Food Highlights in Malaysia

Malaysia is a cultural melting pot with Indian, Chinese and Malay influences making the food scene exciting for any traveller. We ate some amazing dishes on our most recent trip, some of them I don’t know what they were called but they looked and tasted great so I would just point and nod. Others were regular inclusions such as roti canai, iced milk tea, and Rendang Curry. I struggled to take photos of the food not only because I usually had a baby in my arms but mainly because I was too busy eating and by the time I remembered to take a photo I was too messy or I’d already eaten it all. Despite this I have managed to ramble on about a couple of my foodie highlights for you to drool over, including my blurry photos of half eaten dishes.

Nasi Lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish but is so versatile you can pretty much have it anytime of the day or night. I tried a few and the best one I had was wrapped in banana leaves into a little pyramid. Inside you have a mound of coconut rice topped with Sambal (a hot spicy sauce) with a hard boiled egg on top and a few sides including cucumber slices, small fried anchovies, and roasted peanuts. It is simple, delicious and cost about 1MYR which is about 35cents!

Another foodie highlight was a South Indian Banana Leaf Lunch, which is exactly what it says it is, lunch served on a banana leaf. Not only is this an environmentally friendly way of serving food but apparently the leaf releases an enzyme when hot food is placed on it that enhances the flavours and even adds nutritional values to the food. On the banana leaf you are first served some basics including steamed rice, a lentil roll, fresh cucumber, sambal, pickles and papadums. There are then a variety of curries like Dahl, and vegetables to add to it. Traditionally this is a vegetarian meal but you can order additional dishes such as beef Rendang, spicy prawns and chicken dishes.

You eat with your fingers, swirling each of the dishes in your rice then letting the flavours dance on your tongue. I ordered a fresh coconut to drink with mine because not only was it a stinking hot day and we were sitting outside but it helps tame the heat if anything is too spicy.

At the end of the meal you are supposed to fold your leaf and depending which way you fold it to what you thought of the meal. A quick glance around at what everyone else was doing and we figured out you fold in inward, towards you, to signify a good meal. And a good meal it was!

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup and comes in a variety of forms but this trip I had Sarawak Laksa, which comes from the namesake state in Borneo. It is very difficult to find outside of Kuching in Borneo but luckily I had a secret informant, or at least someone who grew up in KL who knew one of 2 places in the city that serves it. Unlike other Laksa it actually has no curry in it, instead a base of Sambal, tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemongrass and coconut milk. Mine had prawns, bean sprouts, shredded chicken, sliced omelette, fresh coriander and lime added to it as well. And of course, noodles! If this sounds delicious, it’s because it is, so next time you are in KL head to Alexis in Bangsar. Oh, and save room for dessert if you can!

I love going to Jalan Alor, a popular food street in KL where you crowd in with everyone else for freshly cooked food served on fancy plastic plates while you perch yourself on a plastic chair on the street. It’s great, not just for the food but the atmosphere too. It is noisy, the staff very ‘entrepreneurial’ in encouraging you to sit at their tables, the beggars and hawkers endless and I recommend sitting away from the hot smokey charcoal grillers. I also recommend going more than once as there is just so much to try. When we returned this trip I couldn’t wait to return to ‘Meng Kee’ an obvious favourite with the locals and a rather unforgettable name. I came back for their Barbecued Stingray. This may sound unusual but is the most amazing dish. The flesh is soft and sweet and just flakes away. I could sit and eat this all night, or at least until about 3am when Jalan Alor starts to wind down.

Whenever we were after a quick bite to eat we seemed to find stalls selling Pau, a Chinese steamed bread-like bun with a variety of fillings. It is soft and fluffy and if you can I recommend that you try to avoid the mass produced ones as I find these to be too sticky and gooey. You can get all sorts of savoury fillings like curries as well as sweet and Miss 3 took a liking to a bright green one with a coconut and chocolate filling which was also happily shared with her little sister.

And just to make sure you are well and truly drooling all over your screen here are a few more yummy things we ate …

I just realised that there is no mention of the desserts. These are different in Asia with most being based on rice, coconut, palm sugar for sweetness and often includes red beans, grass jelly, sago, yam, or corn. I tried a few different sweets but unfortunately I didn’t get any photos. If these sound too adventurous for you there is always a variety of fruit on offer and while I don’t personally recommend durian I do think you should try mangosteens, rambutans, mangoes, longans, star fruits and all the melons.

I’m not so sure I could pick a favourite dish from this trip but we did return home with some curry pastes from the markets to try and replicate the flavours of our journey. What is your favourite Malaysian dish?