The farmers' market at Benta, Raub opens every Saturday evening. Even though there isn't much to it, one can still fine a few interesting local produce...
Petai and salted fish...
Cockles in a huge wok, simmering in a spicy sauce.
Sata, a local delicacy of fish meal and grated coconut wrapped in banana leaf then chargrilled
Perah, a seasonal nut from the forest
Health food from the jungle, an 'incontournable' (meaning indispensable) ingredient called Serai Kayu from the fringes of the jungle used frequently in the local nasi ulam.
Siput sedut, a freshwater snail commonly found in the farmer's markets of Raub. This snail is usually cooked with cocnut milk, serai (lemon grass), tumeric and daun kaduk. Equally tasty in cantonese styled dry-frying using chilli, salted soya beans, garlic and ginger. This snail is only found in flowing fresh water streams.
Don't be fooled by the wrapping of this palm sugar as it is NOT the famous gula melaka of coconut origin. This is gula kabong, a palm sugar made from fish-tail palm and currently, there's only 2 known site producing in very limited quantity - one in Benta itself and the other in Kg. Dong, Raub. Scarcity is due to the increasing difficulty in obtaining the sap from the jungle palm as well as lack of interest in cottage industry. What set this rare palm sugar apart from the normal palm sugars is the fact that it exudes a very different and subtle fruitiness. A real treat in traditional kuehs.
Perkasam, or preserved fish, is exclusively made from fresh water river fish (in this case the lampam sungai, or kepiat) with rice and asam gelugur. For the initiated only.
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