List of the Most Popular Malaysian Food
Malaysian food is well known across the world and South East Asia for its flavors and diversity of food offerings. Travelers can get Malay dishes like Beef Rendang, Chinese dishes like Char siew and rice, and many Indian foods like Banana Leaf and Nasi Kandar. All these food types are suitable for most as they are compatible with what you will find in other Western countries but with more flavors.
Nasi Lemak for Breakfast
Nasi lemak is the quintessential Malaysian food as it is available wherever you go, no matter the city in Malaysia. This dish is also very popular in Singapore for breakfast. The main ingredients of Nasi Lemak include boiled egg, coconut rice, stir-fried sambal, peanuts and anchovy (ikan bilis). The flavors of this dish are very strong and you need to avoid it if you are allergic to peanuts. Overall, this is an excellent dish to taste Malaysian food’s flavor, but it is simple. There are other great offerings in this country.
Banana Leaf in Indian Restaurants
Banana Leaf is one of those great food offerings that almost everyone will like. The Bana Leaf is part of Indian Malaysian dishes that started as a vegetarian dish, but later, locals added fried chicken and fish to it.
Malay Beef Rendang
When it comes to Malaysian food, many consider Beef Rendang to be the king of meat-based dishes. Originally from Indonesia, Beef Rendang is made of chunks of beef, seasoned with dry herbs and cooked for long hours on low heat in a coconut and spice sauce. The difference between Indonesian and Malaysian Beef Rendang is that the Indonesian version is drier and the Malaysian version comes with more sauce. This dish is very flavorful and goes very well with plain white rice and you will find it in major food courts and Malay-style food stalls.
Char Siew Seasoned Pork Slices
Char siew is roasted pork shoulder and leg sliced thinly and placed with white rice and some simple vegetable sides. The Char siew rice dish, unlike other Chinese Malay food, is not halal and you can only have it in Chinese-specific food courts and restaurants. The flavor of this dish is great and goes very well with the white rice and you can have the chef give you the meat parts that either have no fats or come with some belly fats. These Char Siew meats are also used for toppings on other Hokkien and food in Singapore.
Chicken and Beef Satay
Satay is very famous in Europe because it was brought there from Indonesia and adapted to the local people’s tastes. Even though it is an Indonesian creation, it is also part of Malaysian food culture. Malaysians eat beef, chicken and other exotic meat satays on most Malay majority food courts. Since Malays run satay stalls, they are always halal and have a distinct sweet taste to them. Non-halal places, especially near bars, sell these satays with pork, which you can have with a drink or two.
Bak Kut Teh Chinese Pork Dish
Fujian is another one of the Chinese Malaysian dishes that was brought to this region from China by the Chinese workers from Fujian. This dish is Pork ribs cooked in a tea herbal for long hours together with mushrooms and garlic. This dish might not look very tasty, but the flavors are powerful and the pork meat and herbal tea combination creates a tender food with great aromas.
Indian Muslim Nasi Kandar
Nasi Kandar is an Umbrella term for Halal Indian food, which originated in Penang when Tamil Muslims were brought there. These Nasi Kandar stores are shops available everywhere across Kuala Lumpur and other cities in Malaysia and are considered one of the cheapest Malaysian food for their quantity and flavors. Nasi Kandar shops are generally buffet style and the main ingredients are fried chicken, fried fish and lots of local vegetables with mainly curry sauces. If you are on a budget, Nasi Kandar stores are your friends in Malaysia to fill your bellies.
