Raya Pertama: Lemang & Ketupat

On the first day of Aidilfitri, we made a bee line for the Selangore State Government Open House at Bangunan Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam. At first, I had wanted to go the Agong's function at Istana Negara, but decided against it after pondering about parking and the short slot for the public. Arrived at the place before 11:00am and walked in through the kitchen area. Heavy duty food preparations were going on and truth be told, better not to be scrutinized before actually eating. Haha. Food was abundant-- nasi briyani, grilled mutton, lemang, beef rendang, rojak buah, fried noodles, fried bihun, CKT, cendol, satay and biscuits. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded and seating was ample. While eating, we were entertained by a group of musicians called "Balle Balle". Dressed in straw hats, tie-dyed clothes, sarong and clogs, they entertained the crowd with classic Raya songs thrown in with a middle-eastern song that really got the middle-eastern visitors all worked up. At the end, they wanted to sing a Teresa Teng number, but Ronnie Liu's Raya message cut in and ended their performance early. Was so full.

 



 Even before my tummy had the chance to digest that sinful meal, my neighbour handed us seven ketupat's, chicken curry and beef rendang! Aiyoyo! And just the day before, my neighbour had given us four canisters of cookies, a box of chocolates, a packet of groundnuts and two green pau's!!! And they just moved in not more than six months ago. Quite surprised. Mum returned the favour by giving her some cakes and goodies from the local bakery. At about 6:00pm, we went out again. This time to the night market at Seri Petaling. It had been years since I walked the night market proper. Forgotten how it was like. So many new varieties of food these days. Dinner was asam laksa and mango tau fu fah. Was served by a twink with anime-ish hair that clung to his face. I don't see how one can work like that. Had forgotten that the night market was such a treasure of trove of twinks. Too bad it was mostly la-la's bringing their girlfriends out for a stroll.
 

The night market seems dominated by stalls and stalls of fried chicken. All sorts of varieties. Saw one popular stall that claims to use thirty six herbs and spices. Sounds familiar? Overheard: Mother: Wei! Got friend chicken there le! Aiyoh, so many people! How la? How la?! Other than that, I was surprised that apam balik now comes in a multitude of flavours and Taiwanese sausages seems to be everywhere. Curry fishballs seems to be a popular choice too. Weird stuff that look like Egg McMuffins also make an appearance. So much to eat and so many things to see. But still, I'm not part of that scene. To cool off, we walked into the nearby The Store before calling it a night.