Kuala Lampur, Nov. 3 -- When I was growing up, I never knew that people actually bought kuih.

Lepat pisang, kuih talam, seri muka, nagasari, epok-epok (karipap to the rest of you), and even the humble pisang goreng were things that appeared on our dining table, usually for breakfast or afternoon tea.

I knew they came from the kitchen, and more specifically, from Mak, but it never occurred to me that other families might have to visit a stall or a shop to enjoy them.

As far as I was concerned, these were simply things that mothers knew how to make.

It was only when I grew older that I began to appreciate how much knowledge went into preparing something as ordinary as a piece of kuih.

I remember asking Mak for her buah melaka recipe wh...