OF ROTI CANAI AND NASI LEMAK.

Woke up this morning with a sudden craving for nasi lemak. Must have been the blog I read last night about someone eating nasi lemak bungkus at an R and R location somewhere along the north south highway.His nasi lemak sounded so convincingly delicious, that I just had to have nasi lemak for breakfast today! Talk about the influence of bloggers!!

After subuh prayer, I put on a casual baju kurung and persuaded my other half that a morning drive amidst kampung scenery and serene lifestyle would freshen the mind and soul .....and the therapy would only be completed with a plate of nasi lemak and kopi o .After all this was my home kampong, Kampong Gajah, and I had a whole three hours before my first community function .

There was this eating place I spotted the other week.So we started up the main road towards Telok Intan and turned into a mud track leadind to this wooden structure premise.From a distance I could see that the place was quite packed.We were about twenty meters from the entrance when I noticed the attention we were attracting. A set of no less than fifteen eyes were focussed on me, hubby and the car. It was very unsettling! One middle-aged guy even put down his morning paper just to join in the silent eye 'feast'. Hubby got the cue when I almost grabbed the steering wheel to make a Uturn back to the main road. Another people habit I was not confortable with. Why couldn't everybody just ignored us so we could eat our nasi lemak, pay the bill and took our departure unnoticed like they did in Kuala Lumpur! Ah well, that was the end of nasi lemak kampong. Hope the nasi lemak there was not that delicious after all..

Next stop was Telok Intan itself. We proceeded to this new Medan Selera on the outskirts of town. Good, there was
ample parking space..... too many infact, that hubby was spoilt for choice and went a full round of the parking lot before taking a space nearest to the entrance. So pleasantly unlike Kuala Lumpur..

We chose a stall selling roti canai. Hubby just loved roti canai and would unhesitatingly order roti canai for breakfast
on one condition ---- the roti canai must be direct from the kwali AND the roti canai maker must be handling the dough and doing nothing else! You see he had to be sure thet the roti canai maker did not touch his nose or clean tables while
waiting for the roti to be done. "The dough easily absorbed dirt and if their hands were dirty, the roti canai would be soo 'enriched' " he reasoned.

I had to have my nasi lemak. Firt stall did not get through my ISO standard. This particular stall had his sambal separated from the anchovies ! Didn't his mother teach him how to make the original sambal bilis! You mixed the bilis and the sambal in the kwali and not on the nasi lemak plate. My nasi lemak must be authentic. Nasi lemak cooked in coco-nut milk with onions and ginger and salt to taste. The sambal must be sambal ikan bilis cooked with blended dried chillies and not chilibok.Eggs must be hard- boiled , and slices of cucumber on the plate would neutralise the 'hotness' of the sambal. That's nasi lemak for you." Go make your own nasi lemak " my husband would say. And my children? " Mak, please, please open a nasi lemak stall
We can then enjoy our nasi lemak in peace," they said.

At last I found a stall that fulfilled my sambal bilis standard. I ordered the basic authentic nasi lemak plate and a cup of black coffee. I sat beside hubby, who was happily tucking in his second roti canai, waiting for my order to come. After about two minutes the waiter with the nasi lemak in one hand and kopi o in the other made his way to my table. He set the plate and cup of kopi o in front of me. That was when I had a full view of this grissly forty something man. His shirt , hanging loosely on his body, was wet and stained; his hair uncombed and everything about him was unkempt. Now how was I going to enjoy my nasi lemak ????