eG Foodblog: yunnermeier - Malaysia Truly Asia

[yunnermeier]

What's the difference in taste between the different varieties of belimbing? I never remember coming across the variety used for cooking. I'm not sure they had it on the East Coast.

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The star-shaped belimbing is juiced or eaten as a fruit. I love them, especially the honey variety (very sweet). The green belimbing I used however is only for cooking. It is very sour. In Melaka, it is often used in not just Nyonya dishes but also in the peanut sauce for satay. This gives the sauce an extra ' oomph' !

[yunnermeier]

We had breakfast out again. This time, we went to the SS2 Banana Leaf Curry House which is small 24 hour Southern Indian coffeeshop down the street.

My dad had what is known as 'fragrant coconut'

My ma got her usual teh tarik (pulled tea)

And I drank apple lassi. It was very refreshing

He's making my roti canai

The finished product, served with fish and chicken curry

The same man making sure the 'paper tosai' is paper-thin

My dad's paper tosai, eaten with chutney and chicken curry

My mother had roti tisu.It has some granulated sugar stuck to the tissue-like (hence the name roti tisu )batter. Best eaten with condense milk and/or curry and chutney.

Some of the dishes you can pick if you eat banana leaf rice

More dishes

The curries and vegetables are on another table (no picture).

Feast on!

[prasantrin]

[All of them! But yes, I probably order Japanese strawberry sponge cake and 'mille feuille' (sp?? however the Japanese mille feuille is not the french mille feuille but more like MeganBlocker's Gateux aux Crepes in RecipeGullet) most often. What I like most about Japanese cakes is the quality of ingredients and how light they are. You don't get sick of Japanese cakes - every bite is savoured.

The Japanese millefeuille is just like the French one, but the Gateaux aux Crepes are usually called mille crepes.

I love the lightness of Japanese cakes, too. They're so much more delicate (than most North American cakes, anyway), but I don't have a favourite. It's too hard to choose!

[insomniac]

We had breakfast out again. This time, we went to the SS2 Banana Leaf Curry House which is small 24 hour Southern Indian coffeeshop down the street.

My dad had what is known as 'fragrant coconut'

My ma got her usual teh tarik (pulled tea)

And I drank apple lassi. It was very refreshing

He's making my roti canai

The finished product, served with fish and chicken curry

The same man making sure the 'paper tosai' is paper-thin

My dad's paper tosai, eaten with chutney and chicken curry

My mother had roti tisu.It has some granulated sugar stuck to the tissue-like (hence the name roti tisu )batter. Best eaten with condense milk and/or curry and chutney.

Some of the dishes you can pick if you eat banana leaf rice

More dishes

The curries and vegetables are on another table (no picture).

Feast on! 

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**JEALOUS** (I'm through HK next week, first stop Malaysian stall off Lan Kwai Fong)

[Pan]

[...]Pan, that is a really funny story! May I ask why you lived in Malaysia? Were you posted there?

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I was there from 1975-77 as a kid, going to Standard 5 and 6 (5th and 6th grades for you Americans), and then visited in the summer of 2003, which is when the story about the pet bull and the belimbing dates from. I'll tell you another funny story, though not food-related: When my parents and I were in Kuala Terengganu getting official permission to live in Kg. Merchang, the government official asked my father what his work was. He made a gesture toward my mother and said he was just following his wife, and that he was a painter and could paint anywhere. I think that nowadays, with all the professional women -- and professional Malay women -- in Malaysia, that wouldn't be thought of as very odd, but in 1975, things were different, and the look of incredulity on that man's face was priceless! We were there because of my mother's work in anthropology. Here are the results of a Google search on my mother's name. And some of her research was even about food and nutrition. I can tell you more about that if you're interested. Oddly enough, when my mother's application for me to study in Sekolah Kebangsaan Merchang was approved, the official was very concerned that I might work illegally. At the local sawmill, perhaps?

Edited May 18, 2007 by Pan (log)

[yunnermeier]

Here is the curry laksa as promised! There are 2 kinds of curry laksa- one with chicken and the other with seafood. This is the chicken version (my mum had the seafood but I didn't bother taking a picture:D )

I have a tiny garden. All it has is a large mango tree. My dad is very attached to this tree. He planted it when it was about 2 feet tall about 34 years ago (when they bought the house) and when we wanted to do something with the yard, he did everything he could to save the mango tree which is why we have a crooked path to the door now I hate mangoes in any form (drinks, dessert, mango fish, the fruit itself etc.) but I know we have beautiful, juicy, rich mangoes as is evident by the many which mysteriously get lost everyday.

