Joanna James
The perfect amalgamation of Chinese, Indian and Malay influences, Malaysia’s culinary identity is the sum of many delicious parts and shares quite a lot of similar traits to Indonesian cuisine. In fact, the two countries share quite a lot of dishes among themselves. Planning a visit to Malaysia anytime soon? Here are the top five dishes, that you absolutely cannot afford to miss out on!
A delicious Indian Muslim dish – mee goreng mamak is made with beef or chicken, yellow noodles, fresh shrimp, a healthy side of veggies, plenty of soy sauce and some eggs to top it off. Unfortunately, it’s not a dish easy to replicate at home and is best sampled at an authentic Malaysian hawker stall!
Malaysia’s unofficial national dish, nasi lemak is a delicious staple and the ultimate go-to comfort food for the locals. It can be tried at a humble hawker stall or even restaurants at hotels in Kuala Lumpur City Centre the likes of Travelodge City Centre. The dish consists of rice cooked in coconut milk with important accompaniments such as sambal sauce, hard-boiled eggs, vegetables, peanuts and lamb/ beef or seafood curry. Traditionally, nasi lemak is enjoyed for breakfast, but today can be dug into any time of the day.
Made with flat rice noodles – char kuey teow is among Southeast Asia’s most popular noodle dishes and owes its existence to the Chines immigrants who first arrived in Malaysia. Preparation of the dish includes frying the noodles (preferably made from scratch) in dark and light soy sauce, chilli, pork lard, bean sprouts, de-shelled cockles, prawns, eggs, and Chinese chives. Cooking all these ingredients on a wok using high heat is a must to make sure this dish delivers the flavour it is renowned around the world for.
In Malaysia, one can find a wide variety of wanton mee. A dish of Chinese origin, wanton mee consists of a piping hot serving of springy egg noodles (served al dente) in a mixture of a thick sauce made from lard oil and soy sauce. A spoonful of fiery yet delicious sambal is added as a side. Other topping includes sliced green onions, wontons, pickled green chillies and leafy green Chinese kale. Depending on where you happen to be in Malaysia at the moment, your wontons will be served either streamed or boiled. Do note that the wanton mee in Penang stands out and is a must-try when it comes to the top dishes to sample in the country.
In a hot and humid tropical such as Malaysia, shaved ice desserts are extremely popular. So do consider treating yourself to an ais kachang – a ball of ice served in a bowl drizzled with condensed milk, creamed corn, brightly coloured syrups and gulla melaka. Other delicious but healthy goodies you are bound to find within the ice include cubed jellies, red beans, and palm seeds.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
