Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2 LITERATURE REVIEWS
such as
asam laksa, asam pedas, bak kut teh, beef
rending, char kuey teow, fish head curry, ikan bakar,
mee goring, mee rebus, nasi lemak, pasembur, roti
canai
are recited by the tourists. Different type
of seafood dishes such as
clam, crab, fish, lobster,
octopus, oyster, shrimp,
and
squid
are also very
popular amongst tourists (Kwoczek, Szefer, Hac &
Grembecka, 2006), are normally found in seafood
restaurants in Malaysia and the resort menu is a
mixture of foreign and local dishes (Venugopal,
2005).
In addition, fast food is also being a signifi-
cant attraction and popular among the tourists
in Malaysia, as they enjoy the diverse flavors at
fast food outlets during their tourist activities.
World fame international fast food chains such
as McDonald, KFC, and Pizza Hut are not only
popular among tourists but also amid locals. The
tourists prefer hygienic, nutritional, accessible
and culturally accepted food (Pendergast, 2006).
Different fruits such as pineapple, watermelon,
papaya, and
rambutan
are often served as dessert
at Malaysian restaurants to the tourists after lunch
and dinner (Ibrahim & Rashid, 2010).
Malaysian drinks and beverages such as
teh
tarik
(pulled tea),
white and black coffee
,
ginger tea,
milo, horlicks, jus epal
(juice apple),
air belimbing
(starfruit juice),
air tembikai
(watermelon juice),
limau air
(lime juice),
air kelapa
(coconut), and
air
soya
(soy milk), are very popular among locals as
well as tourists (Abdullah & Asngari, 2011). The
majority of the tourists like soft and sweet drinks
as well as hot and cold tea to quench their thirst
that easily available at any restaurant (Boo et al.,
2010).
Western-food and Thai food are also available in
Malaysia. Overall, Malaysia is an ideal destination
for tourists due to its potential to be 'food capital'
around the world and culinary and tourism des-
tination among Asian countries (Karim, Chua &
Salleh, 2009), thus, food tourism can open new
horizons for enterprises to boost up business in
Malaysia (Ashley & Haysom, 2006).
Food tourism can be defined as visitation to food
festivals, food producers, restaurants and specific
location for which food tasting and experienc-
ing are associated (Hall & Mitchell, 2005). Food
tourism may also be regarded as an example of
gastronomy, culinary, gourmet or cuisine tour-
ism. Based on the literature, tourism and food is
recognized as very importance roles, and also close
relationship with each other as each tourist needs
to eat food during travelling, visiting and staying
at visiting destination (Henderson, 2009). Besides,
delicious food plays its role as a motivator that
fulfills the physiological need of the human body
(McKercher, Okumus & Okumus, 2008).
In conjunction with the food tourism, Malay-
sia is celebrating its fourth Visit Malaysia Year
(VMY2014) in the year 2014 with the theme 'Cel-
ebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia'. It is a grand and
marvelous activity with hundreds of fabulous
foods to entertain 36 million prospectus tourists
from all over the world. Delicious and fabulous
food would capture the attention of tourists as
Malaysia is known as a haven for delicious food
for tourists (Ministry of Tourism and Culture
Malaysia, 2014). The Malaysian foods are so tasty
that no visitors leave Malaysia without tasting its
gorgeous food and drinks (Yen, 2010). Food also
provides enthusiastic entertainment and pleasant
pleasure for the eaters (Wei & Nakatsu, 2012).
Dinning habits of the tourists according to their
culture is amazing not only for the local people,
but also for other visitors and tourists hailing from
different countries (Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002). There-
fore, it would help to the practitioners associated
with food production, food business, and tourism
planning and marketing as well, to develop and
promote food preparation, preservation and pres-
entation system for the tourists in order to satisfy
their aesthetic appeal (Horng & Tsai, 2010).
3 MALAYSIAN FOODS
The previous studies (for example Leong et al.,
2009; Lim, Norzan & Mohd, 2009) revealed that
tourists are much interested in Malaysian foods
because of cultural, social, business, and educa-
tional interests. For instance, a study by Leong et
al. (2009) in Malaysia revealed that 82 percent of
the respondents (i.e., tourist) are likely to enjoy
Malaysian food. The finding by Leong et al. (2009)
also suggested that the tourist are satisfied with the
food availability, food quality and meal experience
in Malaysia. Malaysian foods and drinks are popu-
lar among tourists and visitors due to their unique
taste, flavor, and essence. Popular Malaysian foods
4 FOOD PRESENTATION
In addition to the peculiar tastes of food and
drinks, the way of presenting food to the custom-
ers and the tourists attracts a lot. Generally, the
visual presentation of food is made by the chefs
working in the restaurants. They prepare the food
in different stages. The typical style of cutting,
tying, sewing, chopping, and slicing of meat, fruit,
and vegetables are commonly used in the Malay-
sian restaurants. The food and fruit, sometimes,
are decorated with iced cakes, drizzled with sauces,
topped with ornamental sculptural consumable,
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