Hari Raya Open House

Sunday saw our first experience of a Raya open house.

Hari Raya is an annual Muslim holiday that falls at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the daylight hours for one month. It is traditional for many to open their home's to an array of guests and we were lucky enough to be invited by a work colleague to their festivities in Kenny Hill, Kuala Lumpur.

Kenny Hills is a beautiful residential neighbourhood in bush clad hills, close to central KL and the house was palatial with spectacular panoramic views of the city. When invited to a Malaysians home, one never goes hungry and this day was no exception. A fabulous lunch was provided including a dish called Arisa. Wikipedia has this to say about it:

Arisa - A unique chicken dish that is very rare nowadays, and is normally served to the royalties and social elites of Johor at formal functions and celebrations.

Apparently, between 4 and 5 hours of continuous elbow grease is required in the making of arisa. Unfortunately it is so rare that I could not find any decent pictures online to accompany this entry. It can be served with honey and/or chilli and has a soft, mushy texture. Lina and I both enjoyed it, however, it has a very rich flavour making it difficult to eat too much. However by the time we had arrived at this dish selection, there had been a vast quantity of food gone before it, so perhaps that was the real culprit.

The other noteworthy food event was my attempt at self service of a noodle dish, whose accompaniment should have been the fish sauce......with a dab of chilli if so desired. The fish sauce was unbenoweth to me at this time, and I assumed (never assume, a wise man told me....it makes an ass etc etc) the chilli was the main sauce. You can guess the rest. Given the salubrious setting, I made a valient attempt to eat this firebrand dish without blowing my top. Clearly I needed some fluids to drown the embers in my mouth. Luckily, Grandmother's delicious homemade kopi ice (ice coffee) was at hand. In KL, it is difficult to find this beverage not overly sweetened (to generalise, KLites have a very sweet tooth), but this was just right.

Many thanks to Zain Amri Ayeob and his wife Izreen Abdullah for their generous hospitality.

Terima Kasih.