What (My) Dreams Are Made Of

For an Asian food market fanatic like myself, Kota Baru's Central Market is indeed the stuff of dreams. Outdoors, stall after stall manned by shouting vendors proffering gorgeous fruits; inside, row after row dedicated to nothing but prepared kuih (sweets) and savory snacks in one section and, in another, mound upon mound of vegetables both familiar and mysterious. All buttressed by an admirably chaotic seafood section marked by a nose-wrinkling stench and a floor slippery with scales and guts; an upstairs dry goods section stocked with a mind-boggling array of packaged goods, from sweetly addictive orbs of puffed rice grains bound together with dark palm sugar to ingredients for just about any Malay, Chinese, or Indian dish one might be craving; and an extensive food court where Kelantanese specialties can be ordered to carry out or enjoyably eaten in.

To top it off, much of the market's colorful action takes place on the floor of a hexagonal, perspex-roofed atrium (below), allowing voyeurs (and photographers) willing to climb a few stairs to the second and third floors a bird's-eye view of the comings, goings, and tradings.

Women rule the market roost at the KB Central Market, making up the majority of inside vendors. In the atrium, these ladies sell from the center of low-to-the-ground wooden platforms, their goods arranged around them on all sides. This vendor - mother of five, as she proudly informed us - called Dave over to take her photograph and, after unsmilingly staring down the lens for a minute or two, allowed her good humor to get the better of her.

Though the usual vegetal suspects (cabbage, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, ginger and garlic and cilantro and mint and such) - are in evidence, there's much on display here to pique the cook's (or eater's) curiosity.

Turtle eggs are a local delicacy. Those of the leatherback turle are officially off-limits (it's possible to view the protected species laying their eggs nocturnally on Terengganu and Kelantan beaches at certain times of the year) but those of other species are legally collected and sold. I'm not of the if-it's-there-eat-it persuasion, but they yolks are said to remain liquid long after the whites have cooked through.

Wild mushrooms supplement the abundant, snow-white oyster variety. They're virtually a staple at  primarily Malay-food markets like Temerloh town's Pekan Sehari.

I'm hoping a knowledgeable reader can identify these two vegetables: a long, firm, thick-skinned olive green "leaf" (under okra bundles) which was referred to by its vendor as, I think, peko,

and a green stem adorned by both leaves and whispy fronds.

In Kelantan it's rice rather than noodles that rule, and the Central Market's food hall is an ideal place to track down a couple of Kelantanese rice specialties: nasi kerabu and nasi dagang.

The former dish is based on rice tinted blue - traditionally, from petals of bunga telaga (pea flower, clitoria) but now often from dye - and the latter on nutty, reddish unevenly milled rice cooked in coconut milk or water. Stalls serving these specialties offer a variety of prepared dishes, from huge tiger prawns cooked in chili sauce to hard-boiled eggs and simple stir-fries of mixed vegetables, to go with the rice.

Front and center above is the well-known Kelantanese dish of small squid stuffed with glutinous rice and braised in a sweet sauce.

Nasi kerab is served garnished with ulam (fresh vegetables and herbs like bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, and peppery daun kesom leaves) and grated coconut that has been fried with chilies and palm sugar; a generous dab of sambal and a few kerepok (crispy fish crackers) complete the picture.

This vendor's nasi dagang was perfectly delicious; note how the individual rice grains remain distinct (rather than clumping together in a heavy, oily mass), indicating that the rice has been steamed instead of boiled. Chicken stewed in spicy coconut gravy until it's nearly falling off the bone and fresh, briney clams stir-fried with onions, green beans, and chilies are the perfect complement.

Though rice is Kelantan's favorite starch, noodles can be had as well, in the form of laksam. These thick, sticky noodle rolls are doused in a sweet fish and coconut gravy and garnished much as nasi kerabu is, with a tangle of fresh herbs and vegetables and a decent dose of fishy and spicy sambal.

In three visits to KB's Central Market we barely scratched the surface of the prepared edible offerings available in the magnificent food hall. But we managed to make a decent dent - I'm still working off the kilos gained in those four days - and gained exposure to enough wonderful treats to convince me that a return trip is most definately in order.

Kota Baru Central Market. Things get going around 8am; it's open till about 4p or so, though the food hall starts to peter out around 2p.

Comments

[Kalyn]

What a wonderful treat, reading this. I would love to go there and see what interesting new foods I could discover.

[phizackerly]

Everytime I read your site, I think what an excellent site it is. The Malaysian Tourism Board should have a link to it. In fact, they should run an advertising campaign which just consists of extracts for your blog, followed by the word Malaysia and a toll-free number for MAS.

[Karen]

Oh my, what fantastic pictures! And you describe everything so vividly too.

I am not sure what those leaves under the okra bunches are but if they are indeed leaves, they seem to be succulent, perhaps related to cacti like aloe vera. I'm guessing here though. It is most probably the "green stem adorned by both leaves and whispy fronds" which are called "peko" - paku in Indonesian and many Filipino languages. Those are edible ferns, eaten fresh in salads.

[Robyn]

Hi Karen - edible ferns are "paku" here too, but yes I definately might have misunderstood her when she called the succulent spears "peko". These paku are quite different to anything I've seen in KL. By the way, what do you do with edible ferns in the Philippines?

phizackerly, I agree completely. Not re: the excellent blog part - thanks, BTW - but with the fact that MTB is missing the boat when it comes to it's non-promotion of Malaysia as a food destination. It's something Dave and I have been scratching our heads over for at least the last 4 months - I mean, when it comes to food in SE Asia, Malaysia just doesn't even register in most western minds. (Compare to knowledge of Thailand and Vietnam, even Lao, as food destinations.) Something could be - should be - done about that. Think I'll post a rant on the topic.

Kalyn, thanks as always. Too bad I can't make the blog scratch and sniff! ;-)

[Tania]

lovely pictures of fresh veg! About the paku though, I've eaten it Sarawak style, stir fried lightly with belacan and chilli paste and dried prawn powder. Absolutely yummy. You should check out some markets in Sarawak too, - they have the strangest but assuredly most delicious things there too..

[Evil Jonny]

Awesome! What a food orgy. It'd be like dying and going to food heaven for me. Thanks for sharing this!

[Ray]

The "Peko" you mentioned.

I am a Kelantanese and I think you mean " Beko " ( pronunciation : bae-kor ).

It is a kind of fruit quite similar to Petai but minus the "eye" and much wider in width and it grows on tall tree.

Prior to consuming, the hard outer skin is scrubbed clean by means of boiling or direct heat. Then sliced thinly as a main ingredient for a perfect Kerabu Beko ( Beko Salad )

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/rahsia_resepi/s03.htm

[Ray]

...and the " green stem adorned by both leaves and whispy fronds ".
Did it have reddish tinge on its leafy shoot?

If so it is a type of Paku, related but not the same as the strikingly green and more common Paku sold in many other places.

The Kelantanese call it " pucuk miding "
( poo-cho' mee-ding )

It is often made into Gulai Lemak ( Coconut Milk Stew )or simple salad to be enjoyed with fermented fish sauce ( budu ).