Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 410

- rice cooked in coconut milk and
served with sambal ikan bilis (tiny fried
anchovies in hot chilli paste).
In Sabah , there's the Murut speciality of
jaruk - raw wild boar fermented in a
bamboo tube (other meats cooked in
bamboo tubes are also delicious), and also
hinava , raw fish pickled in lime juice.
Indonesian and Filipino influences are
present in places with large immigrant
populations, which only enhances the
local cuisine. In Sarawak , Iban cuisine
features many pork dishes, wild boar,
midin - a curly, crunchy jungle fern
commonly found in restaurants (known as
“Sabah vegetable” in Sabah) - and sticky
rice. A particular favourite in Kuching is
bamboo clams - small, pencil-shaped,
slivery delicacies that only grow in the wild
in mangrove-dense riverine locations.
Typical Nyonya dishes (the distinctive
fusion cuisine formed by the descendants
of Chinese and Malay intermarriage)
incorporate elements from Chinese,
Malay and Indonesian cooking. Chicken,
fish and seafood form the backbone of
the cuisine, and, unlike Malay food, pork
is used. Noodles ( mee ) flavoured with
chillies, and rich curries made from rice
flour and coconut cream, are common.
A popular breakfast dish is laksa , noodles
in spicy coconut soup served with
seafood and bean sprouts, lemon grass,
pineapple, pepper, lime leaves and chilli.
Other popular Nyonya dishes include
ayam buah keluak , chicken cooked with
Indonesian “black” nuts; and otak-otak ,
fish mashed with coconut milk and chilli
and steamed in a banana leaf.
Chinese food dominates in Malaysia
- fish and seafood is nearly always
outstanding, with prawns, crab, squid
and a variety of fish on offer almost
everywhere. Noodles, too, are ubiquitous,
and come in wonderful variations - thin,
flat, round, served in soup (wet) or fried
(dry). Particular favourites include
hokkien mee : fat white noodles with
tempe (a cheese-like food made of the soy
residue from tofu-making) in a rich soy
sauce, and kuey teow goreng , flat rice
noodles fried with chicken or seafood and
local greens. Dim sum make a regular
appearance, as does steamboat , with

thinly sliced meat, fish and vegetables
cooked to the desired consistency in a
bubbling pot in the middle of the table,
with titbits then dunked in soy and
chilli sauce.
North Indian food tends to rely more on
meat, especially mutton and chicken, and
breads - naan , chapatis , parathas and rotis
- rather than rice. A favourite breakfast is
roti canai (delicious flaky flat bread) and
dhal . Southern Indian food tends to be
spicier and more reliant on vegetables. Its
staple is the dosa (rice-flour pancake),
often served at breakfast as a masala dosa ,
stuffed with onions, vegetables and
chutney. Indian Muslims serve murtabak ,
a grilled roti stuffed with egg and minced
meat. Many South Indian cafés serve
daun pisang at lunchtime, usually a
vegetarian meal where rice is served on
banana leaves with vegetable curries.
As for desserts , try ais kacang , shaved
ice with fruit syrup, and often served
with sweet red beans and condensed
milk. It's deliciously refreshing,
particularly in the heat.

6

WHERE TO EAT
he cheapest places to eat are the
ubiquitous hawker stalls , often found on
the roadside or in hawker centres, and
serving standard Malay noodle and rice
dishes, satay, Indian fast food such as roti
canai , plus regional delicacies. Most are
scrupulously clean, and the food is
cooked in front of you. Some hawker
stalls don't have menus and you don't
have to sit close to the stall you're
patronizing: find a free table, and the
vendor will track you down when your
food is ready. You may find that the meal
should be paid for when it reaches your
table, but the usual form is to pay when
you're finished. Most outdoor stalls open
at around 11am and often stay open late
- the early ones close around 10pm,
while some continue until 2 or 3am.
here are few streets without a kedai
kopi , a coffee house or café , usually run
by Chinese or Indians. Most open at 7am
or 8am; closing times vary from 6pm to
midnight. hese places offer more than
coffee; basic Chinese coffee houses serve
noodle and rice dishes all day, as well as