Imagine, in the 1880s, a town in the middle of nowhere; accessible only by river, which took at least a couple of days to a week of paddling to get to. Why carve a town in the heart of the jungle? Why not just make do with the seaside towns for convenience and accessibility? But unbeknown to many, Kuala Lipis may have a history far older than that written in our history books.

The town began its life as a trading centre for jungle products such as animal parts for medicinal values, feathers from exotic birds for decoration, roots and herbs, and gaharu (a fragrant aloe wood used for joss sticks) collected by the tribes in the interior and traded with Chinese middlemen for rice, salt and other basic necessities.

The town grew as their reputation as a trading centre brought Chinese and locals from afar to the area.  As tin mining fever finally spread across to the interior, the colonial government built the railway to transport precious ore out of the jungle.

In 1920, the railway line extended from Gemas in Johor in the south to Kuala Lipis, linking these isolated trading centres to the ports. Traveling on the 12 hour long train ride from Kuala Lumpur to Wakaf Baru station in Kota Baharu, one can only imagine the enormous task that engineers and coolie laborers undertook in clearing areas of thick jungle and building bridges over jungle rivers that were well prone to monsoon flooding. The bridges and railway lines are in use till this day. (Check out Cumi’s Ah Beng stylo mylo hairdo )

History lesson from here.

Since we had some time to kill before lunch, we had time to explore Kuala Lipis old town. Above and below, pictures from a Hainanese Bakery. Above picture, what you can’t see are those popular square buns from yesteryear – the ones sprinkled with granulated sugar and raisins places in a matrix.

There was a distinctively Chinese area and a Malay area in the town. The Chinese businessmen built their atypical Chinese Shop houses, mainly along the 400m long main street aptly called Jalan Besar (Main Street).

There was also the Pasar Tani (Farmers Market) that we managed to explore in the short time we had. The market was massive. It spanned several streets and even snaked down to smaller side roads. We wished we had more time to spend here. It’s held on a Saturday if you’re wanting to visit. A mosque from the 1800s still stands next to the river. We forgot to take a picture.

Here is the nice lady who sold Cumi the Gula Kabung. Sugar made from a type of jungle palm tree and this type of sugar is made mostly in this part of the country. Traditional desserts such as bubur kacang, kuih koci, kuih kelepong, dodol, waji and agar-agar, made with gula kabung supposedly tastes better than using gula melaka, another type of popular palm sugar made in Malacca state.

Then we chanced upon this duku-langsat looking fruit that was neither duku nor langsat. The man at the stall told us that it was Taban(Ganua curtisii), a wild fruit. It tastes less sour than langsat, tangy and is less aromatic/fragrant. It contains a slimy seed (similar to  mangosteen).  Cumi found it bland but I liked it!

The soft, moist interior is delicious! I really like this fruit.

Time for lunch at Fung Seng Lao Restaurant! Our troop  of 17, after the long drive from KL and the morning ‘exercise’ at Sunshine Chicken Farm plus the walkabout around Kuala Lipis town, had growling stomaches eagerly waiting  to be fed! Our first dish was the Yim Kai. This yim kai/Capon was of the Malai Kai (Kampung Chicken) sort. The last time we had the Fahloh Kai (Color Bird) at Chef Tam Restaurant. (Review of the Color Bird Yim Kai).  The Fahloh Kai had a softer texture compared to this Malai Kai. Although delicious,  it had a tougher bite. If you are wondering, the skin does have a natural bright yellow color when cooked and not artificial coloring.  Sunshine Farm was so kind to provide the chicken complimentary, so we were only charged RM8.00 for the cooking.

The other goodies for lunch were cheap, tasty and plentiful! For two tables (20pax) here are the dishes and prices, starting from top left (the green tofu) clockwise…

Jade Tofu (made with wheatgrass) with snow peas, clams and prawns – RM25.00, Two types of Vegetables dishes(fried four angle beans with dried shrimps and fried sweet potato leaves with sambal)- RM10.00 each, Butter Ribs – RM22.00, Roast Duck – RM20.00, Saito Yu Wat (Parang river fish paste) – RM35.00, Wild Boar Curry – RM12.00, Wild Boar with ginger & spring onions – RM12.00

The bill came up to RM24 per head! My favourite was the Ginger Wild boar (who would dare prepare the mighty boar this way, for fear of the gamy smell of the boar? This place did it to perfection – smooth, tender and not a trace of gaminess on our tongues!). The butter ribs were excellent too.

