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Like everything else in Malaysia, the food is a flamboyant
mixture of all the people who make up the country. The standard
of Indian, Chinese, Thai and many other types of Asian cuisine
is incredibly high here, and there are many Western restaurants
of varying levels of quality in Kuala Lumpur. There
is always an abundance of places to eat wherever you are,
from expensive restaurants to simple street stalls and hawker
centres. Be warned - many travellers find themselves putting
on weight during their stay here!
Food in Malaysia is incredibly safe, with high standards
of hygiene prevailing even on the street stalls. Drinking
water in Malaysia is generally considered safe straight from
the tap, but many locals do tend to boil the water first,
so it may be wise to follow their lead. It is best to drink
bottled water if you are on one of the islands or trekking
in East Malaysia. The same applies to salads, which are fine
apart from in remote areas.
Malay cuisine
Traditional Malay cuisine is a melting pot of a variety of
neighbouring influences, but the overriding feature is spicy,
flavourful dishes that incorporate a variety of fresh herbs
and seasonings, pounded with dried spices to create concentrated
pastes. Coconut and coconut milk are major ingredients in
many Malay dishes, which are generally served with rice or
noodles.
Specialities include ayam goreng ('i-am gore-eng'),
chicken marinated in spices such as turmeric and curry powder
and fried; roti canai ('row-tee chan-I'), a
type of thick pancake-style bread served with a curry sauce,
often eaten at breakfast, and nasi goreng ('na-see
gore-eng'), fried rice with strips of omelette.
One of the best ways to try any cuisine in Malaysia is at
the hawker centres, where food is cheap, authentic and freshly
prepared.
Nyonya (Straits Chinese) cuisine
Nyonya is a distinct form of Malaysian cuisine that
evolved with descendants of the intermarriages of Chinese
immigrants with the local population in Melaka over 400 years
ago. The people are referred to as the Baba Nyonya
people, with Baba referring to the men and Nyonya to the women.
Their food is a fusion of traditional Chinese and local food,
creating a unique flavour. Native to Melaka, it has
since spread to Penang and Singapore, with subtle
differences in each area. More coconut and Malay spices are
used in Melaka while more sour and hot Thai styles influence
Nyonya cuisine in Penang.
Nyonya cuisine focuses on the blending of tangy, aromatic
spices, and therefore tends to require a great deal of preparation,
but the results are well worth it. Specialities include brinjal
curry, prawn sambal and kueh ('kway'), or kuih
('kwee') in the singular - these are very sweet, brightly
coloured cakes, sold in shops and on street corners all over
Malaysia, with coconut as the basic ingredient in many forms.
Recommended restaurants are the Flaming Pot in Burma
Square and the Nyonya Corner on Jalan Nagore
in Georgetown, Penang. Melaka boasts perhaps
the most renowned Nyonya restaurant in Malaysia - Jonkers
Melaka Restaurant, which puts a modern twist on the authentic
dishes.
Fruit of the earth
Malaysia's humid tropical climate makes it an incredibly fertile
country and an astonishing variety of fruits grow to huge
proportions, while remaining delightfully sweet. Pineapples,
bananas, coconuts, mangos and melons are found
in abundance, alongside more exotic fruits such as jackfruit,
papayas, rambutans, mangosteens, starfruit and lychees,
to name but a few.
Malaysia's most notorious fruit is the durian, the
so-called "king of fruits", which locals and tourists
alike are guaranteed to either adore or detest. The fruit
is encased in a heavy green shell slightly larger than a coconut,
which is distinguished by thick spiky thorns - it is recommended
that you don't stand underneath a durian tree as a blow from
a falling fruit could be fatal!
Its most distinctive characteristic is the smell - incredibly
pungent and unmistakable, it is inescapable and indescribable!
It is not at all uncommon to see signs up in hotels banning
durians from their premises because the odour is so strong.
The fruit itself has a very soft, creamy texture and tastes
incredibly sweet.
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