We almost never get ripe ones because someone or other will steal them! My parents get so mad that the gate is locked everyday (sometimes the carwash guys still climb over though) and once, my dad recognised one of the thieves and complained to his boss to no avail so my dad- the mad mango man- hid out opposite our street in the confines of his dark car, in hopes of catching the offender They don't mind if someone wants a mango(or mangoes) but ask and it will be given! And of course do leave one or two fruits for us instead of plucking 20 at a time

Small curry leaf plant

Pandan (screwpine leaf)

My dad planted the belimbing tree outside our house a few years ago. Just this morning, the maid from next door called my mother because this lady was plucking some. She asked for permission when my mother came outside. She had plucked a large plastic bag full of flowers because her Indonesian maid told her that making a tea out of the flowers is good for cough (her whole family is coughing now). My mother said yes ,of course and later plucked some flowers to make that drink for an aunt who is also coughing. So there you go, flowers for coughing and the fruits for cooking.

[yunnermeier]

Thank you so much for the street market photos!  Oh, I feel like I'm traveling!  And I actually see a few fruits I recognize!  Those strawberries look luscious, as do the watermelon.  The colors are so intense - either you're getting good with Photoshop  or everything is being picked at its ripest, as it should be.

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Hehehe, I just read your comment again:D The 'strawberries' next to the melons are actually rambutans ! Hahaha the insides look like lychees but taste a bit different! The outside is really hairy and they're in season now:)

Pan,

It must have been an amazing experience! I imagine it must've been difficult for you to learn everything in Malay (or was it still in English, then?). If you could name one thing- just one- what would be your favourite Malaysian dish/meal?

Edited May 18, 2007 by yunnermeier (log)

[yunnermeier]

This is for Chufi:)

Indonesian layer cake / Spekkoek

It tastes really good but it doesn't look perfect. The first layer (the bottom one) is a little too thick and there's one dark layer in the middle because my mum was talking to me Spekkoek is yummy and easy to make but requires full concentration as the layers burn very quickly . I'm stuffing myself:) I love layer cake.

[SheenaGreena]

i want to eat every single thing in all of your pictures!!!!!

I dont know why, but I really really love south asian blogs a lot, especially malaysian food - which I know nothing about, so I'm learning a lot here.

I can't remember if you addressed this in your other blog, but what is your ethnicity? chinese? malay? all of the above?

[sadie_siamesecat]

Those breakfast pictures made my sad little yogurt container even sadder. This food all looks so delicious! And the layer cake is amazing, too!

::Delurking because I don't want you to feel as if your blog has "failed."::

[Abra]

That's an interestingly shaped pan you used for the spekkoek - is it designed exactly for that purpose? And it looks like you did yours under the broiler just as Chufi did, which makes the oven-only recipe Iused seem ever more unlikely.

It's cool to see pandan growing. The leaves sure don't look all shiny and beautiful like that by the time we see them in the store here.

Will you talk about breakfast habits? For example, I'd happily eat any of those foods with the banana leaf for breakfast, but they'd be leftover "dinner" food from the night before. The idea of having all that prepared fresh first thing in the morning is mind-boggling to me. Would everyone have a big spicy breakfast like that, or do a lot of people have the Malaysian version of "just coffee and toast," which I guess is more like what your family ate?

[SheenaGreena]

are pandan leaves used for anything else other than making dessert? I see a dessert made with them all the time at a local vietnamese store and I have always wondered what it tastes like...is it really herbal?

[yunnermeier]

We had mussel pasta for dinner. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe . I made it once in Holland but the mussels here are different (so big) so it was really hard to toss the thing! I wasn't very happy with it.

I'm going for supper now with some friends. I'll answer everyone's questions later!

[Domestic Goddess]

My dad planted the belimbing tree outside our house a few years ago. Just this morning, the maid from next door called my mother because this lady was plucking some. She asked for permission when my mother came outside. She had plucked a large plastic bag full of flowers because her Indonesian maid told her that making a tea out of the flowers is good for cough (her whole family is coughing now). My mother said yes ,of course and later plucked some flowers to make that drink for an aunt who is also coughing. So there you go, flowers for coughing and the fruits for cooking.