Of course, of special mention is our dear friend Thule/Leo, who so kindly provided us a large river Patin Fish to be added to lunch since we were in his home town. The photo does not do it justice as the Patin was huge at 3.5kg! According to Leo, the fish came from his friend, Ah Kao, whose fish farm is famous for rearing fishes free from any muddy taste – a characteristic of river fishes. His fish is reared in Sungai Lipis. (surprise, surprise:P) The fish was halved for our 2 tables, steamed in soy sauce, sesame oil, topped with fried garlic bits and garnished with corriander leaves. With a prized fish being this fresh and in the hands of a good cook, we don’t need to tell you how good it tastes.  Both tables left only its bones and head on the platter. The fish being a present from Leo, the cooking came up to a whopping RM8.00!

After lunch we all said our goodbyes and began our slow drive back towards KL…. with some stopovers..

Later, C&C, Munkey and Missy Chocoholic went on a hunt for the famous ground nuts in the Sempalit area .. and found it! We made a pit stop to try the peanuts and to drink some sweet pandan coconut.

We also stopped at Bentong for the legendary ice-cream at Kow Po. (For past Betong, Pahang posts, click here). The 74-year-old man, fondly known as “Bentong Uncle Ice-Cream”, is famous for his ice-creams and ice kacang, in this small town. My favourite was the Peanut ice-cream.. tasted like frozen milky peanut butter. Kow Po is a real 1Malaysia spot as all ethnic groups congregate here cheerfully to enjoy a simple dessert. In the background we even heard non-Chinese speaking chinese to the owners.

Tan, a true blue Teo Chew man, who inherited the ice cream business from his father, has now passed it down to his two sons, Jeff Tan, 48 and Michael Tan, 40. Tan’s daughter-in-law, Helen Ng also helps out with the business.

For some exercise, we took munkey and chocoholic on a walk around the  not-so-sleepy town of Bentong. At a corner restaurant, we found people scurrying about like mad-caps, preparing for a wedding dinner. The highlight was the sifu busy roasting the suckling pigs by the side of the restaurant together with an assistant, who applied coats of secret sauce in between roasts. We were contemplating grabbing a skewer and making a run for it..  but unfortunately we had over-eaten throughout the day, and feared our legs would not carry our extended tummies fast enough

All in all a great lunch and a fantastic outing with the gang. We hope to do this again soon!

The End

]]> http://cumidanciki.com/2009/12/sunshine-chicken-farm-part-ii-lunch-at-kuala-lipis/feed/ 13 http://cumidanciki.com/2009/12/sunshine-chicken-farm-kuala-lipis-pahang/ http://cumidanciki.com/2009/12/sunshine-chicken-farm-kuala-lipis-pahang/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:59:17 +0000 cumi&ciki http://cumidanciki.com/?p=2589 PART I

This post is entitled : HOW TO CASTRATE A CHICKEN. Do not watch the following videos if you are squeamish!

Following our review of the Yim Kai (Castrated Chicken) at Chef Tam where we met Gerald d’Cruz of the Kuala Lipis Sunshine Chicken farm, we were soon invited  by him, to see the Sunshine Chicken Farm in Kuala Lipis. Cumi & Ciki, A lil Fatmonkey, Memoirs of A chocoholic, Babe KL and hubs, Marian, Lemongrass, Bald Eagle, ‘A‘ of Friedchillies, Thule and Boo of Masak-masak made up the road-trip posse.

Upon arrival at the farm, all the four wheel drives are sprayed with a healthy dose of disinfectant.. I suppose this is to make sure we do not bring in any microbes with us, that might contaminated the chicken.

The Sunshine Chicken Farm.

Chicken grazing on the farm.

We felt really honoured when we were told that we would be served a light western breakfast at the farm before the walkabout – courtesy of Chef Marinus of The Grand Life Sdn Bhd. We had some gorgeous, Chicken Terrine and Liver Pate (chicken and /or duck) spreads to go with our French Loaf and coffee and tea.

Apparently Chef Marinus also supplies his pate and terrine to O gourmet, Bangsar Shopping Center.

