A real melting pot in your wokFeb 07 '01 (Updated Feb 19 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Don't expect to find Chinese or Indian food only. The cuisine is a blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine with a strong emphasis on taste.
Malaysian cuisine tends to bring to mind, spicy dishes, seafood, curry and tropical fruits. All that is just a tip of the iceberg and trying to explain what Malaysian cuisine is all about can be tricky. That's what I hope to accomplish here without boring all of you with the details. To understand Malaysian cuisine, it is important to understand the ethnic composition of the country. First, a geography lesson - Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and consist of two parts, East Malaysia (located in Borneo) and Peninsular Malaysia (the more populated part, located between Thailand and Singapore). The British united the country (formerly known as Malaya and consisted of various sultanates) in the 19th century and were responsible for setting up the form of government which resembles the British Parlimentary system. The British also facilitated and encouraged immigration, the Chinese who were primarily tradesmen and the Indians, who primarily worked in the plantations. The natives or the Malays, were farmers and fishermen. Each group brought their own style of cooking. The Chinese, predominantly from the Ghuandong and Fukien provinces brought in the Cantonese and Fukienese style of cooking. The Indians brought in South Indian food with the rich curries and dishes. Over the last 200 years and more, the various races were able to adopt and borrow recipes as well as spices and methodologies from their new and "foreign" neighbors resulting in variants of Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisine. One can still find pure Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisine in Malaysia as well as within the Malaysian restaurants scattered all over the world. However, my favorite has always been those food which is a mix and blend of different types of cuisine. For example, Mee Goreng or Fried Noodles is an Indian-styled noodle dish which integrated the typical Chinese stir-fried noodle with spices and chili, typically used in Indian dishes. Sometimes, it is impossible to detect the differences between a Chinese curry and an Indian curry and a Malay curry. A seafood curry tends to be Chinese and a Beef curry would be Malay. All would use coconut milk in the curries courtesy of the Indians. Don't expect to order a sweet and sour chicken and expect to find what you typically find in your take-out. In general, Malaysian cuisine is a blend of three types of cuisine - Chinese, Malay and Indian. There are some similarities in certain dishes to Thai cuisine. For example the Char Koay Teow is similar to the Pad Thai. Such similarities could have occurred because of the close proximity between Thailand and Malaysia. However, on the whole, Malaysian cuisine is unique because of its rich history. The variety of food is amazing ranging from such delicious appetizers such as the Satay (skewers), Roti Canai (Indian bread)and Loh Bak (chinese-styled sausages) to noodle dishes such as Char Koay Teow and Mee Goreng to a whole range of curries and seafood. There is a number of excellent Malaysian restaurants in New York, Boston and London. The Penang chain serves authentic Malaysian cuisine and can be found in Washington St in Boston, the Upper East and Upper West sides in Manhattan, and in Soho. In Chinatown, the sister restaurants are named Nyonya located on Grand St (my review on Nyonya can be found within the restaurant section) and Baba (on Bayard St). The only Malaysian restaurant I am aware off in London is found in the Marble Arch area and serves very spicy Malay food in a canteen-like atmosphere. Malaysian food is unique. For all food lovers out there, give it a shot.  |
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