Pandan Delights. Male Flower of Pandanus tectorius, Malimbu, Lombok, Indonesia
Yes! I know just the place here in Kuala Lumpur! Over the Bukit on which high-rises a fashionable hotel, then down and across a busy avenue, a twist into a nether street behind another grand hotel... and there it is: a pleasant outdoor Thai eatery - restaurant is too big a word - spilling out onto the pavement. A place I like to frequent... My favorite dish? Well, pandan chicken. That's to say: choice morsels of tender spiced chicken intricately wrapped in a foot and a half of pandan leaf. Then deep-fried in oil, and served sizzlingly hot with spicey sauce. Rice on the side if you want.
There are many kinds of Pandans, but the ones I favor are the seashore ones, the Pandan laut or Pandanus tectorius. I've posted photos of their fruits and shade on flickr. I'd never really examined carefully Pandan flowers. Most are too high up anyway for a mere six-feet mortal without a ladder. But as luck would have it, near the great cliff of Malimbu to the north of Mangsit, Lombok, the stormy seas had cast up enough sand for me to take a good look! There it was: the Male Pandan flower in all its starry beauty. What my photo can't capture is the strong, almost fetid, sweet chestnut aroma. And my closeness to this bract scattered away the cloud of insects drawn by it. I read somewhere that pollination is by the winds, but I wouldn't be surprised if insects play into that as well.
The Lombok rain let up for an hour or so. I swam. And looked again, and then drowsed against the trunk of this tree till warm raindrops splashed me awake...
But now off to dinner! Guess where.
Pandan Delights. Male Flower of Pandanus tectorius, Malimbu, Lombok, Indonesia
Yes! I know just the place here in Kuala Lumpur! Over the Bukit on which high-rises a fashionable hotel, then down and across a busy avenue, a twist into a nether street behind another grand hotel... and there it is: a pleasant outdoor Thai eatery - restaurant is too big a word - spilling out onto the pavement. A place I like to frequent... My favorite dish? Well, pandan chicken. That's to say: choice morsels of tender spiced chicken intricately wrapped in a foot and a half of pandan leaf. Then deep-fried in oil, and served sizzlingly hot with spicey sauce. Rice on the side if you want.
There are many kinds of Pandans, but the ones I favor are the seashore ones, the Pandan laut or Pandanus tectorius. I've posted photos of their fruits and shade on flickr. I'd never really examined carefully Pandan flowers. Most are too high up anyway for a mere six-feet mortal without a ladder. But as luck would have it, near the great cliff of Malimbu to the north of Mangsit, Lombok, the stormy seas had cast up enough sand for me to take a good look! There it was: the Male Pandan flower in all its starry beauty. What my photo can't capture is the strong, almost fetid, sweet chestnut aroma. And my closeness to this bract scattered away the cloud of insects drawn by it. I read somewhere that pollination is by the winds, but I wouldn't be surprised if insects play into that as well.
The Lombok rain let up for an hour or so. I swam. And looked again, and then drowsed against the trunk of this tree till warm raindrops splashed me awake...
But now off to dinner! Guess where.