Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rice-cake desserts at Central Market (
Click here
)
ANTONY GIBLIN / GETTY IMAGES ©
When to Eat
To those of us used to 'three square meals', it might seem as if Malays are always eating.
In fact, five or six meals or snacks is more the order of the day than strict adherence to the
breakfast-lunch-dinner trilogy. Breakfast is often something that can be grabbed on the
run:
nasi lemak
wrapped to go
(bungkus)
in a banana leaf or brown waxed paper, a quick
bowl of noodles, toast and eggs, or griddled Indian bread.
Come late morning a snack might be in order, perhaps a
karipap
(deep-fried pastry
filled with spiced meat or fish and potatoes). Lunch generally starts from 12.30pm,
something to keep in mind if you plan to eat at a popular establishment.
The British left behind a strong attachment to afternoon tea, consumed here in the form
of tea or coffee and a sweet or savoury snack such as
tong sui,
various Indian fritters,
battered and fried slices of cassava, sweet potato, banana and - of course -
kueh
(tradi-
tional cakes often made from glutinous rice).
Mamak
and hawker stalls see a jump in business a few hours after dinner (which is
eaten around 6.30pm or 7pm) when Malays head out in search of a treat to tide them over
until morning.
