Glorious Malaysian food.

I LOVE BEING MALAYSIAN! I would like to think I have a strong sense of cultural roots, that I know my country as well as a local should, that I have conquered the important language of rojak and nice places to go when a foreigner comes, but most of all I love the food.

Aahh, food. Where else can you find a variety of food? Spicy, non-spicy. Plain, with curry? I remember once I was at the mamak and this 'hot' (you know, gorgeous being, perfectly plucked eyebrows, Grecian nose, perfect pouty lips) chick called the mamak and said:

'Mamak, nasi goreng kampung satu. Tapi tak nak ajinomoto, kurang garam, pedas lebih.. asingkan ikan bilis, udang tak nak!'

Translates to something along the lines of 'one fried rice kampung style... but no ajinomoto (famous flavouring used in almost all food here, MSG heavy), less salt, and more spicy... separate the anchovies, and don't put in the prawns'.

The mamak just geleng his head and said 'Itu nasi puteh namanye..' which translates to 'it's called white rice...'.


This is how a nasi goreng should look like, express-style, with frozen veg, lots of msg and sambal!

I love oysters by the way. The aphorodisiac food is very popular here, and most preferably fried in an omelette-style egg. But recently I discovered a pasta with oyster which sounds disgusting but tastes amazing.



Or you can have it raw, squeezed with lemon. I used to be squeamish about it but really it's an acquired taste, and sometimes you just cannot wait for the Japanese buffet at Gen Restaurent in Legend Hotel.



This is tosai masala, an amazing dish with potatoes on the inside and a crusty (somewhat) pastry base.



Lontong is also very famous, served with rice cubes in a very rich sauce. It's healthy in the sense that it has so much vegetables, but it automatically cancels out the healthy by the oil-laden, santan sauce. Yummy.



One of the best food that truly represents Malaysia is probably nasi kandar Penang style. It is a food saturated with curry, spices, and lots of fat. But it is so good. Depending where you go, you should definately try the sotong (squid) and/or ayam madu/kicap (chicken cooked in sweet or soya sauce).



But another food to rival the nasi kandar is probably ayam goreng, especially crispy ones. Thoughts of calories all fly out the window when you bite into a hot, piping one and just hear the crunchy noise.



To end. Obligatory camwhoring shot of me with a mee sup tulang rebus. Good stuff.



P.s. This is the first but not last of the food posts!