey, you will see a sign Tanah Rata (this is the name of one the towns up in the highlands). Follow that signboard, and other signboards with the words "Cameron Highlands" and you should be fine.

[Ipoh] City of Millionaires

Population size: 700,000

Distance from Singapore: 556km

As so Ipoh is called - a quaint town that seemed deserted as I drove into Malaysia's fourth largest city. "Where are the people?" There were cars, but barely anyone was on the streets.

Seemingly, I found most of them in the shopping mall. Ipoh Station 18 is one of the more happening malls with good restaurants and a healthy sized crowd. Even though it was a Sunday, the crowd size was still manageable. 

There's a straight flight from Singapore to Ipoh but I chose to land at Kuala Lumpur (KL) because I wanted some element of a road trip. Moreover, the big rental companies such as Hertz and Avis were only located in KL.

It was a 2.5 hours drive to Ipoh and the N-S road was well-metalled.

The demographics see a larger group of Chinese whose ancestors had toiled in this state to extract tin as early as the 1820s.

I stayed there for a night in preparation of my drive up to Cameron Highlands. 

Three things that is interesting in Ipoh:-

1. An Interesting Stay

I checked out Trip Advisor for a unique hotel and the name - M Boutique Hotel came up. Situated about 10 minutes drive to the major eateries, the hotel was indeed unique. The hotel had taken on a 1930s theme starting from its reception counter - old jerry cans, wall-to-wall medical boxes, to interestingly decorated rooms. Even the access card was placed in cute cover with the wifi password being written on a movie stub. Just below, the hotel sees a classily designed Old Town White Coffee Restaurant where we had our hotel's complimentary breakfast. 

2. White Kopi Time

The pioneer of white coffee - Kopi Kedai Sin Yoon Loong started serving their first glass of coffe some time in 1937. Now, the coffee shop still sells its brand of coffee. Though they serve food, most of their clientele were there just for their coffee. A must not miss! 

3. Every kind of chicken

You've heard of paper wrapped chicken (纸包鸡), but when in Ipoh, you have to try either the salted chicken or their dried herbal chicken. A number of shops selling these famous-styled chicken can be found along Jalan Yau Tet Shin. 

We wanted something healthier so we gave the herbal chicken a go. We also topped it up with wanton mee and char siew mee. If you ordered wanton mee, you will only get that, wanton and mee. The herbal chicken was a tad bit dry but was indeed tasty.