Sunday, March 26, 2017

What makes Kota Baru unique

Same language different pronunciation.
 The language is the first thing you may notice when you land and get out of the airport. The taxi man speaks and you may find it difficult to make out what he wants. They do tone down their accent for us non- kelantanese. But everywhere else when you walk either in the market or at the hotel, you hear Malay spoken in the kelantanese dialect. It's more than speaking it in a different accent. The words used are different as well. Almost as if you're in a different country.
Batik galore. ( Only cotton for me thanks)
 I love cotton. And these kelantanese print batik on nice soft cotton cloth. They also stick bling bling stones on the cloth. Difficult to wear this for work on a normal day without looking a bit out of place. Although life is short and whats a little bling at work going to do for you.
In search of pulut durian.( Found this too late )
Pulut durian is nice. Had it for the first time a few visits back. Its served with glutinous rice and coconut milk and a dash of salt and durian. When you eat it, its a cacophony of taste bursting in the mouth giving your palate some work to decipher it. But the brain will have no problem telling you its likes it and you should too.
Not sure what this is. But it comes with the condiment. Handy
I saw this bundled it during this visit to the market. I'm guessing its some fruit and the little packet is the designated condiment you should eat it with.
Pulut Mangga. 
We had pulut manga instead of durian. Also nice. Mangoes aren't as soft and goey as durians are so the obvious difference is the mushiness which is lacking in this. Taste-wise I have no complains at all. It still gives me a nice kick to my palate so I ate quite a lot of it despite being and complaining I was too full to eat anything else.
Laksam
Laksam is nothing like laksa although it sounds similar. The gravy is fish based and thick and creamy but savoury. Its a nice dish. I've had this before during one of the ward meetings. The nurses in the warm hail from Kelantan and when its their turn to bring home cooked food, we get to sample authentic kelantanese cuisine right smack in KL.
Nasi kerabu
Nasi kerabu was a little dry for me but again the taste is amazing. When you mix and mash all together you get a weird consistency of rice but a gorgeous taste when you chew.
Kerabu maggi
This is a new thing to me. Kerabu Maggi. And I think I like it a lot. I don't think I'll be able to find it easily in KL but I'll start looking soon.

No comments: