IPOH: The variety of lemang sold by Shamsur Ezam Mohd Afandi, 38, such as "lemang pulut hitam" (black glutinous rice lemang), "lemang jagung" (corn lemang) and "lemang Perak", makes his stall 'Lemang Klebang Putra' the place for lemang lovers go to get their supply of the must-have dish for the Aidilfitri celebration.
Until today, which is already the sixth day of Syawal, Shamsur Ezam's lemang stall continues to draw customers, many of them having pre-ordered the lemang of their choice for the celebration.
Shamsur Ezam, who inherited the family business in 2000, now has hundreds of loyal customers.
"I don't use any special ingredients in my lemang, but normal ingredients like salt, coconut milk and glutinous rice, just like other lemang makers.
"Perhaps, it's the technique of controlling the fire to cook the lemang that makes my lemang different from others. My lemang is well-cooked.
"Apart from that, the measurement and quality of the ingredients used are also very important because I attach great importance to natural ingredients, for example by not using instant coconut milk to ensure the quality of the lemang," he said when met by Bernama at his stall in Klebang Putra here.
Shamsur Ezam said he also never took the short-cut way of making his lemang.
"I don't cook the glutinous rice by putting it to boil first and then placing the cooked rice in bamboo to cook it over the fire. Instead, the glutinous rice is put in the bamboo and then heated over a controlled fire to prevent it from becoming dry or crusty. This way, the lemang will not become stale quickly," he said.
According to Shamsur Ezam, the lemang takes about two and a half hours to cook, depending on its size.
His specialty, the "Lemang Perak", is a mixture of the ingredients used in lemang jagung and lemang pulut hitam.
"Lemang Perak is the best-selling lemang at my stall, with orders received from the Perak palace, as well as celebrities and politicians," he added.
"I had to turn down orders for more than 1,000 sticks of lemang because I was afraid of not being able to meet the orders," he added.
He also sells chicken and meat rendang at his stall and even provides delivery service to surrounding areas.
He said the normal lemang is sold for RM17 a stick, lemang jagong for RM18, lemang pulut hitam for RM19 and RM20 per stick for lemang Perak.
Samsur Ezam also donates RM1 from every sale of the lemang stick for charity, including to tahfiz centres, orphanagea and the needy.
"Alhamdulillah over the past three years we have managed to donate around RM50,000," he added.– BERNAMA
