1.
Baby chat potatoes can be quite delusional.
Some think they’re royalty.
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Some gather with the flock and graze on imaginary grass.
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The brave ones enter the waters like Jacques Cousteau and swim with the sharks.
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But my baby chats…..
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They get smashed.
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It’s easy, really. After boiling them in salt water, I smashed them with the back of a mug, sprinkled herbs and added a dollop of garlic butter on each potato, after which I chucked them into the oven and baked them until the skin turned crisp.
There weren’t any spring onions in my fridge, so I chopped some coriander instead. (The gorgeous plate is a gift from the girl from Abu Dhabi.)
Just before the potatoes were done in the oven, I sprinkled some grated cheese on them. I later added some sour cream and topped them off with the chopped coriander. Now that’s what I call smashing carbs. (And my apologies to them as they never lived to see the Queen. Or roll in hay. Or swim with sharks.)
2.
Hubby’s from Kelantan and I love Kelantanese food. I can’t recall if I loved Kelantanese food before my Kelantanese man, or whether the Kelantanese man came before the Kelantanese food, or whether the Kelantanese food came as a result of the Kelantanese man. And sometimes, we don’t have to overanalyse things to explain why we love something so dearly. It’s all about acceptance and drifting along with the currents of Sungai Pahang.
When trying Kelantanese food, there are two staples for me – nasi kerabu and nasi dagang. The nasi kerabu at Belanga breaks away from the traditional appearance of rice stained in blue, a natural colouring obtained from bunga telang (clitoria). The rice is a warm yellow, and it is served with various types of ulam or raw vegetables, chopped finely so that the vegetables can be easily mixed with the rice to form a fistful of refreshing green flavours. I had my nasi kerabu with ayam percik, a barbequed chicken marinated in lemongrass, chilli and turmeric, in a slightly pinkish gravy. The mound of rice was topped with kerisik (grated coconut) and more gravy. A slice of hard boiled salted egg and some keropok (fish crackers) completed the meal.
On another occasion, upon Paprika’s insistence on eating rice, I tried the nasi dagang at Belanga. I remember having a packet of uncooked nasi dagang rice sitting in my kitchen for a long time as I didn’t have any inkling how to cook it. I eventually gave it to my mother-in-law as I figured she’d do more justice to that precious rice. Nasi dagang has two key ingredients – rice, a combination of glutinous and wild rice (which gives it a slightly purplish tinge) and ikan tongkol. Everything else is secondary. The nasi dagang at Belanga was deliciously rich, a perfect foil for the creamy curry.
Paprika had the nasi dagang with kerutup daging. Unfortunately, in Paprika’s words, “the meat was tough as nails”!
What we both agreed was that the laksam was outstanding. The white fish gravy with its somewhat grainy texture was a very good canvas for the rolled noodles (not to be confused with chee cheong fun). A chilli paste is provided on the side if you want it more spicy.
Also available is asam laksa (noodles in fish based soup).
Check out Fatboybakes’ review here.
Belanga
LG 230B, The Gardens Mall
KL
whichever scientist/botanist who christened the bunga telang “CLITORIA” deserves an award….cos now, come to think of it…..hmmmm, HMMMMMM…. i shall never look that that pretty purple blue flower quite the same way again.
I love the POtatoes~ So cute!!!
OK, i broke my own promise to myself that i should refrain from blog viewing,haha! BUt urs are so cute~ A smile a day keep the stress away~ Hee ha…
My dear, what a violent way to treat your carbs! I’ve heard of Smashing Pumpkins but Smashing Potatos is a first… 😆
ok, i didn’t want to be the one to say it, but…
where do you get clitoria – i can never seem to find it. my girlfriend has to help me every time.
i feel so dirty 🙁
1) i thought that was your best culinary performance…by a mile…you’ll definitely sail through to the next round!
2) what an inspiration! i’m thinking of renaming my facebook pet to Clitoria…what a beautiful name for a flower. Kuci, kuci, come here dear Clitoria….nice doggy.. 😀
fatboybakes: take a good look at the flower and tell me what you think. (Okay, with a dose of imagination…)
JOjo: Awww. Thanks! I’m glad the post made you smile. 🙂
Kenny Mah: Quite therapeutic, you know! You should try it.
james: Tsk tsk. After all that delicious food presented to you, you can only think of clitoria? LOL.
Nic:
1) Oh thaaaaank you, Simon! (yeah rite!)
2) Will I still be able to pet it? 😀
there are some orchids that probably belong in the clitoria or cuntia family…. may be that’s where the term deflowering came from
cuntia family? reminds me of an ex girlfriend…
james, i can feel a kindred bond already….snigger
lemongrass, there’s a particular kind of sea slug, (its called a spanish dancer), that looks like a HUGE clitoria in motion. its a treat for every scuba diver to see.
