Lemang wrapped in lerek leaves a crowd puller

New flavour: Ariffin filling the bamboo lined with lerek leaves with glutinous rice with the help of his wife Zainab and son Afiq Izuddin, 25. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Generally, lemang, a traditional delicacy of glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in bamboo is synonymous with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

But Ariffin Zakaria, who is well aware of the unique taste and aroma of lerek leaves, has lent a new touch to the recipe by using the leaves of the herbaceous plant known scientifically as Phrynium pubinerve blume to wrap the lemang he has been selling for the past 17 years.