Malaysia is just north of our tiny island nation and is truly a land filled with a host of culinary delights and treats
Malaysian food reflects the ethnic mix of the local population – spanning traditional Malay cooking, a dozen different Chinese regional cuisines and Indian dishes that range from spicy South Indian vegetarian curries to rich Sikh offerings from the Punjab.
Malaysians are serious foodies, equally if not more serious than you and I, as can be evidenced from the many blogs and various television programmes. Here’s just a little taste of what Malaysia has to offer.
A Gourmand’s Paradise
With the diverse cultures, celebrations and activities in Malaysia, there is always an excuse to meet and eat – whether it is at a restaurant, at a fast food outlet, or just a stall beneath a tree. In fact, now, in the fasting month of Ramadan, you can join the throngs of hungry people at any of the Bazaar Ramadan night markets, where you can sample an endless supply of delicacies, some of which are only available in Malaysia.
Tourists and foreigners call it a feast for the senses and they are quite right, as the Bazaar Ramadan is guaranteed to strike you with the diverse variety of colours, tastes and scents.
It’s a Celebration
Generally speaking, when it comes to eating out in Malaysia, a celebration just heightens the pleasure but, on a daily basis, good food is available at every corner of buildings or residences.
Whether Malay food with traditional simplicity and fragrant spices, Chinese cuisine created with imagination and skill, Indian delicacies blessed with richness and colour, Peranakan dishes of exquisite Nyonya specialities, or traditional Portuguese Eurasian delights with their creative fusion of eastern and western cuisine, all these are parts of Malaysia’s culinary landscape.
Needless to say, it might not be possible for you to try all of these delicacies in one visit but there are places that offer buffets with a variety of delectable dishes that represent Malaysians of all races.
Selections to Make You Salivate
As Malaysian food varies significantly across the country, each of the 13
states has its own native specialities. Typical Malaysian cuisine consists of a generous helping of steamed or boiled rice, accompanied by a wide selection of dishes comprising fish, vegetables, beef, poultry and sambal belacan (a spicy chilli paste).
Sample excellent dishes cooked in different styles, ranging from the coconut-rich nasi lemak, to the cris
p and fragrant nasi goreng. Be sure to also try the popular choices of nasi biryani and nasi ayam.
Malaysia is a meat lover’s paradise as well, with the ever-so-tender rendang, which is so good that you could just eat it on its own. And, of course, who can forget delicious satay?
What better way to find out more or to experience this than to taste these dishes for yourself? Sumptuous treasures await you at the dining table of Malaysia.
For more information or enquiries, please log on to facebook.com/TMSingapore or contact Tourism Malaysia (Singapore) at
Tel: 6532 6321.
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