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Sukasuka Day 2

I’m not the only city slicker in the group; our driver Tony struggles to deploy his mosquito net correctly and by the next morning his bed looks like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Breakfast is a traditional Malay offering – nasi lemak plus different types of kuih including onde-onde, which in Perak is known as buah melaka (melaka-fruit kuih). Like the melaka fruit, the onde-onde served are tiny compared to ones I’m used to, and completely addictive. I’ve noticed on Sukasuka’s Facebook page that they host a significant number of European and North American guests, so knowing how Westerners like cereals and toast in the morning, I ask Pak Aziz whether he adapts the menu depending on the guests’ backgrounds.

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“They eat what we eat!”, he says with a big smile. This appeals to my take-no-prisoners sensibilities where my food is concerned.

Pak Aziz is knowledgeable about lots of things and can pretty much talk about any topic at length. I show him a picture of the mysterious tree at the Gaharu tea plantation where I’d had the strange experience; he takes a look and immediately recognises it as a pontianak tree – if you know Malaysian folklore you’ll know a pontianak is a female vampire. This just gets better and better.

 There are a variety of activities to keep us busy during our stay – boating, fishing, walks through the village (Kampung Kelantan) within which Sukasuka is located, relaxing by the lake and just hanging out at the main house and playing traditional games and chatting.[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”26″ gal_title=”sukasukado”]

The highlight for me though, is the cooking lesson with Mak Asiah on our second day there. The dishes are unique even to me – Chicken Rendang using a local mushroom (cendawan sisir – it looks, per its name, like small hair combs – nothing like your typical mushroom) instead of coconut. This Perak-style chicken rendang is a real eye-opener – if ever you make it to Sukasuka you absolutely have to persuade Mak Asiah to teach you how to make it.

 And then there’s sticky rice steamed in periuk kera – literally “monkey pots” – which are a type of pitcher plant. We also cook pajeri nenas – a pineapple curry dish, using pineapples from Mak Asiah’s garden. The dishes form part of what we end up having for dinner that night. Noah’s not generally averse to a bit of chilli in his food but even the dishes I think might be too spicy for him are gorged down with enthusiasm, so much so I’m finding I have to go back for third and fourth servings. It’s almost embarrassing.[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”27″ gal_title=”sukasukacook”]

By our second day we’re comfortable wearing sarongs and young Azam shows us some creative ways to fold and use it; it reminds me of those viral videos that show you how to turn a shirt into a dress or a scarf into 20 different outfits – I think he’s onto something there and suggest he should make a YouTube video on 50 uses for a sarong.

Day 5 and it’s time to leave Sukasuka with a lifetime of memories. These two days have completely changed my beliefs about travelling in air conditioned luxury and leave me toying with the idea of one day moving to this part of the world. You know how sometimes you come away from a trip feeling like you need a holiday to recover from your holiday? Sukasuka might be the answer.[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”28″ gal_title=”sukasukafinal”]

Tour guide – Mr. Shaukani Abbas (two-time winner of Tourism Malaysia’s Tour Guide of the Year Award) Some photos in this series are courtesy of Mr. Shaukani.

Tour Designer – S. Diana Nasution

Tour Company – People Express Travel, KL

Tour Package – 6D/5N Culture, Heritage and Nature Delight

The post Travel Diary (Part 7) – Kampung Life at Sukasuka first appeared on Jackie M..

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More than a year after I closed my Malaysian restaurant, and even after disconnecting my landlines and cancelling all call redirection services, I still get tracked down by determined diners trying to make table reservations.

I also get a lot of enquiries about cooking classes – thanks to my busy schedule however, they’re currently on hold.

In the meantime, did you know I have a YouTube channel with over 100 videos – all original content – on Malaysian cooking?

It’s not quite the same as having me right next to you, but it’s the next best thing; plus it’s all free!

I reveal all my techniques, shortcuts and ingredients in these videos, including these highly sought-after recipes –

How to Make Popiah Skin

How to Flip Roti Canai

How to Make Seremban Beef Noodles

How to Make Char Kway Teow

How to Make Mee Goreng

I’ve also created a number of Playlists in my Channel, including one called Malaysian in Minutes – which is a collection of quick and easy Malaysian dishes.

The videos are a mixture of the following broad categories –

1)      Hangouts-On-Air – where I cook a dish more or less from scratch in a Live Broadcast with very little to no edits.

These videos by their very nature run for about 20-45 minutes. Some people complain they’re too long, but they’re missing the point – if you play them from start to finish, you WILL glean valuable tips and insights into how I approach the cooking process that may not necessarily be covered in highly-polished and heavily-trimmed videos.

If you’re Malaysian you’ll know how closely and jealously all the famous hawkers/chefs guard their trade; in these broadcasts, I don’t hold anything back, and if you’ve ever eaten my food, you’ll KNOW I can cook

2)      Short videos edited for brevity for the benefit of those with short attention spans

3)      General interest Malaysia/Jackie M-related videos eg. Behind-the-Scenes of one of my recent TV projects, announcements etc.

So please  –

4)      LIKE the videos if you find them helpful

5)      COMMENT on them and I’ll respond

6)      SHARE the videos with your family & friends; and most importantly –

7)      SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel

New content is added regularly – and apart from saving thousands in cooking lessons from me, you too, could one day open your own Malaysian restaurant

The post Malaysian Cooking De-Mystified on My YouTube Channel first appeared on Jackie M..

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Our Nyonya Cooking Masterclass held at The Grace Hotel, 77 York St, Sydney last Sunday.

Video shot and compiled by Ian Chow

The post Jackie M Malaysian Masterclass 2 – Nyonya Cooking first appeared on Jackie M..