..or 'org Menora' to be exact, as Ayah Chik would point out haha..
..and NO! 'Awak' isn't 'you'. At my kampung, Abah uses 'awak' as 'I' so sile jgn konpius ye tuan² dan puan².
You know, in my adult(?) life, I've never really liked local fruits. Well, to tell you the truth, I don't really like fruits in general pun but I'd pick apples any day over rambutans and durians. Not that I'm a tak-sedar-asal-usul girl, okay hahah, though that was what Ayah Chik 'accused' me of.
My theory is simple. I grew up with fruits all around me. At home in Sg Ara, Abah planted starfruits, guavas, roselle and papayas in our compound, thus being the fruits yg sy sgt bosan skrg. And mind you, he didn't plant JUST ONE tree for each fruit. I grew up recognizing the differance between Exotica and don't-remember-the-actual name of papaya and also B10 and B12 (ye ke ini namenye?) for starfruits. Me and my siblings can recognize an awfully sweet starfruit by sight (and avoid them) bla bla bla..
Back at kampung, Abah had a few dusuns with his favourite one in Kubang Pekan (thats the name of his kampung) that had everything from durians to rambutans to manggis and most local fruit you can name. He also had a few pokok petai ye which I grew to like when I got older despite the infamous smell they have hahah..
Then in Menora (this is Mama's kampung, adjescent to Kubang Pekan but usually all the kampungs there are all called Menora or Rambai Tujuh by outsiders!) at Tok Hassan's house, we were also surrounded by fruits. Our favourite being the rambutan kuning, cocoa and pulasan. Mama and her sisters favoured the ciku which was always abg Sher's mercun victim! Ohh, we also have this durian which Mama and her sisters call Durian Jantung due to its shape.. (but which I hated coz it tasted a bit 'gassy'.. I prefer the lemak manis type)
I won't say that I love these fruits but I welcome the fruit season just as excitedly as everyone else. Pesta buah weiihhh, sape tak suke. And with cousins, aunts and uncles around, it was almost heaven. There'll be days of lempuk and dodol durian making that took hours of fun for all of us. Fruits galore!
But as I grew older, I seldom balik kampung. Reason being Tok Hassan and Pah Aisyah (both maternal grandparents) have deseaced. Tok Jit (paternal grandpa) is also no longer with us and Pah Kiah (paternal grandma) prefers staying in pondok where she takes religious classes with other octonogarians.
..and my liking for local fruits have lessen corresponding to my visits to kampung.
..or so I thought!
I really thought I don't like those fruits. I seem to have this on-going sore throat whenever it is fruit season here in Penang-Perak-Kedah where I stay and everyone knows that no matter how yummy those fruits are, they are also a big reason of sore throats. I always have the reason of teaching, the reason why I have to take care of my voice but as for now, with no local fruits in hand, my throat is fine.
Even in Ayer Tawar a few weeks ago, vilagers were kind enough to literally shower us with local fruits especially rambutans (and mangos that the staff got from trees around the chalet). They all looked at me in disbelief when I kept refusing the rambutans and all that but to me, it was normal. I don't eat fruits kaaann.. kunun!
But during raya, Mama asked if I wanted to go back to kampung. Bagai org mengantuk disarungkan bantal (Betul ke ni? 'Disarungkan' bantal makes me feel like a pillow myself!), I agreed. Bukan senang nak dengar Mama sendiri yg offer nak balik kampung as usually it'll take weeks for me to pujuk her balik kampung hehe..
The first person who greeted us at Tok Mat's house was Chik Ni, with a trunkful of langsat and rambutans. He offered some for me to take back to 'those Parit Buntarians' to show how yummy Kuale's fruits are, but I declined. Kene kutuk la jugak with Chik Ni.. "Kamu ni demam ke? Boleh pulak sampai tak mau buah nii?!?"
I just watched the others eating the fruits tanpe perasaan and at the end of the day, we made a last visit to Wan Chik and Ayah Chik. They had a freezerful of cold durian (one of our favourite kind of durians.. sbb tak yah kupas.. and sejuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukkk!) and offered a big container to us. As usual I decline and Ayah Chik in his booming voice said, "Aiiiiii, takkan dah tanak ngaku org Kuale dah ni. Buah² Kuale ni kamu dah tak pandang ke, Ayu?"
Huh.. kene kutuk lagi!
But I jut smiled and told him, "Dah jarang makan la skrg Ayah Chik.. bukan buah² ni je, semua buah pun.."
Then my cousin a.k.a worst enemy turun with his new son. Ngan abg Sher ni lagi la kene kutuk. Ade patut he said, "Ayu tamau jadi org kampung daaahhh"
Caittt..
And for that, I took the first ulas of durian I've eaten for years, just to prove I'm still org Kuala Kangsar!
..and then I took another!
..and another!
..and another!
..and the next thing I knew, the huge container already empty hahaha.. aik?!?! Bkn sy tak makan buah ke?
Think quick, Ayu.. camne nak cover malu ngabiskan secontainer durian nih? Cepat² I scooped the biji² durian in front of me to throw in the kitchen dustbin so no one would notice how much I ate, but..
"Haaaaaaaaaaaa.. macam ni la org Menora! Makan durian sampai habis!"
Opppss.. kantoi!
Sengih je la at Ayah Chik while enduring abg Sher's laughter yg sangat menyakitkan hati, ok!
I guess I forgot something: Though I might not like fruits, I've developed a taste for Kuala Kangsar fruits. They might not be the best durians or rambutans in the country, but they're 'mine'. Sorta my birthright and no one (or no state in Malaysia) could take that away from me!
Sheeesssshh! I'm clannish, afterall!!! (And I soooo hated people who are racist and state'ish' hahah..)
After that, went to Wan Chik's kitchen just to find some TEMPOYAK MASAK! I don't eat sambal okay.. but I could never resist tempoyak masak.. or the usual kuah tempoyak too. OooOOoohh, to eat hot rice with kuah tempoyak (kosong tanpe ikan pun takpe) and fried eggs sunny side up again.. heaven! But tempoyak masak with hot rice and fried fish is the BEST!
..and yes! I pretended to not notice Ayah Chik and abg Sher who were laughing their heads off watching me eat! Ayah Chik sanggup patah balik (he was otw to the showers) just to laugh at me hahaha..
Ye laa, gelak la kat orang! =p
And yes Ayah Chik.. sy masih org Kuale. Masih org Menora pun ☺
Here's an old picture I found of me, Is, Adi, Uncle Maarof, Ajan and Dayang enjoying durian @Menora a few rayas ago (when I was still not as chubby as now!)
P/S
Teringat kat Amer. When we were in Sarawak, I was suprised to see durians everywhere (Duhhh, Ayu!) and asked him, durian sini rase camne? He looked at me and said, "Macam ikan!" with a straight face hahah.. yup! I deserve that! Ape punye soalan la Ayuuuu..
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