Smoked duck and an assortment of food

Smoked duck and some pigeons.

Seremban which is the capitol of the state of Negri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia is not that far away from Kuala Lumpur. It is a place where many people go for a short break and also to try out it culinary delights. The predominant race here is the Minangkabau people who migrated to this state during the 15th and 16th century from Sumatra in Indonesia. They have brought with them their fondness for spicy food which uses a lot of coconut milk and firry hot chilies . They are also very famous for their rendangs or spicy unique curries which can be made from chicken, meat or even vegetables. The Indian community is also large and there are restaurants that cater to their cuisine. But open the web and search any entry on Seremban, they will mostly talk about the various Chinese cuisine that it is famous for.

Chosing your smoked duck at the stall.

While driving out of Seremban towards the vicinity of the old palace one comes across many local stalls along the roadside that sell a specialty of the Malay community of Minangkabau people. This is the itik salai or smoked duck. This is simply duck or chicken and sometimes even birds that have been marinated with turmeric root powder and smoked over a charcoal fire. This duck is then cooked again at home with coconut milk and hot bird’s eye chilies (chili padi). This is a specialty only found in the villages of Negri Sembilan.

The Chinese Community has been in Seremban

for many years and have added their special foods to the cuisine. They are famous for roast ducks (Chinese style) sweet roast pork , Bar-B-queued Crabs and the various types of backed buns with either meat or vegetables forming the filling . These are called Siew pows and this is one of the items that all visitors to Seremban buy and bring back as gifts. A Siew pow is actually rather small and the pastry is of a baked dough, rather than being steamed. As mentioned they can be filled either with

Travs of verious buns and cokkies.

stewed chicken or sweet roast pork or there are even vegetarian buns to be had. All visitors swear by their favorite bakery or shop, and there are numerous shops that specialise in this. A good place to find them is at the main central market where you can try another well-known type of noodle known as Hakka Mee. The Hakka’s were one of the main group of Chinese settlers in Negri Sembilan and they came to work on the tin mines of yesteryear. They have a different sort of cuisine and have become famous for their version of noodles .basically the noodles sre usually home made , flatter and served either minced meat, roasted sweet pork and seasoned with a light soya sauce ,some sesame oil and garnished with chopped spring onions. Sometimes they also add prawns in the dish. It is something dofferent from the usual fried Chinese noodles and worth a try if you are in Seremban with a bit of an appetite. Yes, Seremban does serve as a great place to try some of the more unusual and tasty food.

Text and photos by David de la Harpe