After a quick breakfast and briefing by Mr Ong above, owner of Sunshine Farm, we were soon ushered to our farm tour. Since not all readers understand the Cantonese dialect, a simple translation says the poultry is fed on Guinea grass (as you can see in the video) or “Ma Cho” grass ,as well as corn.  Guinea grass is a variety of Napier grass which according to Mr.Ong has health benefits to humans as well.  Guinea/Napier grass is a main source of food for livestock around the world. The water used to water the vegetation is pure, unadulterated water. All these elements only combine to give 90% of the winning formula (the rest is a trade secret for obvious reasons) that will produce chicken of superb color, flavour and succulent texture.

There are two types of Yim Kai (Castrated Chicken). The Malai Kai (Kampung Chicken) and the Fahloh Kai(Color Bird). The biggest Fahloh Kai can reach 6.5kg, whilst the biggest Malai Kai can only reach 6kg. The Fahloh Kai has the softer texture, whilst the Malai Kai though delicious, can be tougher.

The weight of a chicken varies, however, a chicken tastes best when it is mature, regardless of its size.

You can see bald patches of vegetation that has been consumed by the chicken on the plains. Free range chicken are the healthier version to normal chicken as they are not subjected to hormone injections nor vaccines and are fed natural vegetation. They are also free to run (more exercise! – hence the ‘free range’ term) which results in less fat and more lean meat than the average chicken.

a) Free Range Chicken (Ma Cho Kai) – The farm has both hens and roosters, roosters being slightly more heavier – generally they weigh between 1.3kg to 3.0kg.

b) Free Range Castrated Rooster or Capon Rooster (Yim Kai) -  These are only available in limited numbers as it takes more then 20 weeks to mature. Capon Roosters generally weigh between 3.5kg to 6.5kg. The procedure is fast, and the rooster does not suffer. A small incision is made to remove the reproductive organ  (gonads) then the bird is up and running with no down-time. A Capon’s flesh is known to be juicier, tender and flavorful compared to an un-castrated cock.

We managed to observe a freelance castration expert at work on this visit.  His deft hands and skills are the result of  over 30 years of experience and has been in the ‘operating theater’ since aged 15 years. It also helped that he came from a lineage of castration specialists.  He can tell if the chicken is ready for castration just  by handling the chicken in his hand. Unwell chickens are left to recover first as they need to be healthy to survive this ordeal.  You will see from the video that it takes just approximately 2 minutes to complete the painless procedure. This is a dying trade which our parents have witnessed in their daily lives and we’re fortunate to have documented.

Please click on the video below to see how a chicken is castrated (WARNING! Not for the faint-hearted).

Here below, you see the Rooster, after the procedure, up and about. No bleeding nor down-time.

The cock bids his gonads good bye.

The Chicken testes are apparently good for the kidneys. They can fetch, up to RM20 for 100gm.

I'm next guys!

Next up, exploring Kuala Lipis and Bentong Town with the gang. Lunch is served. Thank you Babe KL, Cumi and Gerald for organizing the itinerary so well that things went on without a hitch.

PART II .. lunch in Kuala Lipis

‘Ban Untung’ (the Profitable Ban), is where the name Bentong was derived from. Back in the day, tin developers constructed bans in this tiny town, to extract tin. Being the focal point where tin ore was discovered in the two main rivers, Repas and Perting, Betong was thriving then, and a lot of people made money here , especially the tin developers.

Anyway, there’s the history lesson on how Betong derived its name. After pigging out at High Hills BBQ and visiting FBB’s holiday mansion, we got hungry again, so we ventured back into Bukit Tinggi town for a light snack. That’s Selesa Homes you can see, in the hilly distance.

Lack luster Kaya puffs. So sad that the once delicious, flaky puffs were dry and the kaya had no taste this time. The Honey Nangka (Jack Fruit) that FBB bought from the shop outside was good though. This nangka is crunchy, as opposed to slimy, and sugary sweet , as opposed to fragrant. It was pretty good.

Restoran Foon Lock is famous for its frog legs and chinese dai-chow, but unfortunately we only had space in our stomachs for the kow low yoke (a.k.a. KLY or , Sweet and Sour pork). Since munkey had it the last time and said that it was delicious we wanted to try it. The KLY is sliced into thin slices, battered and fried, which makes it more crunchy than the normal chuncks of KLY. Unfortunately today’s KLY was not great. It lacked aroma and flavour. That’s all right, the next time we come back, we will head for the steam fish and frogs legs !

