Sunday, July 25, 2010

Kelisa is the name for many things.

Kelisa is the name of  three different things in Malaysia. 

1. For Kelisa, the name is primarily about 
a plant that is about to bloom in my little vegetable garden. It is also known as kacang botol or winged beans. Two plants are presently making trellis their home, becoming very dense and ready to sprout their first burst of flowers.

kacang kelisa near the car porch

kacang kelisa at the front of the house.

early indication of flowers in the making


2. Kelisa is also the name
of a locally manufactured car, very petite and very affordable to most. I think Perodua the manufacturer has stopped producing this model. We can still see kelisa on the road. The car is handy for town driving, you can just zigzagging leisurely.... haha.



kelisa car

3. Kelisa is also the name
of the most exotic looking fresh water fish. It is also known by the name Arowana. An inch long baby fish may fetch the price of a few hundred ringgit Malaysia. A foot long may cost more than what most can afford. Some matured kelisa are sold at 30,000 ringgit Malaysia. But the fish is just so exotic and lovely. Tasik Merah, in the north of Perak is the natural habitat of this particular fish. Some keep for the sheer beauty, but some keep it for luck ( chinese friends will say "ada ong")


kelisa fish
also known as Arowana

A blogger friend mentioned about her name coming from kacang kelisa. But I dare not include that as the fourth name for Kelisa. Anyway Lisa has no Ke at the front to qualify as the fourth specific name... haha.


bangchik

8 comments:

  1. Kelisa is a nice name for my childhood fave veggie stir fried with belacan - kelisa belacan.

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  2. My knowledge is limited to the name of a car and the beautiful fish.

    Your post adds another.

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  3. ~Autumn Belle, each one of us has a specific childhood fave, in your case stir fried winged beans with belacan, in my case sambal tumis ikan kembung. Do you believe it, than ikan kembung is called ikan temenung in my childhood place. Belle, truly, childhood fave and memories is a thing I would say, a music of solace.

    ~rainfield61, i am not surprised about not knowing winged beans are called kacang kelisa. Some names are popular in a particular region. It goes with the language and dialect. Just like rambutan, the hairy sweet and juicy fruit, everyone will buy by hundreds, we call it "moktan" back at the home town. People would laugh if we go standard with "rambutan".

    Have a nice day,
    ~bangchik and kakdah.

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  4. Thsnks...I did not know kacang botol has another alias kacang kelisa...I still can't make myself like this veggie though:D

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  5. Lucky for your blogger friend she was not named Kelisa :)

    I wonder the Kelisa car was named after the beans or the fish.

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  6. Salam Bangchik & Kakdah. I happened to stumble upon your blog after googling "community garden in Malaysia".

    Far from getting the answers I was initially hoping to get, your blog is truly an inspiration. I hope i'm not being intrusive, but if you're willing to share the knowledge i have a ton of questions i'd like to ask. Would it be possible for us to meet for a chat with regards to gardening and starting your own veggie patch?

    Salam,

    Itzhar

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  7. ~malaykadazangirl
    you really have to be born and grew up in the northern part of peninsular Malaysia, to get used to the name "kacang kelisa", but alas, you grew up in Sabah (right?). To like kacang kelisa is to eat stir fried wing beans again and again....

    ~aishah
    I googled "name kelisa". It took me to http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Kelisa. Just for the fun of it, I copy a portion here:- The girl name Kelisa is pronounced as KEHLIYSah †. Kelisa is used predominantly in English and it is derived from Celtic origins. Kelisa is a variant form of the name Kelly (English and Irish).

    Kelisa is not popular as a baby name for girls. It is not listed within the top 1000 names. Within the group of girl names directly related to Kelisa, Kelly was the most widely used in 2009.

    Baby names that sound like Kelisa include Kaleki (Hawaiian), Kalica (English), Kalika (English), Kaliska, Kalyca (English and Greek), Keleka (Hawaiian), Kelsea (English), Koleka (Hawaiian), Kolika (Hawaiian), Kololeke (Hawaiian), Calico (English), Kailagh (English), Kayliegh (English), Keighlagh (English), Kelcey (English), Kelci (English), Kelcie (English), Kelcy (English), Kelis, and Kelise (English).

    ~itzdaydream
    Welcome to my gardening blog. Primarily the blog is the journal to my gardening adventure with kakdah. I was not a trained gardener, therefore the terms used are somewhat layman. Thanks for the interest, and for your tons of questions, I can only answer and share as a part time gardener, a layman. Shall we start off with email first? mylittlevegetablegarden@gmail.com

    Cheers, Happy Monday everyone.
    ~bangchik and kakdah.

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  8. It's really interesting and amusing to hear all the comments on "kelisa"!

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