Image from http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/
Thinking of how to describe malay food (believe it or not some of my non-malay malaysian friends never tasted lontong, soto etc – to them malay food - satay, kari (curry), nasi lemak n rendang tsk tsk tsk. But then again lots of my malay friends n relatives never tasted kam heong lala or garlic prawns or nyonya curry mee either.....so i guess it is nothing to do with one’s race but rather individual palate.
Well it is quite difficult to describe malay food in M’sia since we’ve 13 states n 3 federal territories n each area has its own distinct type of cooking.
Anyway, basically malay food comprises of either rice (plain rice, nasi tomato, nasi minyak, nasi daging, nasi biryani etc), meat/seafood/vegetables to accompany rice dishes or one dish meal (eat on its own) like noodles (mi sup, mi bandung, mihun goreng, laksa, lontong, soto etc.)
As for dishes to accompany our staple food - rice, this site http://www.friedchillies.com/fc/specials.php?id=2115_0_8_0 describes it quite aptly:
“Malay cuisine is generally rich and spicy due to the liberal use of coconut milk and fresh and dry spices. Dishes and style of cooking vary from state to state. For example, Kelantanese from the North is generally rich and sweetish due to coconut milk. On the other hand, Kedahan food is generally spicier due to Indian and Thai influences.
Many Malay signature dishes require belacan, which adds flavour and aroma to any dish. Belacan is made from fermented baby shrimps and formed into small cakes. It imparts a powerful scent that may be too strong for some! However once cooked with other ingredients, the taste is heavenly!
Malay cooking can be classified into the following categories: Masak lemak (coconut milk), masak pedas (hot chillies), masak assam (tamarind), masak merah (tomoto sauce), masak hitam (dark-sweet soya sauce) and masak assam pedas (tamarind, hot chillies).
One of the most notable Malay dishes known worldwide is �beef rendang� (or spiced coconut beef dry curry) and �satay� (barbequed meat skewers served with a spicy peanut sauce). Rendang is especially enjoyed during festive occasions.
As in most Asian cuisines, rice is a staple that is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A notable Malaysian favourite is nasi lemak, which is rice cooked in coconut milk and served with anchovies, squid, eggs, cucumber and a spicy chili paste called sambal”
So, my non-malay Malaysian friends if you wish to find out what is soto you can read here http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/8/24/sundaymetro/1857930&sec=SundayMetro or better still pay a visit to any of the restaurants below to sample various kind of dishes……. And here u can read more about Laksa Sarawak http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2007/10/just-dont-call-.html
Anyway, please note that some of the links below are not quite accurate when categorizing malay restaurants (some restaurants offer malay-thai food, malay-western food etc); but then again, believe it or not it is actually quite difficult to find restaurants selling authentic malay food. The only time (once a year) one can find authentic Malay food at one place is during Ramadhan (fasting month) where most hotels and restaurants will offer authentic Malay food for break fast n of course lots of ramadhan bazaar will sprout all over the country selling all kind of food.
Other time? One has to visit different stalls or restaurants to sample various kind of Malay foods.
1. Intro to malay food
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/09/ramadan-bazaar-wangsa-maju-section-1.html
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/09/ramadan-bazaar-kampung-baru-jalan-raja.html
2. Various http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/site/category/malay/P0
3. Various restaurants http://www.rasarasa.net/section.cfm?id=143
4. Various restaurants http://www.rasarasa.net/section.cfm?id=243
5. Various restaurants / stalls http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/2628/Malay.htm
6. Various http://www.travelguide.com.my/food-malay.htm
7. Various http://www.angelfire.com/id/croon/malaysia/kualalumpurmalaynyonya.html
8. Various http://klue.com.my/venues/search?keyword=malay&category=Food&commit=Search
9. Tupai Tupai Bkt Petaling http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/tupai-tupai-restaurant-jln-bkt-petaling-kl
10. Bijan
http://lotsofcravings.blogspot.com/2007/07/bijan-jalan-ceylon.html
11. Enak
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/502476 http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/30/central/21656454&sec=central
12. Seri Melayu
http://bernsy.blogspot.com/2008/01/buffet-dinner-restoran-seri-melayu.html
http://www.serimelayu.com/
13. Rebung http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/TravelTimes/article/ShoppingGourmetTrail/20060905104216/Article/index_html
14. Kelantan Delight KL Sentral http://lotsofcravings.blogspot.com/2008/08/kelantan-delights-sooka-sentral.html
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/9/5/central/1926756&sec=central
15. Belanga The Gardens
http://www.awhiffoflemongrass.com/?p=219
