Warning for Malaysians living abroad: You may feel homesick after reading this

If you know any Malaysians, you gotta ask them to verify this: is it true that Malaysians LOVE eating and will eat at all hours of the day and night?

Well, I'm in food heaven. (Which really doesn't help when I keep looking at myself in the mirror and wondering why going to the gym hasn't really helped make my post-baby (of almost 2 years) disappear!)

Anyway, like my mom would say in mixture of English and Malay, "eat first, belakang kira."
Broadly and loosely translated to mean, "don't worry about the consequences of (almost always wonderful) food you are eating." So taking her advice, I FEAST! Below is only a small sampling of the food I have been feasting on.

Nasi Lemak. Truly nothing beats the humble newspaper and banana leaf wrapped version (as seen below on the left). On its right is also the same thing but wrapped in special brown paper with plastic on one side. The restaurant versions really cannot beat the concept of this fast-food meal. These are sold at a variety of eating outlets as well as make-shift stalls by the roadside, all readily packed.


Inside, you'll find fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk that is coupled by a segment of a hard boiled egg, spicy hot sambal which may or may not be accompanied by dried anchovies, roasted peanuts and slices of cucumber. The banana leaf adds another dimension to the fragrance that captures you when you open the wrapping. Oh and the best thing about this version of the Nasi Lemak is: You can't beat the hit and miss factor of the rice being slightly undercooked or not getting much of the egg yolk.

Korean BBQ. Okay, so this isn't Malaysian at all obviously but boy, what a meal it was. YUMMY! This is what we ordered: a beef dish, a squid and prawns dish, and chicken soup. This is what appeared on our table! My favourite side dishes were the hot and spicy pickled cucumber, the bean sprouts, the salad drizzled with vinaigrette and the
sweet pork. The kim chi wasn't bad too.

Satay. Satay really should only be enjoyed late in the evening when the sun has set and you can watch the satay man fan the flames that grill these delectable sweet meat on sticks. To give you an idea, the seasoning of the meat includes lemongrass and turmeric. The satay sauce is peanut based that is hot and spicy. The way I like to enjoy this is to dip in the satay sauce, take one bite, then skewer a piece of cucumber and onion respectively, dip and into the mouth! YUM. Nothing can beat the smell of satay grilling away as you enjoy your own satay.

So, I should stop here because I should go finish off my mee goreng from the local mamak store. Made you drool yet?