PETALING JAYA, Oct. 15 -- Each time I think of lontong darat, I am reminded of a trip to Labis to help deliver aid to flood victims, where I first experienced this dry version.

What a game changer it was, when served without the usual sayur lodeh, the soft compressed rice was singing with flavour, just like this version at Lontong & Co.

A mark of a great lontong is when they make their own rice cakes, wrapped in a cylinder shaped from banana leaf that is boiled until the compressed rice is soft.

This deconstructed dish has separate piles of the rice cakes liberally dusted with serunding kelapa or toasted grated coconut mixed with turmeric and a variety of spices and herbs, sambal goreng Jawa or stir fried vegetables with tempeh and gla...