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Yunnermeier, we had a belimbing tree too in one of the houses that we rented in the Philippines. In Filipino, we call belimbings = "balimbing". There is a lot of Malay words in the Filipino language. The weird thing is that balimbing is also a name for the star fruit (or also called a carambola) in my country. That's why a person who is two-faced or a traitor is called a "balimbing" (or he is described to be many-faced).

My grandmother would dry the balminbing fruits until they look like long raisins and these would be used to flavor our sour soups like sinigang or stewed fish (shad cooked in some water, soy sauce, oil, a slab of fatty pork belly and some dried balimbing). Now I am craving for some.

[yunnermeier]

Jalan Alor is a seedy place with good street food. Some say it's overhyped and I agree (RM2.50 for herbal tea?? hellooooo!? ).

10 of us went on a little eating spree after dinner (gluttons, that we are...)

Wong Ah Wah's famous chicken wings

washed down with dried pickled plum drink (Katchai Shimui)

Then we walked to another stall famous for frog porridge. It was my first time trying frog- I've always been scared of it after I saw the man at my local night market killing them... Frog tastes like a combination of fish and chicken.

Another short walk into a dark alley brought us to this famous beef noodle shop. My friends had this (sorry about the crappy picture):

and I had beef ball kuey teow

2.30a.m. now. Have to go to bed!

[yunnermeier]

I can't remember if you addressed this in your other blog, but what is your ethnicity? chinese? malay? all of the above?

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Hi Sheena! I'm Peranakan Chinese ,meaning I'm mostly Chinese but I come from Peranakan/Nyonya stock (er as in ahem *starts narrating* In the 1400s, a Chinese emperor sent his daughter Princess Hang Li Po to marry the Malaccan Sultan. She brought 200 men with her who married Malay women. Their descendants are called Baba & Nyonya/ Peranakan/ Straits Born Chinese. They speak Malay at home but are non-Muslims and in some ways even more Chinese than pure Chinese people. They also developed their own cuisine)

Those breakfast pictures made my sad little yogurt container even sadder. This food all looks so delicious! And the layer cake is amazing, too!

::Delurking because I don't want you to feel as if your blog has "failed."::

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Hi sadie-siamesecat! I really appreciate it! Thanks

That's an interestingly shaped pan you used for the spekkoek - is it designed exactly for that purpose?  And it looks like you did yours under the broiler just as Chufi did, which makes the oven-only recipe Iused seem ever more unlikely. 

It's cool to see pandan growing.  The leaves sure don't look all shiny and beautiful like that by the time we see them in the store here.

Will you talk about breakfast habits?  For example, I'd happily eat any of those foods with the banana leaf for breakfast, but they'd be leftover "dinner" food from the night before.  The idea of having all that prepared fresh first thing in the morning is mind-boggling to me.  Would everyone have a big spicy breakfast like that, or do a lot of people have the Malaysian version of "just coffee and toast,"  which I guess is more like what your family ate?

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My mum only uses pans with slanting sides for layer cakes. I asked her why and she said she has no idea. It was what the Dutch Indonesian lady taught them. The cake was grilled (in the oven) and also baked

I don't think anyone prepares banana leaf breakfast or Indian breads or Chinese noodles or whatever for breakfast. We just eat out at the many breakfast places available. Sometimes, we just eat 'kuih' (those colourful Malay/Nyonya dessert/snack), sometimes we go to the coffeeshop for a cup of strong Malaysian coffee and toast with kaya (coconut jam). Of course, a lot of people also eat cereal and sandwiches. Some people who don't like to have breakfast just have a cup of Milo (malt?).

I cannot be 100% sure what most Malaysians eat but what my family eats is not uncommon (although most probably eat like that 3 times or so a week while we do it nearly everyday now since my parents are retired). There are cafeterias and stalls outside most offices so they just pop in to buy something...

are pandan leaves used for anything else other than making dessert? I see a dessert made with them all the time at a local vietnamese store and I have always wondered what it tastes like...is it really herbal?

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Pandan is used to flavour meat too! Also in bread, jams, rice etc. I can't descrive what it tastes like exactly but it's not really herbal. More.... vanilla-ish but with a hint of.. chlorophyll...hmm.

Yunnermeier, we had a belimbing tree too in one of the houses that we rented in the Philippines. In  Filipino, we call belimbings = "balimbing". There is a lot of Malay words in the Filipino language. The weird thing is that balimbing is also a name for the star fruit (or also called a carambola) in my country. That's why a person who is two-faced or a traitor is called a "balimbing" (or he is described to be many-faced).

