After a year of living and eating in Malaysia, what did Cikgu Rachael vote as her top 5 favorites?
#1 Roti Canai
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| Fellow ETA and friend, Jonathan, and I indulging in roti canai! |
Roti
canai is actually a flatbread with Indian influence. It can be found all
over Malaysia in stalls, as well as in Besut. My favorite place to get roti canai in Besut was at Nasi Kandar,
which was a little restaurant near my house. In general, it is circular and
flat, as well as flaky and soft. It is served with curry and dhal, which is a
lentil curry. The process to make roti
canai is actually quite difficult because the dough needs to be twirled
until it is a thin sheet and then folded into a circular shape. When the fellow
Terengganu ETAs and I arrived in our respective state for state-level
orientation, we found a stall that sold it. Our friend asked if they could
teach us to make it, so the man gave us a small hand cloth to practice
twirling. It did not work out so well.
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| This is how roti canai is typically served. |
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| Roti tissue drizzled with sugar, milk and yummy goodness! |
Roti
tissue (my mom and sister’s favorite) – flatbread with sugar and folded
upward
Roti
pesang – roti with bananas
Roti
telur – roti with egg. Many of us tried to see it as an American omelette
with some sort of nutritional value.
#2 Teh Tarik
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| Hot and yummy teh tarok! |
Similar to my obsession with roti canai
during my first few months in Malaysia, teh
tarik became the replacement to my Starbucks Grande non-fat, no whip Mocha
that I always had in America. Without any Starbucks or real coffee in
Terengganu (they had instant coffee there), I turned to teh tarik. Like roti canai, teh
tarik is an Indian influenced hot milk tea beverage. It can be found in
virtually any restaurant or outdoor stall in southeastern Asian countries,
especially Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Teh tarik literally means “pulled tea” because it is made through a
process of “pulling” the drink during preparation. All in all, it involves
heavily concentrated black tea, condensed milk and evaporated milk. The lady in
my school canteen actually taught me how to make teh tarik, and I look forward to putting my skills to the test here
in America in the near future!
#3 Sate Ayam
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| Sate ayam at the local food stall in Jerteh, Terengganu! |
Similar to kebabs, sate ayam (chicken satay) are thin pieces of seasoned, grilled
chicken put onto little skewers. It was served with incredible peanut sauce, as
well as sticky, moist rice cakes. My roommate and I always enjoyed getting sate ayam from a stall in a market in
Jerteh, the small city about fifteen minutes from us. In fact, the stall owners
became quite familiar with us as well.
#4 Nasi Goreng Ayam
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| The first nasi goreng I had in Malaysia! Adjacent is a teh tarik! |
The running joke at my school was Cikgu
Rachael’s love (perhaps obsession) with nasi
goreng ayam. Anyone who was ever with me at some point in Malaysia, knew my
love for this dish. Nasi goreng ayam is
a white, fried rice mixed with red chilis, peppers, onions, spices, sweet soy
sauce, garlic and small chicken pieces. It was served with cucumbers on the
side to cut the spiciness, and it could be served with an egg on top as well.
My favorite place to get nasi goreng ayam
was in my very own SMK PNZ canteen (cafeteria). Every teacher and canteen
worker knew that nasi goreng ayam was
my go-to dish.
#5 Biscuits Hari Raya
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| Chocolate biscuits! |
Biscuits
Hari Raya get their name because they are most commonly found during
Ramadan and Hari Raya. In short, there are several variations of these cookies.
However, my favorite kind are the circular, mini-sized, crumbly cookies. My
favorite flavors are chocolate, as well as the peanut flavor, but the list of
flavors and variations goes on and on. My favorite place to buy these were in,
once again, my school’s Koperarsi
(book shop).
Honorable mention:
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| Jamaliah with her homemade Kek Lapis! |
Kek Lapis Sarawak
Kek
Lapis Sarawak is a layered cake commonly served and made in Sarawak,
Malaysia on special occasions. These cakes must have at least two colors, and
it has a high, firm texture with layers that are held together with jam or a
sticky sweet substance. I was only able to try this special cake a few times,
but it was delicious. In fact, a fellow teacher from KHAS, Jamaliah, was from
Sarawak and made a cake especially for me before I left Malaysia. In addition,
when I went to Borneo in July 2012, my friends and I ate our way through
Kuching, Sarawak sampling every Kek Lepis
that we saw!
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| Kek Lapis Sarawak! |
Food photo gallery:
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| Nasi goreng ayam! |
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| Nasi goreng ayam. There were many different variations of this dish! |
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| There are many varieties of Biscuits Hari Raya, as seen in this photo. The biscuits were given to me by one of my students. |
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| The Terengganu ETA family loved to eat, and we especially loved roti canai! In fact, we made a whole video entitled "Roti Rolls" to demonstrate our love for it! This is part of our group at a great roti canai shop in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia! |
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