pasar minggu

last night we had dinner at the pasar minggu, or sunday market. even though it happens on saturday night, it is called the sunday market because it lasts into the wee hours of the morning... however, we didn't stick around to prove that fact. we did hang out long enough to eat a few great dishes. on our way, we stopped for some pisang goreng, basically small, half ripe bananas that have been battered and fried crispy. not too sweet, but deadly in the trans fat department.
after weaving our way through a few streets of small local restaurants, street hawkers and durian vendors, we settled on a small restaurant that served traditional malay fare.
i was excited to see a sign for olak-olak, a snack made with seasoned fish paste grilled over open coals in banana leaves. i quickly subdued the fear in the eyes of the server - a phenomenon often caused when a big white guy walks into a small local eatery... i am pretty sure that they are worried i am going to try to order a hamburger and french fries or ask for a bunch of special orders... no shrimp paste, vegetarian, not too spicy, etc, etc. however, after quickly asking for 4 of the olak-olak and an order of ayam biryani, she smiled and asked if i wanted drinks too. i figured a couple of milk teas, teh tarik, would do the trick. i sat down with alina and before i knew it, we had olak-olak hot off the grill. they were great, and quite sweet despite their red color. they almost had a char siew flavor to them. the banana leaves also added a nice smokey flavor. they worked well with the ayam biryani, loosely translated chicken and baked rice. the chicken was braised tender in a thick brown sauce, spicy with clove, nutmeg and coriander. it was very tender and really complicated in flavor. the biryani, a type of baked rice eluding to the indian influence in malaysia was perfect. biryani is a baked basmati rice dish. this one was loaded with fresh turmeric, raisins, a little saffron and cardamon, along with a few chiles, tomatoes and onions. it was perfect. garnishing the plate was a relish made with fresh cucumber, pineapple and fiery hot chiles. along side the relish was fresh made sambal, a chile garlic sauce that is everywhere in malaysia. to round out the dish in the texture department, a few crispy rice flour chips were thrown in too. i was stoked to have such a great malay meal after eating so much solid indian and chinese food here. it is good to know that all of the ethnic groups can hold their own in the food scene... yet another great meal in malaysia. i have to say, this country is quickly moving to the top of the list of my favorite asian cuisines.