Railway Tourism: Sweet Memories, Rice and Cultural Diversity in Malaysia

What do you think of when you see a bowl of rice?

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It’s been one week, but whenever I cooked and serve a bowl of rice for my family…

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Or went shopping for a bag of rice with my friends to prepare for the upcoming reunion dinner to welcome the Spring Festival or more commonly known as Chinese New Year…it will remind me of the times I spent with Mak Tok, my Sahabat Media friends and my loved ones during my Railway Tourism Trip to Perak.

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You must be wondering why such a thing like Jasmine Sunwhite rice reminds me so much of the trip? Well, some people would most definitely think of their childhood times with their grandmother and whatnot whenever they see a bowl of rice, but not me, at least not recently. Whenever I see a bowl of rice these days, I’ll think of the sweet times I spent with my loved ones and friends during my recent trip to Perak.

This is because throughout the 3D2N Railway Tourism trip, the members of media were served rice with loads of dishes as sides at almost every meals. So whenever I see rice or cook Jasmine Sunwhite AAA fragrant rice at home, I will think about it without fail.

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Coming from a Peranakan family, I’m very particular when it comes to cooking and my choice of rice. Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant Rice is always my choice as they are de-stoned, colour sorted and auto packed for hygiene.

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Apart from that, Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant Rice is not only certified Halal by JAKIM, but the quality is also aknowledged by ISO too. πŸ™‚ A plus point for me whenever I do entertaining at home for my Muslim family and friends, as the rice is Halal for their consumption.

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For such a quality, the price is pretty reasonable. Jasmine Sunwhite Fragrant Rice cost only RM34.95 per bag of 5 kg. Quality for fraction of the price, I must say. πŸ™‚

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Anyway, who would have thought that such a simple thing like a bag of Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant Rice could trigger so much flashbacks? I’ve been taking a lot of trips down the memory lane these these days.

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Every time I see the top right of the Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant rice bag packaging, it will also remind me of the orphans I met during my second night in Perak. Why? Well…cuz with each bags of Jasmine Sunwhite Fragrant Rice that I bought, part of the proceeds from the bag of rice is used to feed orphans and the underprivileged via ‘Bowls For Humanity Program’

Here’s sharing some rice pictures taken during my Railway Tourism Trip with my Sahabat Media friends. I wonder if any of these rice dishes used Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant rice? The texture and taste is definitely similar in my humble opinion. Hmmm…that is a thought to ponder. Perhaps the rice is so popular that it is widely used throughout the country?

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Fried rice served on the train during my KL-Ipoh ETS Gold Class Ride

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Rice and side dishes during Railway Tourism Launching and Concert in Ipoh Railway Station.

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Rice with exotic dishes and authentic kampung style curries that I tried during Lenggong Food Festival.

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Exotic rice all wrapped up in Daun Lerek, spotted at Lenggong Food Festival.

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Rice served during mock wedding in Bukit Gantang.

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πŸ™‚ Play pretend bride feeding her pretend groom with rice during the mock wedding in Bukit Gantang. Aren’t they sweet looking? Too bad this is not a real wedding. Our homestay host merely threw a mock wedding feast with members of media as volunteers to play a part in a Malay wedding so that all who participate in the Railway Tourism trip could experience how it is like to be involved in preparing and fully participate in a Malay wedding.

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Fragrant and authentic nasi lemak wrapped up in banana leaf, specially prepared by Mak Tok for breakfast before we left for Kg. Krai.

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Rice and dishes served during ‘makan berhidang’.session for us media and celebrated tourists and voluntourism volunteers during Victoria Bridge Green Day with Datuk Seri Nazri, Tourism Minister of Malaysia at Kg. Krai, Perak.

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Banana Leaf Rice that my hubby had during Thaipusm celebration with friends after we came back from the trip.

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Briyani Rice that I had during Thaipusm Celebration.

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Economy rice that I shared with my hubby when we touched down KL.

Rice…a mere staple for us Malaysians, but it unites each and every one of us regardless of race, culture and religion. πŸ™‚ Everyone in Malaysia eats rice almost in every occasion and as long as you serve rice, there will always be a sit down session where everyone eats together and catch up with each other. It is such a beautiful thing don’t you think?

I certainly thinks it is beautiful and I think as long as I keep cooking and buying Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Fragrant Rice, it will always reminds me of the sweet memories and the wonderful time I spent with my loved ones and friends.

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Pic collage by Izzati Ghafur, taken during the mock wedding in Bukit Gantang Homestay; where I ate the rice prepared by our host like nobody’s business.

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One for the album. Picture taken with Sahabat Media friends during our Railway Tourism trip. πŸ™‚ Can you spot me in there? πŸ˜›

6 comments

  1. Wendy Pua says:

    Yes, That almost everyday with rice during perak homestay trip
    even during my korean trip , you can’t even escape from having rice for 2 meals!
    bcoz we are ASIAN, rice is everything.

  2. small kucing says:

    Hmmm…you did end up getting the sunwhite ya? I always use it.

    Hmm…the rest maybe sunwhite but I don’t think the mix rice shop uses sunwhite coz its yellowish n grain not sharp like sunwhite.

    Use that the fry rice very syok. The grain wont pecah one

    • Cleffairy says:

      Hahaha… yups… it’s nice…I love the fragrance and could take a few helpings of the rice these days. πŸ˜€ Yet to make fried rice with it, but will try soon. πŸ˜€ Hope it turns out nice.

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