Catch up another kelantanese outlet – Ulang Corner @ Bdr Puteri Puchong 🙂
haha
i’ll be in malaysia in june actually…
back to the diving, the closest thing i saw to that was when i was snorkelling in fiji – this brazilian girl, er, liked to show off her brazilian
james, do get lemongrass to organise a get together when you are in town. you’re here to dive?
yeah, that sounds like the go fatboybakes.
i’m thinking el cerdo… here piggy piggy…
I’m surprised clitoria and cuntia (chortle, FBB!) didn’t set off Kenny again. Maybe he made a vow to St Mary.
Still smiling over your cute-lamb-taties grazing with the pretty sheep. I like the one or two black sheep that add colour to the pale hordes here (and I’m talking about livestock).
Mmm… lovely yummy smashed taties.
smashed taties are great!
i do mine with a spoon, so they get a “well” in the middle for the garlic butter and other good bits… and yes, that IS as greedy as it sounds!
Yellow Nasi Kerabu ?
That’s not ” breaking away from tradition “.
IT IS A PART OF NASI KERABU TRADITION !
The Yellow Version is called Nasik Kerghabu Tumih ( Nasi Kerabu Tumis ). This version contains no Budu, great for those allergic with one or have bad idea of one. The flavor comes from the brown gravy and the fish flakes+krisek.
The blue tinted version is called Nasik Kerghabu Itae ( Nasi Kerabu Hitam ) in Kelantanese. AMazing isnt it ? Only Non-Kelantanese call it Nasi Biru. The Kelantanese themselves never call it biru or blue. They instead, call it ” itae ” ( hitam ) for black ! This version needs Budu to go with it thus this one is much favored by many Kelantanese and by chance, among many non-Kelantanese too. Oh yes, the color comes from Bunga Telang or sometimes artificial food coloring.
There’s is also a plain version.
Non tinted one i.e. plain white rice with all those condiments, herbs and tidbits needed for a typical Nasi Kerabu. This one is less popular due to being ” too common looking “.
Oh yes, there’s also the green version.
This one is popular among Thais and local Chinese.
It is called Khau Jam. The rice is cooked with local herbs which give out green pigment into the rice – making it dark green in color. The toppings are the same as any Nasi Kerabu.
Finally, the rarest of all.
Green tinted Nasi Kerabu from green artificial food colouring.
This one is lame. The Cook just wanna play with the food. I would call it breaking the tradition.
ooh I want to go to Belanga! Even if there’s no clitoria to be had. I can’t read it till later again because I am too hungry. I love your potato art.
amidst the clitoriA and CUNTia … praise be to Ms lemongrass for the amazing mouth-watering photos …
and the Nasi Dagang is one of my favourite dish, from the Pasar Malam though … 😉
The potatoes look really cute! Did you take a long time to complete the designs? Thanks for introducing Kelantan food, we’ve no idea how it’s like and what’s good there.
fbb, thanks for the lesson on the different species of orchid. definitely an inspiration for my pet’s name…both clitoria and cuntia really ‘tickle’ my fancy…kuci, kuci…hehe
guess i got the joke late…clit or not to clit..i see an improvement in cooking in the kitchen!
mashed potato!! cool i can do that myself!! thx for sharing!! =) its help cooking dummies =)
James and Fatboybakes: I’d feel terrible interrupting your conversation, so pretend I’m not here, ok. 🙂
Aidan: Yeah, been meaning to go there. Thanks for the suggestion!
argus: No lah, Kenny’s busy worshipping the “Devil”. Thanks…glad you like my “art”. As for the black sheep…hehe…they’re turning my blog into a porn site.
james: Thanks for the suggestion abt the spoon….maybe that’ll make my potatoes not-so-flat and unappealing after all.
Che Siti Wan Kembung: Thank you so much for the info!!! I’ll definitely remember that the next time I see a different coloured nasi. I don’t think I’ve seen a green one, though. Must look out for it. Thanks once again. 🙂
Msiagirl: We’ll put this down on the list. Best of all, it’s in a shopping mall, so after shopping for a bit, we can adjourn there. 🙂
j2kfm: Thanks! I love those little packets of nasi dagang that you can buy from the east coast – sold for brekkie. It’s a welcome break from nasi lemak.
Sugar Bean: Thank you! My work’s pretty amateurish, so no, I didn’t take much time. 🙂
Nic: So now you have 2 pets?
Joe: Harlow, it’s only my baking that sucks leh. 😛
Yammy: It’s smashed, not mashed. 🙂 Try it…it’s very easy.
yes james, (ignoring lemongrass) el cerdo sounds like a good bet. (but coming from down under, i am sure you have a dizzying array of porcine inspired cuisine…we should bring you to sample the street fare etc, coupled with lots of beer).
was the brazillian showing off her bra-zillian while you were snorkelling? snigger.
nickhkl (aiyo, treating this like my own blog pulak, and replying other ppl), you must let us meet your clitoria and cuntia some day. ah, what a cornucopia of wonderful words.
oh, lemongrass, well done on the potatoes. sounds like quite a feat. however did you manage, boiling them, smashing them, all in one fell swoop. bow bow, my new domestic goddess.
oh boy. I do love those little potatos. That looks very pretty actually..
