JJCM in KT #9 - Searching For Duck Shit In Terengganu.

Before we leave for Terengganu, a friend told me to try “kuih tahi itik” (translated as duck’s dropping cake or more crudely – duck shit) and Satar. So I asked my Terengganu friend to describe what this famous duck shit is. His description was as vague as the shape of the cake serving to make me “curiouser and curiouser” to try this cake with the “pelik” (strange) name.

On the morning of the second day, Phua bought us a sumptuous breakfast consisting of typical Terengganunese fares.

From top left to right: Roti Paung Butter, Kuih Kosui, Kuih Keladi (yam cake)
From bottom left to right: Kuih Seri Muka, Roti Paung Ikan, Pulut Lepa

My knowledge of Malay cakes is not so good so if I make any mistakes, appreciate a correction. Roti Paung are sweet buns that are baked in a metal plate. The buns at the top of the picture have butter or margarine as the filling while those at the bottom buns used mashed fish. The fishy taste is very strong and a bit too strong for our mild West Malaysian palate. You can see a picture of how they are made in the picture below.

The green cake is kuih kosui pandan and the white stuffs at the top are coconut shavings which we sprinkled and eat together with the cake. Kuih Keladi or yam cake with the packet of chilli sauce is a popular Chinese breakfast meal.

The brown cake at the bottom left is kuih Seri Muka which composed of two layers, a savory lower layer of glutinous rice and a sweet creamy top layer made from egg and coconut milk more commonly colored green. The contrast in both taste and texture made for a very interesting combination. The cake at the extreme right is pulut lepa which is also made of glutinous rice with a filling of boiled fish meat is mixed with sliced onions, and dried chilies and coconut wrapped in a banana leaf.

We had them all for breakfast. They were good but we did not find our duck shit even though we asked from a number of stalls. We were told they were more a Kelatanese food and that it is more difficult to find now because the fasting month is over and also many stalls were still shut.

After we returned, I was still haunted by duck droppings. I spent almost a whole morning searching for it but I could not find any site with a picture of it till I struck the mother lode when I stumbled on Ray Kinzoku’s site (which is one of the best Malaysian blogs I ever came across – check it out). The information below was extracted from his blog -

Originally uploaded by Ray Kinzoku.

(Clockwise from top ( 12 o'clock ): Pauh Llayae ( at a glance, looks like a slice of bread immersed in syrup - so far, I only know one who could prepare it - Nik Yae ), Piyana ( muffin-like, light brown in colour ), Akok Nnissae ( wrinkled, brownish figure ), Akok Pandae ( wrinkled, greenish figure ), Buwoh Tanjung ( teardrop shape ), and Jalor Mah ( yellowish "golden" strands ). The white blob in the middle is Putih Telur or famously known as Tahi Itik.”)

There, now you know what duck shit looks like. Its shape is irregular like duck’s droppings but I still do not know what it tastes like. But in searching for one cake, I found many more waiting to be discovered – that is life, I guess. Maybe I should be planning for a trip to Kelantan next. Ray, care to be our guide? :)

To be continued...