My grandmother would dry the balminbing fruits until they look like long raisins and these would be used to flavor our sour soups like sinigang or stewed fish (shad cooked in some water, soy sauce, oil, a slab of fatty pork belly and some dried balimbing). Now I am craving for some.

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It's the same thing in Malaysia (Pan and I were discussing about it too)! I think I have to try drying it like your grandmother so that we always have some on hand:) I didn't like this belimbing when I was younger but I do appreciate it now.

[SuzySushi]

This is for Chufi:)

Indonesian layer cake / Spekkoek

It tastes really good but it doesn't look perfect. The first layer (the bottom one) is a little too thick and there's one dark layer in the middle because my mum was talking to me    Spekkoek is yummy and easy to make but requires full concentration as the layers burn very quickly . I'm stuffing myself:) I love layer cake.

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It looks wonderful! I hope you can post the recipe on RecipeGullet!

[Kouign Aman]

Holy moly! Those are ginormous mussels! Beautiful....

What fun to get out of class and find this blog in process.

Trader Joe's sells freeze dried rambutan and mangosteen. I wonder if they'll try jackfruit next?

[Peter the eater]

I have been looking at your posts and I am blown away - all those colors, textures and shapes. What a delicious and unique place with so many influences. I am sooo going one day.

It got me thinking about my father-in-law (now 75) who spent 2 years in Malaya while in the British Army back in the 1950's. He emailed me some of his "food memories" today and I thought I'd post a few excerpts for anybody interested. I don't have a clue about the politics there and I hope none of this offends, its pretty interesting from a foodie's point of view:

The British Army provided all we needed both in camp and on patrol. As I recall it the food was good and, in the officer's mess with a high proportions of curry - the anglo type. Breakfasts in camp always included prodigious amounts of fruit. When we went into the jungle - which I did probably more than most others - we carried all our food with us.

We were issued with ration packs - one for each day out - which always contained rice, curry powder, instant coffee, tea, raisins, salt tablets, paludrin, porridge for breakfast and a small can of either beef, pork or chicken stew. The senior NCO also carried a jug of double proof rum for everyone to have a large shot at night.

Occasionally one came across some of the small wild bananas and there was a tree fruit about the size of an egg with a soft fuzz on it. It was as hard as a rock and could not be bitten into. However, simple held for a while in the mouth it gave off a wonderful flavour of almonds and was very refreshing. On occasion, when I was with the aboriginal tribesmen I ate with them and all I can recall was palm shoots and a tuber (like cassava I think, that had to be boiled to drive off the poison. I ate it rather like a mashed potato. On a couple of occasions when I hit terrorist camps I was able to liberate what food they had (generally very little but on one fondly remembered occasion a whole toblerone bar of Swiss chocolate.)

When in a Malay kampong I don't recall ever squatting for an entire meal but instead simply having a chat in a circle and eating fruit. I particularly enjoyed lichee nuts served in their shell and always crawling with red ants. (The shell, a bit like a horse chestnut had strong spikes projecting from it. ) Tap the spikes on the ground and all the ants fell off so we could peel the shell and extract the fruit

Malaya was roughly divided into 50% Malay, 35% Chinese (higher in the areas I patrolled) plus quite a few Indians and some Eurasians and Europeans and they all tended to eat according to their national customs. I particularly recall eating with Chinese businessmen and their families who were most hospitable and their meals put to shame anything served up in a Chinese restaurants around here. Some rice but a vast array of add on dishes with wonderful vegetables, strange fish (I never cared for octopus) and wonderful prawns - all accompanied by copious amounts of whiskey and beer.

[Hiroyuki]

Wong Ah Wah's famous chicken wings

washed down with dried pickled plum drink (Katchai Shimui)

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They look good (I mean the wings)! Do you have any idea how they are prepared and seasoned? I like chicken wings (called tebasaki in Japanese).

Dried pickled plum drink? What does it taste like?

[Pan]

[...]Pan,

It must have been an amazing experience! I imagine it must've been difficult for you to learn everything in Malay (or was it still in English, then?). If you could name one thing- just one- what would be your favourite Malaysian dish/meal?

