Trip to Hometown in Sabak Bernam

Well, it was a reminising journey of travelling back to my hometown in Sabak Bernam in which located nearby border of Perak and Selangor.. Kinda missed the years back when I am still a children and now look where am i!! 18 years old of age.. going to a student exchange programe to Japan for 1 year.. aint time passes DAMN fast when you enjoy?? especially during nursery days.. i surely missed the things i have did in school.. and nursery.. Travelling back to my grandma and granddad house is definitely a trip which is a must to go.. i havent met them for months and as time passes i getting close to my student exchange in which i most probably or WILL missed next year's Chinese new year celebration depending on my program ending at which month or date.. so its better for me as a filial grandson to do my duty of visiting of them both before i fly..

Basically, the objective of my journey back is not just about visiting my elderly in addition.. i hope to be learning the tradition of doing Kuih Bakul (nian gao).. Maybe not to the extent of continuing the generation but rather gaining basic general knowledge of making it.. Well, it is a dying traditional side dish where we as the future generation having the responsibility to know the bits of pieces of our ancestors culture and traditions.. I am pretty sure that everyone knows what is it.. but i dont think you guys/girls will know what is the purpose and the methods.. haha..

What is it??

Chinese new year's cake is a food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is available in Asian supermarkets and from health food stores. While it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to 年, meaning "year", and the word 糕 (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to 高, meaning "high". As such, eating nian gao has the symbolism of raising oneself higher in each coming year (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng).

Production..

They all share the same glutinous rice ingredient that is pounded or ground into a paste and, depending on the variety, may simply be molded into shape or cooked again to settle the ingredient.

Finish Product of Nian Gao!! Yum yum..

Before being like the top picture, you must make the paste for it.. and this is how it looks like before steaming it..

Some pictures are taken from internet though.. because i was busy helping and gaining knowledge of these traditional dishes rather than busy rather than taking pictures in addition i never bring my BABY go home.. my DSLR ( Nikon D3000 ) T.T