A trip to the Paddy Gallery in the Selangor town of Sekinchan should give you some insights. The gallery is located at Kilang Beras Rakyat Sekinchan Sdn Bhd, a rice factory.
As you approach the factory, you’ll be greeted by expansive views of paddy fields – green or yellow, depending on the season – and bright blue skies if it is a clear day, as it was when an FMT Lifestyle team went there recently.
Nurul Nadirah Ismail, a presenter at the gallery, took the team on a tour. She said the gallery was opened in 2013 and had drawn both foreign and local visitors.
In Sekinchan, paddy is planted in February and August. In March, April, September and October, visitors here can see the fields in all their green splendour.
Harvesting takes place in May and November. For those who want to enjoy the sight of endless golden fields, come in early May or November.
So, what can visitors look forward to learning?
The tour starts with a video screening that explains the planting process from seed selection to sowing, to how the land is prepared and flooded, and to how transplanting and harvesting is carried out.
The use of modern methods has made the process more efficient. For example, there are transplanter machines to transfer seedlings to the paddy fields. With the machines, 1.2 hectares of land can be transplanted in two and a half hours. Before the machines became available, it used to take eight workers about two days to achieve this.
The exhibition also displays the various implements used in the past, such as pestle and mortar to de-husk rice. This was accomplished by consistently raising and dropping the pestle into the mortar.
Millstones, meanwhile, were used to grind rice into flour. This would give one a greater appreciation for blenders or food processors that make this process a lot easier.
Other items on display include a wooden hand-operated winnower, winnowing trays and an old pedal-powered threshing machine.
Other items in the gallery give visitors a glimpse of how people used to live in the good old days: a gramophone, a wooden table and chairs. The words above these items are hard to miss: “How long have you not been eating with your family?” An important reminder indeed for the busy modern Malaysian.
Before you leave, be sure to drop by the souvenir store, where you’ll find different types of rice from white to brown, and to glutinous and basmati. There are also rice noodles.
Another highlight is freshly made rice crackers. These are crispy and simply addictive. You might just find yourself reaching for more than one packet.
On a scorching day, the unique brown rice cendol is a perfect thirst quencher.
Here, brown rice is mixed with red bean, adding a creaminess to one of Malaysia’s famous desserts. You can choose mangoes or sweet corn for your topping and you can savour the concoction at one of the tables outside the store.
On Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, there are vendors selling a variety of food. Among the highlights are homemade yong tau foo and rice crunch.
The rice crunch is made on site, often producing a tantalising smell. It is common to see tourists snapping shots of the owner of the business, Lee Kim Seng.
The rice crunch tastes as good as it smells. Delightfully crispy with just the right amount of sweetness, customers can choose peanut, sesame or sunflower seeds for the topping.
The Paddy Gallery gives visitors a greater understanding of the rice planting process and perhaps an appreciation for those who toil hard to put rice on their plates.
Paddy Gallery @ Kilang Beras Rakyat Sekinchan
Lot No 9990B, Jalan Tali Air
5, Ban 2, 45400
Sekinchan Selangor
Entry fees (with complimentary packet of rice):
RM5 (FREE for children below 95cm in height)
Opening hours: 9.30am to 5.30pm daily
Closed for lunch on weekdays: 12.30pm to 2.00pm
Contact: 016-215 7028