On Easter Sunday, we went to my parents’ home. The plan was to turn up in the afternoon to play mahjong for a few hours, then stay for dinner. Mum was making nasi lemak.
Jac volunteered to bring along a vegetable curry as our contribution to dinner. She cooked up a big batch in the wok on Sunday morning.
We arrived shortly after 2pm. We were keen to christen our mahjong set, which Mum and Dad had brought back for us from Malaysia on their most recent holiday. I really like the all-white look of the mahjong tiles – they look like they’d be milk-flavoured. I always look at inanimate objects and think about what they’d taste like if they were edible, based on their colour and texture. I suppose that is a little odd. :) We still have to buy our own mahjong table, but until then, we’ll just play at Mum and Dad’s on their table from time to time. We’ve still got our L plates on as far as playing mahjong goes, so it’s good to have Mum’s expertise readily available.
Mum’s friend M had come along to play mahjong too. She’d made sausage rolls for afternoon tea. They were really tasty, freshly hot from the oven with a squirting of tomato sauce.
Jac, M, Juji, Jay and I played for just over 4 hours, taking turns at the table, with Mum acting as instructor and expert advisor. If my other siblings and their partners had wanted to play as well, Mum would’ve had two mahjong tables on the go. Two tables makes for a great atmosphere! It’s good that we weren’t using real money,though – Jac and I would’ve gone home broke. :) As dinner time approached and the others began to arrive, we reluctantly packed up. Bit by bit, the side dishes were placed on the table…
There was a dish of fried ikan bilis (little fish) with peanuts.
I’m not sure exactly what kind of dried fish this was, but Mum had fried it so it was golden-brown and crispy. Its fatty flavour reminded me of the crackling on Chinese roast pork.
There was a dish of sambal made with small prawns…
…and a dish of hard-boiled eggs.
There was a dish of assam fish…
and sambal kang kung. I’ve loved kang kung ever since I was a girl, but Jac finds it very slimy and difficult to swallow.
Jac’s vegetable curry…
…and Mum’s beef rendang.
My sister CW had brought the all-important cucumber! It was cool and refreshing, a most welcome and essential accompaniment to all those curries and spicy dishes.
But in case anyone needed more heat in their meal, there was a dish of chilli sambal too.
Here’s my plate. The nasi (rice) was especially delicious. Everything went well together!
I'm TFP, a food blogger from Perth, Western Australia.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I love nasi lemak, especially chilli sambal. When I visit my parents in Perth, we always order the nasi lemak from Chan Brothers (Saturday mornings only). This is making me hungry! I wish I could get good Singapore style nasi lemak here in Canberra.
It’s perfectly normal to imagine what inanimate objects would tast like if they were edible – it’s how the minds of greedy people work.
The mahjong sets over here have a green base which never fails to reminds me of the green layer in gao can gou (nine layer cake)and I always make an effort to stake them as neatly as possible so that it resembles gao can gou even more.
What a feast – assam fish, sambal prawns, sambal kang kung!! Why would you ever need to return to Malaysia!! Your mum is sure a star in the kitchen!!
I love nasi lemak! And your mum whipped up such a spread. I’m a sucker for sambal kangkong, ikan bilis with peanuts, hard boiled egg, sambal prawn and assam fish. And I can’t have nasi lemak without extra sambal. What can I say about loving chilli? :)
Hehe my mahjong set – bought way back in the mid 80s in a little street in Singapore which only sold mahjong sets – is just like yours!
The creamy white – marshmellow tiles, the number tiles with no helpful numbers so you have to know the characters … snaps!
CB
x
Mmm, that all looks so good! I love kang kung, too, though we call it “water spinach”, which sounds less appetizing. Jac’s curry looks wonderful; the colors are gorgeous.
I loooooove Malaysian food. I need to start making it for myself.
Ruth,
I love nasi lemak too. We don’t eat it very often, so I always enjoy it when we do.
Bitsy,
I definitely have the mind of a greedy person! I’ve seen green layered mahjong that reminded me of kway talam. Mmmm.
dea,
Well, you would’ve loved this meal then!
cellobella,
Oh yes. I’ve learnt the numbers now (flashes of primary school Chinese lessons came back to me), but still have to remember which wind is which.
M.M.,
I like the sound of “water spinach”, but that’s probably because I love spinach. Jac’s curry was really tasty as well as colourful.
Chubbypanda,
I’m too lazy to do it myself at this point in time. I know I’m extremely lucky to have others available to cook it for me! :)
this is what we call Nasi Lemak Special. Everything looks so delish. Plus your mom even cook the kangkung. I wish I know you…..
flower,
I feel very lucky to have such great cooks in the family!
Lovely to see all these dishes. I love nasi goreng and sambal oelek, have lost my recipe though! And I haven’t played MahJong for years – no one in London seems to play it!
More please :)
fol,
We’re hoping to get up to speed so we can teach our friends to play and start our own little mahjong club. :) But we still need to buy a mahjong table!