Two things stand out in the cuisine of Malaysia… the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity that brings us to China, India, Thailand, Indonesia… and the rice which is present in almost all dishes.

From the staying in Borneo and West Malaysia several representative dishes of Malaysian cuisine remain, like lontong, laksa, nasi lemak, nasi goreng… “nasi” means rice and “goreng” refers to fried, so fried rice is one of the dishes easily find anywhere at any time of day, usually made with chicken, beef or seafood, with pork away from a gastronomy of a Muslim country.

Being a predominantly muslim country, Malaysian cuisine is dominated by meat dishes, but the strong presence of the Chinese community as well the Tamil from South of India bring other options that suits the vegetarian diet! 

In terms of nasi goreng, there are many variants (kampung, pattaya, ayam …), differing ingredients, seasonings and spices, always excelling spicy. The nasi goreng pattaya is basically fried rice (fried rice with meat, seafood or vegetables), involved in egg and drizzled with a sweet and spicy condiment. In Borneo this dish is often served with a bowl of broth that makes it less dry. Despite being unpopular and does not appear in the menus it is also possible to order vegetarian nasi goreng, but that is almost always made with egg, and not many vegetables.

But it is the nasi lemak that is the “king” and can be considered the Malaysian national dish. Usually eaten for breakfast, being basic and very simple to prepare. It consists of rice and small portions of fried small anchovies, fried peanuts, cucumber slices and egg, that can be boiled or fried. This meal can be served on the plate or wrapped in banana leaf for take-away. But what makes this special dish is the sambal, a red and thick paste, made with chilies, onion, ginger, garlic, anchovies and a few more spices, resulting in a very tasty mixture.

Laksa is another popular Malay dish that can be classified between a soup and a curry. It’s basically a broth, sweet and spicy, which includes the coconut milk, ginger, lime leaf (kaffir) and lemongrass, which involves fine rice noodles and bean sprouts. To this base usually is added meat, but you can also order it with tofu.

In Borneo, the laksa is creamier, with more coconut milk and usually served with tofu and seafood, where seafood comes down to shrimp or squid… but wherever it is always served with lime that brings out the other flavors.

Lontong, a traditional Indonesian dish that was built in Malaysian cuisine, and its vegetarian in is origin. Made with a compressed rice with a roll shape, cut in big pieces. To these these “chunks” is added a soft vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk, to which joins tofu, tempeh and boiled egg (or sometimes fried). Like the nasi lemak is served with a spoonful of sambal, also part of the popular dishes eaten for breakfast.

A popular snack in Borneo, and probably can also be found in the rest of Malaysia is called fried carrot cake, which despite its name has nothing to do with carrots, made from cooked and compressed rice-shaped blocks, which are cut into pieces and fried with egg, spicy and sometimes with soy sauce. Unhealthy due to amount of oil but very delicious.

In cities, especially in neighbourhoods dominated by Indian culture, often called Little India, it’s easy to find the traditional cuisine of southern India as a result of the strong presence of the Tamil community living here for generations. In addition to the delicious curries that give life to a dish of rice, often served in a banana leaf, you can also find murtabak, dosas and other typical Indian snacks, served with coconut chutney and sambar.

But what stands out are the roti canai, also called roti prata or paratta. It is a flat unleavened bread, but whose dough is extended until get very thin, thrown with mechanical and precise gestures against the table, repeatedly until almost getting ripped, in a process that requires a lot of oil. After is extended and rolled to create rough layers and is then fried in a metal plate until crisp and slightly toasted. The roti is accompanied by a small dish of curry, were it is is soaked.

You can find several versions of this roti, stuffed with egg, banana, sweetened milk…

From the presence of the Chinese community, result many restaurants and all variations around the noodles soup and fried noodles, and along with nasi goreng, are a popular option and easy to find at any time of day. As they are prepared at the moment they can be made in a vegetarian variant, where it is often added tofu, a notorious influence of Chinese cuisine.

The fried rice noodles in Malaysia answering to the name Kueh Teow Goreng, and are always made with egg, bean sprouts and some raw chives.

The dim sum, traditional Cantonese meal steamed in bamboo baskets, is a presence in some Chinese restaurants, some of which still retain the traditional system in which the food is circulated in trolleys through the tables with customers choose the food among the dozens of varieties… were hardly can be find vegetarian food.

Very popular in areas with the highest concentration of the Chinese community, as are the Chinatown in different cities of Malaysia, are the shops specialised in dried meat that is prepared in different ways, ranging from sweet to spicy.

But what stands out the Chinese food, resulting from the attractive price and the wide range of options is the rice dish serve in buffet style: a plate of with a portion of rice were different dishes are added chosen from trays of food, which can be meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and the popular tofu that is cooked in different ways. This system is very popular, not limited to Chinese cuisine, extending the Malaysian food restaurants that although more focus in meat also offer a wide variety in terms of vegetarian food. Just need to ask for “rice” and we are given a plate with of rice for each one add the dishes.