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Sekolah Kebangsaan was never in English; that would have been Sekolah Inggeris, and at least in the 70s, that started in Sekolah Menengah (middle school/junior high school). I got fluent in Bahasa Terengganu within 6 months. I have a good ear, and besides, when you have to speak a language, you learn it.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I love really good Ayam Percik, my favorite Malaysian fruits are probably some of the kelat (tangy) bananas and rambutan (when I was a kid, I also loved buah kemunting, wild red berries I used to pick, but I missed the buah kemunting season in 2003), and for sweets, there's nothing I liked better than the wood-roasted kuih bakar I had during recess every day at the sekolah kebangsaan.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

(incidently Japan makes the best cakes by far from any country I've visited

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Oh, what are your favorite Japanese cakes? Mont blanc, strawberry sponge cake, souffle cheese cake, and...

I wonder if you can find rare (= unbaked) cheese cakes in your country.

Edited to add: Thanks you, Pan, for your further comments about rice. Interesting story!

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Oh, I agree with yunnermeier, and I've never been to Japan... I've just had some of the cakes that we can buy in the Japanese markets here.

Here in the US, cakes seem to be more about fillings and frostings/icings and less about the cake itself. American style cakes generally have a heavier, crumblier texture than any Japanese cakes I've had or seen.

I think the closest I've come to Japanese cakes in the US are from the Chinese-American bakeries.

I'm no pastry chef though... just an enthusiastic cake fan.

[yunnermeier]

Good morning (afternoon:P)!

Breakfast this morning was char siew bau, tau sa bao (red bean filling) and ling yung (lotus paste) bao. They were HUGE! I had half of each.

Then, for lunch, we had Pasembor (Indian Rojak) in honour of Abra.

Without sauce (cucumbers, bean sprouts, boiled egg, octopus ,crispy bits-made from flour and coconut and then deepfried-, and a softer version made from flour,prawns and what not ,also deepfried.

With the sauce

[kaneel]

My dad planted the belimbing tree outside our house a few years ago. Just this morning, the maid from next door called my mother because this lady was plucking some. She asked for permission when my mother came outside. She had plucked a large plastic bag full of flowers because her Indonesian maid told her that making a tea out of the flowers is good for cough (her whole family is coughing now). My mother said yes ,of course and later plucked some flowers to make that drink for an aunt who is also coughing. So there you go, flowers for coughing and the fruits for cooking.

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Yunnermeier, we had a belimbing tree too in one of the houses that we rented in the Philippines. In Filipino, we call belimbings = "balimbing". There is a lot of Malay words in the Filipino language. The weird thing is that balimbing is also a name for the star fruit (or also called a carambola) in my country. That's why a person who is two-faced or a traitor is called a "balimbing" (or he is described to be many-faced).

My grandmother would dry the balminbing fruits until they look like long raisins and these would be used to flavor our sour soups like sinigang or stewed fish (shad cooked in some water, soy sauce, oil, a slab of fatty pork belly and some dried balimbing). Now I am craving for some.

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Great blog yunnermeier!!!!

I see a lot of fruits that we have in suriname.....For eaxample this fruit we call it birambie. And use its flower also for cough, we also pickle them ,make jam and chutney with them. Now i don't what language that would be.Doddie we also call them carambola .

Probably a little history of suriname would help out. Suriname is in south america but considerd more caribean than anything . Population is indian, indonesians,chinese,black,dutch(blanke as we call them) and so many more so all these languages are spoken here, dutch being the main one....so you can only imagine how rich(and confusing lol) in culture and food it is.

Ps I read egullet almost every night and feel like i know all of you personally, i just don't get to post as much as i like.

Ashiana

[yunnermeier]

It looks wonderful! I hope you can post the recipe on RecipeGullet! 

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PM me if you want it:) I love spice cakes:)

Holy moly! Those are ginormous mussels! Beautiful....

What fun to get out of class and find this blog in process.

Trader Joe's sells freeze dried rambutan and mangosteen. I wonder if they'll try jackfruit next?

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Hello! I've seen canned jackfruit. Have you tried it?? I once saw 'fresh' mangosteens in Japan but they cost 7000 yen (US$70) for 5 small ones...

I have been looking at your posts and I am blown away - all those colors, textures and shapes. What a delicious and unique place with so many influences. I am sooo going one day.

It got me thinking about my father-in-law (now 75) who spent 2 years in Malaya while in the British Army back in the 1950's. He emailed me some of his "food memories" today and I thought I'd post a few excerpts for anybody interested. I don't have a clue about the politics there and I hope none of this offends, its pretty interesting from a foodie's point of view:

The British Army provided all we needed both in camp and on patrol. As I recall it the food was good and, in the officer's mess with a high proportions of curry - the anglo type. Breakfasts in camp always included prodigious amounts of fruit. When we went into the jungle - which I did probably more than most others - we carried all our food with us.

