Demand soars for Kuching’s Lemang Warisan as Hari Raya nears

KUCHING (March 13): As Hari Raya Aidilfitri approaches, it is once again a bustling period for local food entrepreneur Reduan Mohamad, whose lemang business is receiving a surge in orders ahead of the festive celebration.

With only several days remaining before Hari Raya, Reduan’s ‘Lemang Warisan’ business, located at Kampung No.5, Jalan Datuk Ajibah Abol here, has already received orders amounting to 4,000 sticks of lemang.

According to Reduan, order had to be capped at around that number for the first day of Raya as demand had exceeded the business’ production capacity.

“We normally limit production to around 4,000 sticks for the first day of Raya because that is our capacity,” he said.

“Every year the demand is high. Some customers place their orders early, while others come as walk-in buyers.”

Reduan added that grilling will continue from the second day of Raya until the 30th of Syawal, allowing customers to continue enjoying the traditional delicacy even after the first day of celebrations.

When met at the Lemang Warisan premises along the banks of Sungai Lajim here yesterday, he said that during Ramadan, the business typically sells about 70 sticks of lemang daily, priced between RM12 and RM16 per stick depending on size.

He noted that Lemang Warisan is particularly known for its pandan lemang, which uses fresh pandan leaves to enhance the aroma and flavour.

In preparing the delicacy, fresh bamboo tubes are first cleaned and lined with banana leaves to prevent the glutinous rice from sticking to the bamboo while also enhancing the taste.

The rice, soaked beforehand, is then mixed with salted coconut milk and sometimes pandan leaves before being filled into the bamboo tubes.

The tubes are placed upright or tilted against a metal structure and grilled slowly over a steady fire.

The bamboo tubes are rotated continuously to ensure the lemang cooks evenly, a process that usually takes about one hour or more.

“Usually we start preparing the ingredients around 7am, and the lemang will be ready by 9am,” he said.

“For Raya orders, we start grilling as early as 4am on the day before Hari Raya, and the grilling continues until the morning of Raya,” he added.

The bamboo used for the lemang is sourced from suppliers in the Padawan area to ensure sufficient supply during the festive season.

Despite rising costs of raw ingredients such as coconut milk and glutinous rice, Reduan said the price of lemang remains unchanged from last year.

“This year the price of coconut milk has increased to about RM11 per kilogramme, but we try to maintain the same price because people look forward to eating lemang during Hari Raya,” he said.

Reduan also shared that Lemang Warisan has been operating for more than 20 years, a family business that he inherited from his father in 2000.

To cope with the high demand ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, he hires about 32 workers to assist with the preparation and grilling process to ensure orders are fulfilled on time.