KUANTAN: The Pahang royal wedding in the state capital here this weekend has offered a rare glimpse into the mouth-watering menus, which are a culinary tradition of the state's royal family.
An array of dishes once reserved for the nobles or described as a "guarded secret behind palace doors" were up for sale for visitors to savour at Tasek KotaSAS here.
Tasek KotaSAS is among the two locations where large screens have been set up since Aug 22 to showcase the wedding of Tengku Puteri Afzan Aminah Hafidzatullah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Fd Idzham Fd Iskandar.
The booth, manned by cousins Tengku Aini Anita Tengku Abdullah, 67, and Sharifah Farah Asagoff, 61, not only offers a diverse menu of royal cuisine, but the duo are prepared to share some of the stories behind the recipes.
Tengku Aini Anita said setting up the booth for the royal wedding is a rare opportunity to promote delicacies served in the Pahang palace.
"The recipes include meals and desserts, which are usually only served during a royal ceremony or only on the main table. The both of us were born in Pekan, and know some who have cooked for the palace in the past.
"The recipes are usually a family heirloom that is passed down from generations and that is how we learnt the recipes… some of the recipes are seldom shared. The food items sold here are all prepared in Pekan.
"The booth has been receiving good response and we sometimes explain to customers the significance of the dishes. For example, the temosa raja (meat puffs) made from meat and sliced boiled eggs are prepared for sultans in the past to eat when they go sailing," she said.
Sharifah Farah said among the dishes sold at their booth is "tonjet", made from sweetened egg yolk that is often served as an appetiser or dessert, besides the famed "Jeneral Mahbob" kuih of Pekan.
"This is the first time we have set up a booth to sell the food items. The dishes are unique to the Pahang palace and it requires quite some effort and dedication to prepare them," she said, adding that she also sells some of the dishes online.
The other traditional Pahang royal delicacies are pulut panggang diraja, a mouth-watering dessert known as dodol telur (made from egg yolk), the sweet and creamy kuih asyidah and the all-time popular royal pudding.
Their booth, known as "Santap by Nenda", is among more than a dozen booths set up at Tasek KotaSAS, where the royal wedding was broadcast live on the large screen with the "istiadat bersanding" set for 8pm tonight (Aug 25).
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