About street food, Malaysia will get a lot of inspiration to neighboring Thailand, and is easier to find in the cities of the north of the country than for example in Borneo. In small stalls that arise several hours a day in specific locations of the city can be found apom, steam rice cake, fried banana, and the popular and delicious apam balik that are pancakes stuffed peanuts… and many more delicious options that also include snacks, often fried.

Markets are also great places to enjoy and experience the wide variety of food, a lot of which is difficult to identify, whether it is sweet or salt, whether it is meat or vegetarian… but always arouses curiosity.

As a tropical country abound bananas, mangoes and papayas… but also in the markets as street vendors also are pineapple, jackfruit, watermelon and melons… but it is the durian, the king of tropical fruits, much appreciated as hated by intense and characteristic smell, that make it forbidden to carry in the subway.

Sweets

The chendul (or chendol) is a traditional cold sweet very popular in Malaysia, based on coconut milk and crushed ice, sweetened with palm sugar syrup and served with a green noodles (whose color comes from a vegetable often used in sweets and dishes, the pandan) and a few sweetened beans. It may seem odd but it is delicious and refreshing and in some places, like George Town people line up in small street stalls to buy chendul.

Very popular is kaya, a coconut and egg jam, that sometimes can have the green color, if it’s added pandan. Kaya is used to spread on toast, which served with eggs and tea is also one of the option in terms of traditional breakfast in Malaysia, mainly in cities. Kaya Jam is also used to fill puff tarts as the ones sold in a small corner shop in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.

Adding to the list of popular sweet is the beancurd (also called soybean pudding) a kind of pudding made of soy, which is sweetened with palm sugar syrup, is also popular in most dominant Chinese areas.

Drinks

Being a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is unusual at local restaurants but is easy to find in bars and restaurants in more tourist sites, especially the beer.

But the most popular in terms of drinks is teh tarik, which is tea to which is added sweetened milk, and can be served hot or with ice (teh ais). It is consumed in the morning, usually hot, accompanying meals, like roti canai for example, or during the day, as a break in the workday.

Coffee is also easy to find, being in Malaysia usual the filtered coffee, served in a very strong version in terms of caffeine, with a dense and dark look but soft flavor.

For vegetarian food the best option are the Indian restaurants, due to the influence of the Hindu religion and some Chinese restaurants that resulting to the connection with Buddhist religion can sometimes exclude animal products. In restaurants more targeted to the Malay cuisine is notorious the strong presence of meat dishes, and yet respecting the halal rules, which pork is exclude. Yet pork meat is quite popular in Chinese dishes.

In general there are few dishes exclusively vegetarian in Malaysia gastronomy, and even those who appear to have no animal products, can often be served with a condiment called “sambal” that includes anchovies or any other small fish.

For those who are used to eating knife and fork, it is here to adapt to the use spoon and fork, because the knife is an instrument that does not arrive at the table, being unnecessary since the food is cut into pieces being brought to mouth by the spoon, serving the fork to push food into the spoon. In Malaysia the food is take to mouth with the right hand. In Indian restaurants it is common to use the fingers to bring food to the mouth, but spoons are always available. Spoon and chopsticks are used in Chinese restaurants. In general, the restaurants do not have napkins.

And as in other Asian countries the first meal of the day is made on the basis of rice and noodles, soups or curries. The rotis are also popular for breakfast. Many restaurants serving breakfast open at 6 am, but this are not always open until dinnertime, closing by 3 or 4 pm. But there are others who not opening so soon, serve meals until dinnertime, but not much later than 9 pm. Take-away system is very popular with both restaurants and street stall to be prepared to parcel food in proper containers or more traditionally in banana leaf.

In general, even with the limited vegetarian choices, Malaysia gastronomy offers a great diversity of flavours, with simple dishes, fast and easy to prepare but very tasty… I miss the laksa, lontong and nasi lemak.

Food Costs in Malaysia

In food courts a meal costs between 3.5 and 5 RM, which means that you can easily get a meal for 1 €.

The same applies to the so-called rice plat, with two or three varieties of vegetarians side dishes costs about 4 MR. The food costs in Kuala Lumpur are a bit higher were a rice plate eaten in a restaurant can costs about 5 RM, but van be cheaper is a street food stall

Dishes with meat, fish or seafood always have higher prices.

Singapore is proud to be the culinary capital of Asia, receiving influences of Chinese Malaysian, Indian and Indonesia cuisines, as also Sri Lanka and Thailand. Arise even traces of Portuguese and English presence in the region, were the “portuguese egg tart” which is no more than the famous pastel-de-nata.