I am definitely going to make those potatoes and this weekend too!
oops! Sorry, forgot to add.. I will take Prince William anytime… had a huge crush on him in my sch girl years.
i come back and i see fbb taking over the task of replying..has the whisky not worn off?
fatboybakes: Your remark is so dripping with sarcasm, I can almost taste it.
daphne: I know…I still have a huge crush on him. *sheepish grin*
Cynthia: wonderful! They’re so simple to make and are tasty too!
Joe: U think that was the whisky talking? And I thought he was always like that.
the pic of the potatos are so so cute….. ^_^
i like nasi kerabu too ~
hehe, I had them at a pasar malam in KL though. not east coast. pretty cheap, around RM3 per packet with curry fish.will be going down to KL this wkend and the next. wish me luck in searching for glorious food … on foot! 😉
ling239: hehe. Thank you!
j2kfm: Gosh, you making me hungry! Good luck on your food crawl! I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself. 🙂
Argus: Well, I decided to take the highroad this time, and exchange my usual prurient topic of the day for something decidedly more violent, i.e. sex for smash.
LL: I am so not worshiping The Devil Wears Prada. If anything, I am far cuter and more drool-worthy. *self-barfs*
FBB: *laughs at his comments to LL*
You two together are like Laurel and Hardy. (Is this reference sufficiently harking “back in your days” enough for you, sir? Heh.)
So graphical, poor spuds, may there live long in your stomach after consumption.
cute sheeps….
now the word “potato” filled my brains…..VERY BAD!!! I am having exam on Mon and Tues! I don’t want to be “fan shu”! Later exam result come out 2 biji ubi kentang…
So now we know your forte, eh? Your spuds look splendid! 😀
Woman, you got chameleon blood issit?? How come each time I see a new pix of you, you look different??!
Unfortunately Wills looks like he’s going the way of Uncle Edward.. receding hairline. Pity. He, Edward looked so spiffy during Charles and Diana’s wedding.
fbb: we DO have lots of porcine treats (namely a LOT of old breeds from our farmer’s markets), but the temptation of ordering a whole pig is so tempting. i guess it’s a bit like staking our claim as top of food chain!
however, as you said, i prefer street foods – i find more authentic. vietnam was good to me like that, as was shanghai… so if there’s an offer to go food hunting, we’re up for it. and if there’s drinks, well, all the better 😉
ll: sorry i been a bit quiet in here – my weekend was pretty messy – friday was chivas and green tea night, saturday was a sake drinking competition. and today… 2 hours of squash – i’m surprised i can walk now!
Kenny: No kidding…with all your references to the Devil, I woulda thought otherwise. 😛
Henry: Nope…flushed them all!
Jian: Aiyoh, poor thing. All the best for your exams!
kat: What you mean that’s my forte? Ohhh…you’re insulting me, eh? 😛 As for my new look…ya lor…I get easily bored. I know what you mean abt Edward…had a big crush on him in the old days, and as much as I like bald men, that look doesn’t suit all men.;-)
james: What a hectic weekend!! You probably need to take leave on Monday to recover from it all, eh?
no, i’m invincible – i even got smacked in the back of the head when we were playing squash! i got a nice bruise now.
let’s hope the malaysians can keep up when we’re checking out food stands.
oh, as an aside, i fully expect some of you guys to come help with the pig at el cerdo… 😉
Poor potatoes (still cute though!)
Em… where’s Belanga? Lower ground?
hmmm, james, i threw a party recently for some food bloggers, and was ABSOLUTELY disappointed at the youth of today, who by 10.30pm were already yawning and getting up to leave. the oldies like LL showed more mettle. we look forward to partaking in your whole pig(let).
well yeah, my group will be 3 guys in their late 20’s and a guy in mid 20’s.
i’m sure 10:30 won’t be our bedtime 😛
the more the merrier!
james: we’ll more than keep up with you. You haven’t see our hearty appetites yet. 😉
jason: The potatoes enjoyed it ler. Yeah, Belanga’s on the lower ground.
fatboybakes: Thanks for your vote of confidence. Of course I have stamina. Your tabouleh fueled me on man.
hi,
My mom is kelantenese of chinese-thai. I do missed kelantan food 🙁 sinced her dismissed. Sometimes, you can’t get certain kelantan produce like quality budu or herbs like buah kerdas. Though I’m Penang born I loved both states’ cuisine dearly. When travelling abroad the homesickness of home cooked meals and Malaysian food made the matter worst.. 🙁
BTW cool idea of smashin’ spuds…
Guessed I had to cook from scratch when I return to Malaysia… :’-(
Love ya blog… really made me ROTFLOL … keep it rolling! Thanks for sharing too 🙂
BTW.. i tried growing Bunga Telang/Clitoria/Butterfly Pea before…gosh they grown like crazy and less than a month they outgrown the big pot..:-( I have no choice but to terminate the plant..sigh.. managed to collect a bunch of the flowers and dried them. Hope to use them later but not sure the blue color would be as vibrant as fresh ones. Maybe I can try to replant again and trim the plant more often to control it 😐