We were issued with ration packs - one for each day out - which always contained rice, curry powder, instant coffee, tea, raisins, salt tablets, paludrin, porridge for breakfast and a small can of either beef, pork or chicken stew. The senior NCO also carried a jug of double proof rum for everyone to have a large shot at night.

Occasionally one came across some of the small wild bananas and there was a tree fruit about the size of an egg with a soft fuzz on it. It was as hard as a rock and could not be bitten into. However, simple held for a while in the mouth it gave off a wonderful flavour of almonds and was very refreshing. On occasion, when I was with the aboriginal tribesmen I ate with them and all I can recall was palm shoots and a tuber (like cassava I think, that had to be boiled to drive off the poison. I ate it rather like a mashed potato. On a couple of occasions when I hit terrorist camps I was able to liberate what food they had (generally very little but on one fondly remembered occasion a whole toblerone bar of Swiss chocolate.)

When in a Malay kampong I don't recall ever squatting for an entire meal but instead simply having a chat  in a circle and eating fruit. I particularly enjoyed lichee nuts served in their shell and always crawling with red ants. (The shell, a bit like a horse chestnut had strong spikes projecting from it. ) Tap the spikes on the ground and all the ants fell off so we could peel the shell and extract the fruit

Malaya was roughly divided into 50% Malay, 35% Chinese (higher in the areas I patrolled) plus quite a few Indians and some Eurasians and Europeans and they all tended to eat according to their national customs. I particularly recall eating with Chinese businessmen and their families who were most hospitable and their meals put to shame anything served up in a Chinese restaurants around here. Some rice but a vast array of add on dishes with wonderful vegetables, strange fish (I never cared for octopus) and wonderful prawns - all accompanied by copious amounts of whiskey and beer.

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That's a wonderful commentary from your father-in-law. Thank you! Is he English?? There is this mountain (Cameron Highlands) which is still very English (afternoon tea,scones, clotted cream, tea plantations, old Victorian houses etc).

They look good (I mean the wings)!  Do you have any idea how they are prepared and seasoned?  I like chicken wings (called tebasaki in Japanese).

Dried pickled plum drink?  What does it taste like?

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I am not sure about the chicken wings, sorry! All I can say is the skin is very crisp (and possibly basted with honey?) and that the wings have definitely been frozen (wings often have dark meat when it has been frozen for some time). I think the most important thing is the crispness of the skin. When my mother makes it at home, it tastes good but it's still lacking something (the skin, it's all about the skin!).

The plum drink is sweet with a hint of sourness. The dried pickled plum is also sometimes grated onto guava or eaten plain . I'll try to show you a picture of the plum later (not umeboshi but I think it is sold in Japan).

Sekolah Kebangsaan was never in English; that would have been Sekolah Inggeris, and at least in the 70s, that started in Sekolah Menengah (middle school/junior high school). I got fluent in Bahasa Terengganu within 6 months. I have a good ear, and besides, when you have to speak a language, you learn it.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I love really good Ayam Percik, my favorite Malaysian fruits are probably some of the kelat (tangy) bananas and rambutan (when I was a kid, I also loved buah kemunting, wild red berries I used to pick, but I missed the buah kemunting season in 2003), and for sweets, there's nothing I liked better than the wood-roasted kuih bakar I had during recess every day at the sekolah kebangsaan.

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Ayam Percik is awesome! I almost never buy it here in KL unless I am desperate and then I buy some during puasa (fasting before Eid) month (from the many markets available then). My uncle lives in Kelantan with his Kelantanese wife and when they visit us, they always bring ayam percik and/or murtabak.

Oh, I agree with yunnermeier, and I've never been to Japan... I've just had some of the cakes that we can buy in the Japanese markets here.

Here in the US, cakes seem to be more about fillings and frostings/icings and less about the cake itself. American style cakes generally have a heavier, crumblier texture than any Japanese cakes I've had or seen.

I think the closest I've come to Japanese cakes in the US are from the Chinese-American bakeries.

I'm no pastry chef though... just an enthusiastic cake fan.

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Indeed! American cakes tend to be heavier and very rich which is nice in its own way (I think American chocolate cake with fudge is the only real chocolate cake for example). Dutch 'cakes' tend to be boring pound cakes (they call anything with cream 'pie' ) and the 'pies' there tend to be more cream than pastries - again which is nice in its own way but the Japanese cakes are real cakes to me! So light, fresh , moderate sizes and the best quality ingredients.