The Food Post [Malaysia]

Two Things

So I find myself in a place where I am so utterly on my own that I have to forage for food. Two things:

a) I don't cook. This wasn't so much a problem back when I wasn't living by myself and either my parents or my siblings made my food. Actually, it's not really a problem right now, either.

I have a non-functioning kitchen that a friend says reminds her of those vacation houses that we go stay at temporarily on beach weekends (istira7as, really) - it's super empty and the gas stove doesn't really work because there isn't a... gas... thing, whatever that's called. I don't have pots or pans, nothing.

This empty kitchen is the reason I will never
get a husband. My mom agrees.

b) I'm not big on taking food pictures, and in fact, I started the hashtag #aftermeal as a passive aggressive stand against those who do (the hashtag is not dead, but it has evolved into something completely different. Don't check it.), where I encouraged people to post pictures of their plates after they'd finished eating because HEY, THAT'S INTERESTING, TOO. Polished clean plates. Hotdaymm.

Now though, every time I'd take a photo of my food, my friends here would say "OMG you're one of those people!" and I'm like "No no, you guys, I want to show this to my friends back home! They really, really want to see it! For serious!" and they're all "WHATEVS." My friends don't actually talk like that.

Forrealz, tho. I show the pics to my siblings and my friends, and because they're actually into food, they proceed to guess what kind of food it is, and what's in it. I have no way of confirming since I'm clueless, but it keeps communication lines open and NURTURES RELATIONSHIPS, OKAY?

Malaysia has 3 major cultures - Malay, Indian and Chinese, so it follows that there are 3 major cuisines available here, aside from the requisite American fare. Western food is pricey, and if you're like me, you can't afford to eat your 3 meals per day eating American, no matter how much you love the fatty foods.

It wasn't very hard for me to adjust to Malay food because a) I'm Maranao and we're basically the bastard children of the Malays, and b) at the risk of rage from my Southeast Asian friends, it's very similar to Indonesian food - WSUP GADO GADO! They're big on rice, beef randang, chicken in turmeric sauce, and satay.

There's only one that I've gotten myself super attached to, though, and it's called Chicken Garlic Rice. It's like the cure to all life's ills, loneliness, and homesickness. And hangovers.

Served with clear soup, this is hot steamed chicken garnished with
caramelised (ok, I dunno if it's caramelised but it sure tastes like it) garlic,
fried garlic rice, and hot, spicy salsa. Wallahi, lazeez ah. 

Malay food here is halal, so no pork, nothing haraam. They call it mamak. I tend to go for it because it's my comfort zone. Here are other examples of mamak.

Nasi Lemak with chicken curry is served with egg,
 a spicy salad, and fried peanuts and anchovies. A side of chili
in oil for extra fire. I'm not a fan, though. 

Mixed fried rice with fish patties and a spicy salad.

This is their version of fast food. Spicy ground chicken
with a fried egg and steamed white rice. Don't be
fooled - this whole thing lies on a bed of sweet
chilli sauce found at the bottom of the bowl
GOD DAMN IT. 

These dishes cost about SR 8 each. That's pricey here.

Oodles of Noodles

When it comes to Chinese food, I'm not really a big fan, but then again, I'd only ever been subjected to Saudi's version of Chinese food, which is essentially Filipino food. THAT'S RIGHT, MY SAUDI BRETHREN, all that Chinese food you eat is so super Filipino, and that "chef" who cooks it? HE'S FILIPINO. Here, though, they're legit. I've tried a few and they're alright, except they're all so serious about the chopsticks. I've had to learn to use those things. It's not pretty. Let's just say I understand now why they tend not to be obese. If you have to work out just to eat, it's no small wonder.

This hot mess is my favorite. It's called "mixed mee". I know, it's lols.
That's 3 different kids of noodles swimming in soup, egg, veggies,
and seafood. Also great with hangovers.

It took me 3 hours to eat this dish using chopsticks. That's noodles
and chicken strips on chilli sauce with a side of fishball soup. Cray. 

Thank You, India

In Jeddah, we're mostly exposed to North Indian food, and the Indian restaurants' waiters all speak Urdu. Here in Malaysia, they're mostly Southern Indian and they speak Tamil. It's seriously like a lesson in culture. The food is not the same, except for some few staples, like roti, and palak paneer my all-time favorite South Asian food, but everything else is different. I have to be honest, I don't have pictures of Indian food because I devour that stuff as soon as my order comes in. I am discovering that I am a fan.

Buy You a Drank

This would be an incomplete post if I didn't show you the drinks. They have everything here, duh, but they have something that Saudi doesn't.

I'm no stranger to Denmark.
I GOT LOVE FOR YA, DK!

This is Southeast Asian beer. 

Malaysia is like a child of two different-cultured parents, for serious. Her dad is Saudi, and so there's mutaw3een prowling the streets here, too, just not as bad as back home, but her mom is non-Saudi and so yeah, there's alcohol every few shops down.

I think this is why I can relate to this place. Most days when I get home from work, I just have a cup of coffee because I'm too tired to eat, or too broke to go down to the restaurants, but that's alright, because the novelty is keeping me busy. I stand by the balcony and take in the fact that I just shared the elevator with an unmarried couple holding hands and now I can hear the adhaan from the mosque next to my building.

We co-exist. Me and this place.