A Taste of Kuala Lumpur

Two weeks ago, we were part of the Vis-Min media group invited by Cebu Pacific and Tourism Malaysia for the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival (July 24 – September 16). Although we felt that, it was as much a gustatory tour as it was a shopping one. From our first day, we were treated to a Malay-Thai lunch, and then on to the usual Malay dishes, which are the sweet-spicy combination of Malay-Indonesian, Chinese and Indian cuisines. It is of interest to us that many Malay terms are common to our Tagalog: masuk – exit, tolak – push, sakit – painful, daun – leaf, ulam – edible mixture, pacu – fern, nangka – jackfruit. So too are the dishes similar to ours, just like the sup tulang (beef)or the Sino-Malay bah-kut-teh(pork) which is actually linat-ang gusok sabaw. Our woven puso finds a counterpart in their nasi imbid. Their version, though, is shaped into tubes by using calico cloths or blanched banana leaves, and then cut diagonally into small slices upon serving.

What I noted was the liberal use of coconut milk in the Malay cuisine, including their steamed rice, which is aptly called nasi lemak. Curry, tamarind and chillies are of Indian influence, while the preparation of meat, seafood and tofu dishes is of Chinese origin. If you are not a chilli eater, like me, watch out for those with sambal (chilli sauce or paste) like Sambal Telur (boiled eggs in chilli sauce), Sambal Udang (Fried Prawns w/Chilli) or Sambal Terung (Fried Eggplant w/Chilli) – the last two, everybody liked during our lunch at the famous Madame Kwan’s. Otherwise, be wary of anything that looks reddish – those are chilli bits!

I managed to enjoy the spicy dishes by applying what I learned somewhere – push the spicy food well into the back of your mouth and chew from there. The chilli will not bite as hot as it usually does. Also, scrape off or squeeze out all the sauce (those red bits!) from the meat or seafood or tofu before you eat it. These tactics worked for me, why don’t you try them? Meanwhile, let me share a couple of recipes of the dishes we savored in Kuala Lumpur.

Bon apetit! (THEFREEMAN)