This is only for the risk-takers.
During Malay weddings, when one cow or bull is being slaughtered, it is not the curry or gulai that would be prepared that is the star of the show. Look out for the group of men, who quitely sit together and watch a huge pot on the fire and their occasional sigh or look at their watches.When it is almost midnight or slightly after that, you would find them suddenly a hive of activity, rushing into the kitchen and looking for receptacles huge enough to hold what's in the pot - the bone marrows and joints that were rejected by the cook for the main dish.
This is the Sup Gearbox that men swear (AND ME ESPECIALLY) is the aphrodisiac and they would pay to have a bowl as often as possible.While we think of all the fat and cholestrol that can be in this dish, such worries are discarded once you sit down and have a go at it.
Healt freak or not, there is nothing like a good bowl of Sup Gearbox, redolent of spices and chopped coriander leaves and fried shallots swimming in the soup.
Simmered over a small and constant fire for eight hours or more, Sup Gearbox, minus sucking up the marrow or eating the cartilage and the fat around the bones, is actually a nourishing soup with lots of minerals and protein.
Eaten with hot white rice and perhaps a piece of fried fish and herbs with a little 'kicap masin' that has been dealt with a sprinkle of lime juice, it can be a fulfilling lunch or dinner but do skim off a little of fat that rises up to the top of the bowl.
Sup Gearbox is not a dish on the international cuisine list but it is rather a huge open secret with Malaysians.Men are especially (DONT FORGET ME TOO...) drawn to Sup Gearbox and think nothing of gathering their friends together to go to a celebrated or popular stall that serves this mouth-watering dish that really does look like it is the car's gearbox.
Sup Gearbox is very popular in Johor and one of the recommended sites by me, truly cittizen of southern city of Johor Bharu is Restoran ZZ Sup Tulang off Jalan Petrie, very close by the Yayasan Warisan Johor. Some of my friend in KL saying that a favourite was at the Sunday bazaar near the Shah Alam Stadium.
Checks with friends found that there is an outlet, "hidden" in half a shoplot on Jalan Datuk Sulaiman in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, called Raja Sup, which also serves a good bowl of Sup Gearbox although other types of soup are also found here.
In Sunway Mentari, several people swear by the Sup Gearbox served at the Restoran Jaring. While they claim the food here is truly good, the soup is heavenly.If you are the first time taste Sup Gearbox, welcome to the high gear special soup in Malaysia. I guarantee you will want to order this dish again next time.