16. Pinang Masak Bkt Tunku http://lotsofcravings.blogspot.com/2007/04/pinang-masak-bukit-tunku.html
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/03/lontong-pinang-masak-kuala-lumpur.html
17. Kafe Bawang Merah SS12 http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/venues/kafe-bawang-merah-ss12-subang-jaya
http://forum.fooxion.com/index.php?showtopic=1312
18. Pekan Kopitiam Damansara
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/06/masakan-melayu-pekan-kopitiam-plaza.html
19. Haslam Jln Pahang
http://food-4-thot.blogspot.com/2007/06/restoran-haslam-kl.html http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2008/04/lempeng-restaurant-haslams-jalan-pahang.html
20. Restoran Hassan Jln HS Lee / Kg Baru / USJ10 / Shah Alam http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2006/04/review-restoran-ayam-kampung-bandariya.html
http://klue.com.my/venues/361-Hassan
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/07/nasi-ayam-kampung-medan-selera-kampung.html
http://food-4-thot.blogspot.com/2008/02/nasi-ayam-kampung-bandar-baru-tun-razak.html
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2008/05/malay-food-restoran-hassan-section-13.html
21. Various stalls – http://www.rasarasa.net/section.cfm?id=238
22. Various stalls http://www.rasarasa.net/section.cfm?id=287
23. Various stalls http://nogold.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20568
24. Kak Mah http://adib.typepad.com/blog/2007/11/new-kelantan-de.html
25. Satay
http://www.haveyoueaten.net/2008/07/23/the-best-satay-in-kuala-lumpur-at-jalan-peel
http://www.foodlah.com/2008/02/22/satay-leng-chee-kang-satay-sri-melaka-datuk-keramat-kuala-lumpur-2 http://www.awhiffoflemongrass.com/?p=113
26. Nasi Lemak Kg Baru http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2008/03/review-nasi-lemak-mak-wanjor-at-kampung.html
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/04/nasi-lemak-ct-garden-ct-roses-kampung.html
Jln Alor
http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2007/11/review-nasi-lemak-at-jalan-alorchangkat.html
Bangsar http://www.awhiffoflemongrass.com/?p=171
Kelana Jaya
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/12/char-kuey-teow-and-nasi-lemak-fam.html
http://www.awhiffoflemongrass.com/?p=92 http://www.awhiffoflemongrass.com/?p=98
27. Lontong Mak Yah PJ http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/site/detail/lontong_mak_yah/
28. Soto Sg Buloh http://rto.blogmas.com/2008/09/14/soto-original
29. Laksa Johor http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2008/08/spices-of-asia.html
30. Mee Bandung
http://www.friedchillies.com/fc/forum/threads.php?id=1930_0_2_0_C
http://www.foodlah.com/2007/10/19/laksa-johor-mee-bandung-warung-aji-don-plaza-damas-kuala-lumpur
31. Mee Jawa
http://www.3-meals.com/?p=365 http://food.malaysiamostwanted.com/food/Mee%20Jawa
4 comments:
I was surfing the net for info n stumbled onto this site..ha ha this is what the blogger said "the best thing about KL is the food!"
Excerpt:
http://royby.com/index.php?id=C0_35_2
The best, (in my humble opinion) thing about KL was the food. Fortunately in the process of becoming a model and streamlined city the powers that be have allowed street food to remain and I would suggest that it is encouraged as the small street directly behind our hotel is known famously as "food street". In fact we only had to walk metres from our hotel front door to find food of all varieties so it wasn't difficult to locate some "true happiness".
Directly across the road was an Indian Halal restaurant that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and their food was inexpensive and fantastic. although our stomachs reacted very badly to the new tastes and spices which we piled into them. Beside our hotel we could go eat Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Italian, Indian, Western, Chinese just to name a few all situated in tiny restaurants. In the opposite direction was a Chinese noodle restaurant that opened late and stayed open until very late and was always packed with people tucking in to great looking food. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to eat there this time but it will still be there on the next visit I'm sure.
more recommendation on where 2 eat
http://akutakpeduli.blogspot.com/2008/06/obsessi-makanan-aku.html?showComment=1214903820000
if you are into nasi ayam - here are places to visit http://www.friedchillies.com/index.php/site/detail/kak_laily_nasi_ayam_original/
Stumbled onto this blog on good nasi ayam in Gombak
http://goodfood.fotopages.com/?entry=1030000
Excerpt:
If you travel from KL through Jalan Gombak, you got to drive past Diamond Square and Pasar Besar Gombak, until you see a mosque on your left. Nasi Ayam Mancongkam restaurant is at the opposite of Masjid Jamek Sg Mulia, Gombak, KL. To be more accurate, it is right next to Restoran Haji Tapah.
When you talk about nasi ayam, I would particularly concern about the rice. Fortunately, the rice was really good. Very very good! Soft, sticky and tasty. However, the chicken was just not my style, as I prefer a Chinese style steamed chicken. But that shouldn’t be a reason for me to discredit the Nasi Ayam.
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