You can see all the MEN in the family are responsible for fruit picking and grocery shopping.. and they do it so well too. You can see them sniffing and shaking and rubbing and stroking the fruit till they get the perfect one. Not unlike how one selects one’s soul-mate:P So much practice.. and that’s why, these men selected well!

The End.

Grilled Salt-Crusted Tilapia -  RM30

No, this place is 100% China-man style cooking. So, picture if you will, Chinese style BBQ. Strange no doubt but actually really rather tasty. For example, this fish is grilled (or BBQ-ed) Ala Chinese style, suspended over a Wok, the heat from which cooks the fish evenly throughout its salt crusted body.

The salt is then peeled away, and what remains is a moist, BBQ-ed fish. The flaky, succulent white meat tells you that the fish has been perfectly cooked.  One special surprise in store of diners would be the stuffed garnishing in the belly of the fish. The man walked passed our table and said – Hey, don’t forget to eat the ‘good stuff’. Full marks for this dish.

Rice with veges and drenched in sweet seafood/meat stock – RM12

Ask anybody who knows me, I am not a big fan of carbo because 1. it goes straight to my ass and 2. I don’t really see the point of wasting stomach space on something so tasteless and .. you catch my drift!(Noodles and bread I will eat anytime though.. so I guess it’s just that one form of carbohydrates that I don’t fancy). Anyway, with that in mind, and to cut a long story short,  I have to say that this rice dish completely took me by surprise. The flavour of juicy pumpkins, onions, carrots, peppers the lard of many fat animals and stock of many, many sea creatures, completely took over, this white rice dish and gave new meaning to the word – creative eating.  That day, I ate rice!

Steamed Seafood Overload Pot-  RM80

If you know what a towering double boiler looks like, then this top photo will come as no surprise. Calms, prawns, crab .. crustaceans in all forms and sizes, steamed in their own sweaty little juices over a period of time, to  yield perfectly cooked seafood as well as the sweetest of stocks that collects at the bottom of the tower.  This sauce will then be  used to cooked  fresh vegetables for your dining pleasure towards the end of the meal.

BBQ-ed Rack of Lamb – RM80

This lamb is the bomb. It beats many a fine dining restaurant flat for 1. taste, 2. taste and 3. taste. OK, and price too! The  meat is succulent and just with enough gaminess to make it memorable. The skin is grilled to a crisp with just a fine layer of white fat beneath it. The only sign that this was previously part of the rib of a Lamb, was the neat, sliver of bone at the base of that fat, juicy body of meat. Indescribable euphoria descended upon our table as we ate the lamb in silence. Awe struck, we ate up ever last piece with the homemade mint sauce.

Greens in powerful seafood stock – RM8

This is the vegetable in seafood stock that I was talking about. They served it up right at the end. A bit too salty for me, but I guess it would go well, with rice.

The secret cook’s handshake – flying fish and screaming monkey. (A lil fat monkey will probably kill me for posting this photo but.. come on.. it’s been done before .. have you not watched Iron Chef?!  ) This is how they make the fish look like it was flying just a second ago. I love animation.

Cumi-walks-on-water-munkey-is-skinny-like-father-like-sister-photo-moment

Off to our holiday home after lunch to work off all that consumed fat and cholesterol. Thanks FBB, for loaning us your holiday home on such sort notice. Much obliged! Next time we bring the relatives, the babies and the other monkeys! Thank you.. thank you:P

Also see this restaurant’s write up here and here.

]]> http://cumidanciki.com/2009/11/restoran-bukit-tinggi-bbq-bentong-pahang/feed/ 10 http://cumidanciki.com/2009/11/enlisting-the-help-of-netizens-in-particular-1malaysians/ http://cumidanciki.com/2009/11/enlisting-the-help-of-netizens-in-particular-1malaysians/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:10:34 +0000 cumi&ciki http://cumidanciki.com/?p=425 We found these specimens at Tanah Rimba and Bukit Tinggi Market. Your help in identifying them will bring good karma to you for enlightening many other netizens.Specimen A – Fruit. Looks like a yellow brinjal/persimmon. Tastes similar to a mildly sweet persimmon. Texture; smooth creamy/ over ripe persimmon. Size; a little bigger than a large orange.

Specimen B – Fruit. Probably non edible. Initially thought it was a poorly grown apple.

Specimen C – Fruit. Edible unknown. Should have taken home a sample.

Specimen D – Fruit. Again, i should have plucked one home to dissect!