The Top 10 Best Dishes to Eat in Malaysia

 

Malaysia is a country rich in various types of food genres. From Western, Thai, village cuisine, Chinese, Indian, Baba Nyonya food, everything is there. Clearly shows the variety of genres that can be found here.

Viral foods are also foods that are often hunted by many. Wondering what viral foods in Malaysia can be tried?

1. Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak, literally ‘fat rice’, is comprised of coconut rice, prawn sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumber slices, and chicken rendang. There might be variations with regards to the accompaniments, but the rice, cucumber, and peanuts are pretty much staple. Nasi lemak is traditionally eaten for breakfast but these days people are ordering it any time of day.

2. Nasi Kerabu

If the blue rice doesn't spark your curiosity, the lines of people around the country waiting to order this favorite Kelantanese dish should.

From the state of Kelantan in northern peninsular Malaysia, nasi kerabu gets its eye-grabbing color from telang flowers, which are crushed and mixed into flour.

The aquamarine dish is topped with bean sprouts and fried coconut, then drenched in spicy budu, a fermented fish sauce.

In true Kelantan style, you use your hands to dig into this one.

3. Mee Goreng Mamak

This Indian Muslim dish is the complete package.  Yellow noodles. Beef or chicken. Shrimp. Soy sauce, veggies and eggs. A bit of chili tossed in for an irresistible jolt.

Sadly, you can try to replicate this one at home, but it's just not going to taste the way it did when you chowed down at that gritty Malaysian hawker stall.

4. Nasi Kandar

Another great rice dish, nasi kandar is steamed rice with several Malay-Indian dishes. The specialty of this dish lies right at the end of the preparation of it, where a mixture of curries is poured right on top of the rice, making it ‘banjir’ (roughly translated as flooding the rice).

It can be found all over Malaysia, nasi kandar eateries are extremely popular, most open 24 hours and run by ethnic Indian Muslims.

5. Asam Laksa

                                   

There are countless variations of laksa in Malaysia, but there are two major categories: Assam Laksa and Curry Laksa. Assam Laksa is considered as one of Penang’s main dishes, and is generally cooked with a white flakey fish. The broth is tart and tamarind-based, and filled with noodles, cucumber, pineapple, fresh mint, lemongrass and ginger. This dish has such an alluring combination of salty, spicy and sweet, that you’re sure to be hooked as soon as you try it.

6. Roti Canai

A common meal to have for breakfast, roti canai is a flatbread that is first twirled and then grilled, and is usually served with curry and dhal for dipping. Because of its popularity, roti canai has a lot of varieties, and depending on which mamak stall you go to, you can order roti telur (roti canai with an egg inside it) or have it with bananas, aka roti pisang. The possibilities are endless, which makes it a timeless favourite.

7. Satay

In Malaysia, you will notice the towering piles of skewers and the recognisable aroma of satay everywhere – at hawker stalls and pasar malam (night markets) these skewers are tossed onto the grill and made to order. Across Southeast Asia, each country has its own unique recipe for satay. Malaysian satay is made with common ingredients from Malaysian cooking, like shallots, turmeric powder, coriander powder and lemongrass.

8. Banana Leaf Rice

If you don’t mind eating with your hands and having them smell strongly of curry afterward, then the banana leaf is something that you need to roll your sleeves up for. Rice is served on a banana leaf as opposed to the usual plates together with servings of curries, vegetables, pickles, and papadom, and if you want to show your appreciation towards the finger-licking food, you may fold the banana leaf inwards after you have finished it, and if you’re feeling quite the opposite, outwards!

9. Chicken Rendang

Now, who doesn’t love rendang? Recently voted by readers of CNN International as the number one dish in World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods, many recognize rendang as their favorite and it isn’t hard to see why. Rich in spices and slowly cooked to perfection, rendang is a spicy fare and can usually be seen during religious festivals such as Eid. There are many variants to rendang, and one can opt to cook rendang with other main ingredients such as chicken or mutton, but beef remains the more popular version of this dish and can be found in Malay restaurants all around KL.

10. Char Kuey Teow

Another favourite from Penang, where street hawkers are have added ‘Penang’ to the title of the dish, Char Kway Teow is stir fried ricecake strips and flat rice noodles with prawns, bloody cockles, Chinese lap cheong (sausage), eggs, bean sprouts, and chives in a mix of soy sauce.