Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Malaysians always eat the same thing


The Malaysians love their foods and are proud of them. This can really be seen in my family who missed their foods miserably when they were in France. My nephew already had a list of foods he wanted to eat when he was in Malaysia even before he left France: bah kut teh, nasi lemak, dim sum, cha kuey teoh, roti canai....

This led to a discussion that my family is very closed minded in terms of food. They only eat Chinese Malaysian food at home, not wanting to try other cuisines. That was why they couldn't gotten used to the French food when they were in France. Besides, since they always eat the same kind of foods, they are not used to other ingredients.

According to hubby, in France you can cook different dishes for 365 days. In Malaysia we always eat rice and noodles. My explanation, nasi lemak and nasi kandar is different; curry mee is different than cha kuey teow. But it could be seen as the same for a foreigners.

What do you think? Do we always eat the same kind of foods? How many among you actually go to Malay and Indian restaurants regularly, eat something besides nasi lemak and roti canai? Are we less open minded in accepting different kind of foods?

16 comments:

  1. Oh yes.... how could anyone not LOVE malay or indian food?

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  2. Believe or not, I listed out the food I want to eat when I go back Malaysia next month and there are almost ALL shown in this post!!! My god! I want char keow diao!!!! Satay!!!

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. I think I'm pretty open-minded about different foods - I don't mind trying different things. I love Indian curries from Indian restaurants here in the UK.
    But my favourites will always be my favourites...roti canai, satay, char quay teow, nasi lemak, sambal...etc! Your photos are just so mouth-watering!

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  5. Bee Ean, I like to try different types of food such as Malays, Indian, Western and Japanese food that is commonly available here in Malaysia before year 2000. And I went to try Vietnamese and Korean food in the States (now they are common here too in the city), me and coworkers even went for Afghanistan Food but I couldn't recall what's good about it now ;o)

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  6. What an enchanting blog! I love it! Amy

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  7. Anonymous9:58 PM

    Toutes ces photos me rappellent des plats succulents...sauf le dessert;des plats malaisiens et un crumble;ça c'est LE repas par excellence.
    Mika

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  8. When I was working in KL, I needed to eat varieties. I couldn't possibly eat Indian, Malay or Chinese food everyday. Since I was in the heart of KL, I tried western, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. When I travelled to other countries, I tried their cuisines. At home, my mom prepared Malacca Portuguese, local (Indian, Chinese, Malay) and western food too. I guess I have to thank her for opening up my palette to all possibilities.

    Now that I have been away for so long from Malaysia, I sometimes long to go home and taste the food I missed most. When I am home, I stuff myself with all kinds especially satay. :)

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  9. Anonymous4:53 AM

    i think malaysians are very pampered with it comes to food choices and its GREAT. we are blessed with 3 major culture in terms of food.

    my hubby saw this pics of yours and both of us start drooling. i still like the basics at mamak stall but would go for others too. my mother is going to Las Vegas to visit my sister and i hv her buy all the necessary ingredient for msian food and post it here.

    so i think its a malaysian thing. i dont think malaysian is less receptive in accepting new foods cause it depends plus sometimes we have our own "comfort food" too.

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  10. Waaa... I just had Banana Leave rice, and I saw your pictures.. er... I wanna eat again!!!! The Carbs looks tasty!!!! Kg Koh style!! And the Char Kuey Teoh!! Blah~~~ :p Will have to have it tomorrow night!!

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  11. I think we can go for other type of cuisines once or twice a week, but imaging no Malaysians food for 3 weeks! I'm glad you guys are so open minded about different type of cuisine. I hope one day you will try some French cuisine.

    Mika,
    Tes crumbles étaient superbes! Ma famille aimait pas trop les desserts mais ils ont bien aimé ceux de toi.

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  12. Ask them wanna trade place? I don't mind having different food for 365 days :P

    Sometimes, when I go for buffet in Malaysia, I always go for those unique food rather than those fried rice or even noodles. In fact why should I go for hawker food when there are other international variety of food?. It's the culture of Malaysian, they just can't live without rice or noodles. Luckily I come from a family whom are adventurous to try out new things. :)

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  13. Yes Criz Lai, I think family culture plays a lot. In my family, my parents didn't force us if we don't want to eat something. In my case, I was not too picky, but I learn to eat something I didn't want to eat before from my friends. My philosophy, if you don't want to eat something, don't need to force, one day you will realize what you miss and in an occasion learn how to appreciate it.

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  14. Malaysians are blessed with choices and varieties of food. i don't mind trying new dishes or cuisines (be it indian, malay, western or eastern food) but i still love Malaysian chinese food :D

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  15. Anonymous11:00 AM

    You miss malaysia food very much ya..

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  16. yes you bet, I miss Malaysian food. It's hard to believe that getting a plate of chay kuey teoh couldn't be that difficult.

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