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this extraordinary form of pottery is that
the special local clay is semi - permeable
porous, but does not leak storedwater and
the temperature of water stored in them
will drop to as low as 19ºc compared to
outside air temperature of 27ºc in hot
tropical countries like Malaysia. The clay
also has no scent, unlike themusky, earthy
scents that other clays have.
There are two types of
Labu Sayong,
one in brownish-red (
Labu Sayong
Merah)
, and the other in black (
Labu
Sayong Hitam
). I was keen to find out how
the Labu Sayong Hitam gets its colour, as
I was told that it wasn’t paint or lacquer.
Labu Sayong Hitam
with its burnt-black
colour and unique gourd-shape gives it
the ability to cool its contents quickly and
traditional belief is that water stored in
such a manner is palliative against many
illnesses and disorders.
Pak Ridzuan offered to show me the
process of how
Labu Sayong
is created and
I decided to take him up on his offer. I’m
glad that I did, as it turned out to be a very
interesting and insightful experience – it’s
amazing what you can learn about local
culture when you take time to explore.
Creating a
Labu Sayong
is a painstaking
process that takes days, but the end results
are truly beautiful.
Labu Sayong
is made from very fine
clay soil, which is first pounded into
extremely fine powder and then separated
from coarser remains and wood using
a sieve in order to obtain the finest and
cleanest clay. With the advancement of
technology, machinery is now used to
pound the clay soil, whereas back in the
day, the soil would be pounded by hand
and a lot of strength!
The clay powder was then mixed with
water and kept in moulds that come in
various shapes and sizes, made of a type
of unique chalk called ‘Plaster of Paris’.
After some time, the water evaporated
from the mould, leaving it semi-hardened
and the clay settled down. The water
Food Hunt
Yut Loy Coffee Shop
The steamedpau that aremadehere areextremely
sought after; even Istana Iskandariah would place
orders by the hundreds and have themtransported
to thepalaceduring functions. Available in four
Halal
flavours –Beef Curry, Chicken, Red Bean and
Kaya
(Coconut Jam)–thesoft, fluffydeliciousnessof the
pauwill definitely have you coming back for more!
Laksa Kuala Kangsar
Avarietyof
laksa
thatcanbefoundall over thetown,
the noodle’s broth ismore diluted than those found
inother states, but ismoresour andspicy. However,
themainstar of thedishwouldbe thenoodles itself.
Made fromwheat noodles, this
laksa
is one that is
unique to Kuala Kangsar.
Foodie Café
Ahiddengem inKualaKangsar, this family-runcafé
maybesimple in its interior, but it servesupavariety
of scrumptioushome-madecakesandfoodthatare
alsovalue-for-money.Amusttryarethebest-seller
cakes such as the Tiramisu, Moist Chocolate Cake
and Banana Cake, as well as home recipes such as
the40year old recipeof
Rendang
ChickenRice,Thai
Style Chicken Chop and
Assam
Fish – all delicious
creations by owner, Lynn.
Pak Ridzuan has more than 24 years
of experience in crafting Labu Sayung