Gastronomic adventure in Malaysia

For any food lover, Malaysia is a paradise offering a gastronomic adventure like no where else. There are at least two factors which make Malaysian food so special and so, so good! First, the country has been a melting pot of three cultures which introduced its own rich history of great cuisine: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. So you can get great food from any of these three cultures in Malaysia, plus a fusion of them, creating tantalizing and creative combinations of spices and cooking techniques. Second, Malaysians are obsessed with food; arguably food is the country’s # 1 passion. This has created very high standards and competition amongst food vendors, from restaurants to street-side hawkers—word gets out quickly on whether a dining spot is good or mediocre, and patronage level adjusts just as quickly.

Here are some pictures of meals we had:

A sampling of Malay dishes served on a platter of banana leaves. You can see, starting from the bottom right going clockwise: grilled shrimp with lemongrass wrapped in banana leaves, mixed vegetables, okra with belacan (shrimp paste), lamb rendang (thick curry), eggplant in coconut milk curry sauce, pineapples in sweet spicy sauce, fish curry, and beef rendang. Coconut flavored rice with fried shallots in the middle.

From left, going clockwise: Chicken cincalok (spicy shrimp krill paste), coconut rice (no idea what the blue color is!), fern salad (with lots of chili and ground peanuts), grilled tamarind prawns, and squid coconut curry. Delicious!

Steamed scallops, Cantonese style

Chili crab – very spicy and very good!

Pan-fried jumbo prawns – wild caught prawns in Malaysia have a delicious, naturally sweet flavor. Infinitely better than the farm-raised imported Asian shrimp you find in American supermarkets!