By: Thomas Teo
Malaysia has different races and belief living under the same land. The food in Malaysia has different varieties, the street food is also famous among the local and international. It is easily found inside Malaysia around the streets, and even in a shopping mall. There is few Malaysia best local street food that you shouldn’t miss out when visiting Malaysia.
Asam Laksa
Asam Laksa is available at many hawker stalls, but the most famous one is from Penang. The main ingredients of Asam Laksa are garlic, lemongrass, fresh turmeric, shallots, chilli paste and belacan. There are also other recipe used in other state. Ipoh laksa has a slightly sour taste with prawn paste in their gravy. Laksa Johor used the same type of fish but with different ingredient in the dishes.
Nasi Kandar
It is origin from India which people lugging around the heavy baskets with home cooked dishes and rice. The word Nasi Kandar now is mostly used by Tamil Muslim or “Malaysian Mamak” restaurant. Nasi Kandar is serving of steamed rice (plain or mildly flavoured) and variety of curries and side dishes. There are many types of side dishes, such as deep fried chicken, curry spleen, sliced beef, fish roe, fried prawns or fried squid. One of the famous Nasi Kandar restaurant chain in Malaysia is “Pelita Nasi Kandar”.
Ipoh Hor Fun – Bean Sprout Chicken Noodle
Like the name of the dishes, Ipoh Hor Fun is mix of bean sprout, broiled chicken and noodle soup. Ipoh’s Hor Fun is famous of the bean sprout which grows under rich soil and fresh water. It is suitable to eat during breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. In Ipoh New Town, Lou Wong Tauge Chicken Noodle Restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants selling this dish.
Char Kuey Teow
It is a popular dish in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia. It is made of flat rice noodles, stir fried with dark soy sauce, chili, belachan, prawns, deshelled cockles, bean sprouts, eggs, and Chinese chives. Some stall will add in Chinese sausage and fishcake with pork fat. In the old days, Char Kuey Teow is sold by fisherman, farmers, and cockle-gatherers in the evening to supplement their income.
Nasi Lemak
Another popular dish in Malaysia is Nasi Lemak, which is fragrant rice cooked with coconut milk and “pandan” leaf. Not only in Malaysia, it is also famous amoing neighboring country like Brunei, Singapore, Riau Islands, and Southern Thailand. You can add on different side dish if you want bigger portion. The popular side dishes are rending chicken, sambal squid, or fried chicken.
Due to the mixture of culture in Malaysia, we can easily see Chinese inside a Malay restaurant, or Indian sitting inside Chinese hawker stall. The tasty food had made the different race get closer to each other. Malaysia street food is enjoy by everyone in the country. If you are a food liker, you should visit Malaysia to treat your taste buds some different foods which only can be found here.