LEMANG

I am sure that many Malaysians would agree with me that Lemang is one traditional dish that is popular during the Ramadan and Syawal months.  It is made from glutinous rice, coconut milk, salt and cooked in a hollowed bamboo tube lined with banana leaves and barbecued over a fire pit. The cooking takes at a few hours and the bamboo tube has to be tilted at a certain angle. The bamboo tubes have to be rotated every 15-minutes in order for the rice inside to be cooked evenly.
Once removed from the bamboo tube, lemang is usually cut into smaller, inch-thick pieces and served together with Beef or Chicken Rendang. 

As we approach Syawal, I find that the number of makeshift Lemang stalls have increased.  You can see people, from all walks of life, pulling onto the side of the road to get their hands on some freshly made lemang. 

 I bought the shortest Lemang tube for RM8. The longer ones are priced at RM14.  The lady helped me to split open the bamboo tube before she wrapped it in newspaper for me to take home.