| Azaraimy HH |
SURROUNDED by a lush vegetation of herbs and fruit trees, Siti Mastura Alwi from Singapore was given the opportunity to experience a cooking adventure at the Eco Ponies Garden, an eco-homestay in Kampong Bang Nukat, Lamunin, Tutong District.
The celebrity chef is currently in Brunei Darussalam as a guest judge for the upcoming ‘Packed Biscuits and Cakes Ready for Export’ competition, organised by Cube Junction.
At 50, Siti Mastura looks young for her age, which she attributes to a balanced and healthy diet.
In an interview with the Bulletin, she admitted to being amazed at the assortment of local produce at the local community market, as well as the prices on offer.
“In my home country, I would pay around $1.90 for a ‘Pisang Raja’ per piece, but yesterday I paid around the same price for a whole bunch of freshly harvested bananas,” she said.
Siti Mastura also said that she was spoiled for choice with the fresh produce at the local market.
“I had never seen so many fresh vegetables. The lemon grass stalks were all so fat and green, compared to the small cut pieces back at home, which are also expensive,” she said.
Yesterday at the Eco Garden, Siti Mastura chose to make a dessert called Kueh Nagasari, which is made from rice flour, coconut milk, bananas and sugar.
Chef Siti Mastura with her hosts displaying a dish. – AZARAIMY HH
For the wrapping, she used a large banana leaf from the Eco Ponies garden.
“This is an experience for me,” she said, while slicing the banana leaf in half. “Usually I have the banana leaves already cut into pieces, but today we picked a fresh large one, and I cut it myself.
“Coming from Singapore. I have never handled a banana leaf this large before,” she added.
“Alhamdulillah, I have been teaching the art of making Malay cakes for the past 15 years. I find the Malay desserts in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei almost identical, only with different names. For instance, ‘Puteri Salat’ in Singapore and Malaysia is known as ‘Pulut Serimuka’ in Brunei.
“Yesterday, I got to sample the Brunei version of ‘Puteri Salat’, and the taste is very similar.”
During her stop at Eco Ponies, Siti Mastura also prepared a Malay dish called ‘Nasi Kerabu’, with her host and local entrepreneur, Siti Zaleha binti Haji Kaprawi.
The post Singapore celebrity chef ‘spoiled for choice’ with local farm produce appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.