Singapore like any big city offers a wide range of choice in terms of restaurants, not only in terms of cuisine, where Asian food dominates but also with many Western and World option, but also in terms of cost of a meal.

And through the city, we are faced with the simplest and informal restaurants, whose space is open to the street, to the most sophisticated places, passing through many restaurants “a la carte” that feature a wide range of prices. In between is a myriad of choices, showing that food plays an important role in the social live of Singaporeans, that given the high purchasing power fill up restaurants, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.

And here we are faced with the question what really is the typical Singaporean food… the answer is: that’s a bit of everything, not a mixture of influences from which resulted an own cuisine that reflects the geographical position, climate, fauna and flora of the region, but an offer of diversity in terms of gastronomy that reflects the ethnic and religious diversity is what best defines this country-city-state.

The areas of Little India, Kampong Glam and Chinatown are the most attractive in terms of food, with any of them with options for all pockets. The shopping centers also have many options in terms of restaurants apart from fast food and big international food chains.

In Singapore the food although more expensive than in neighboring Asian countries is affordable, as you stick to food-courts and markets, as there isn’t in Singapore “street food”. These sites provide meals from 4 S$, which corresponds to € 2.5.

A bit all over the city, with the exception of the most sophisticated and wealthy areas (Wafles Place, Marina Bay, etc…) there are food-courts that comprised several kiosks, stall or small restaurants grouped in the same space sharing a common area consisting of tables and chairs, were people have meals or drinks. Each of these places has it own type of food that usually is served in take-away system. These food-courts could be huge to the point where a person almost get lost in there or of more modest dimensions, but they are always the cheapest and quickest option and the one that attracts most of the local people.

Usually these places offer several options in terms of food, Chinese, Malay, India … but some are more targeted to Chinese food, where it is sometimes difficult to find vegetarian food. The fried-rice and fried-noodles are easy to find and are a good vegetarian options, as the food is made in the moment and is possible to ask to replace the meat or seafood, for vegetables and sometimes tofu. Also very popular is the so called fast food or simply rice or rice plate, where food is exposed on trays in buffet style with many vegetarian options, and each person make his own plate, based on rice, paying for the number of varieties that are served. This type of meal can cost around 4 to 5 S$ and have a lot of choices for vegetarians, with lots of legumes, tofu and soy product dishes.

With so much diversity is not difficult to find vegetarian or even vegan restaurants, but these usually in more sophisticated areas of the city, and not so affordable. But Singapore brings together different types of cuisines and almost everywhere have at least one vegetarian option, with the Chinese food the most difficult in this field, and the Indiana the easiest since in Singapore there are a big Hindu community. The Malaysian food also has some traditional dishes, that depending on the restaurant may have or not animal products, but you can try to ask to replaced meat, fish or shellfish by tofu, which due to Chinese influence is quite popular.

But attention because sometimes the pastes that seasoning the food are often made with fish-source or other animal condiments. For vegans is more difficult as the eggs are a constant presence in many of the dishes.

Kampong Glam, the so-called Arab Quarter featuring up around the mosque Masjid Sultan, one can find food from Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Iran, as also many more options being an ideal place to enjoy traditional Malaysian dishes: laksa, lontong, nasi lemak, nasi goreng … where “nasi” means rice, that could be steamed or stir-fry in various forms and flavors, with vegetables, egg, chicken, beef or seafood… pork is excluded from Malay gastronomy as this is Muslim country.

The nasi lemak can be considered one of the most popular dishes from Malaysia and is usually consumed at breakfast, simple and very easy to prepare is based on rice with fried anchovies, fried peanuts, cucumber slices and egg (boiled or fried) at the side. The nasi lemak can be served on the plate or wrapped in banana leaf to take-away. But what makes this special dish is the sambal, a red paste resulting from a mix of chilies, onions, garlic, ginger and a few more spices, resulting in a spicy mixture, but very tasty.

Laksa is another popular Malaysian dishes easily found in Singapore, comprising a curry based on coconut milk, sweet and spice with ginger and lemongrass, which involves rice noodles and some vegetables. It may also served with shellfish.

Lontong is a traditional Indonesian dish that was built in Malaysian cuisine, and also popular in Singapore. Made with pressed rice forming a roll which is then cut into pieces seasoning with a vegetable curry cooked on coconut milk, to which joins tofu, tempeh and boiled egg. Like the nasi lemak, it adds a fish-based sambal.

Kampong Glam is one of the best places to try the biryani, an Indian dish made of rice, traditional in Muslim areas, but with a Malay “twist” with a strong meat presence. Here you can also appreciate the roti prata, or simply roti, or paratta, which is traditional South Indian specialty but that was incorporated in Malaysian cuisine being also very popular in Singapore. It is a flat bread, unleavened, but whose dough is extended to be very thin, with the help of much oil and then worked and flattened, in order to create rough layers, which later sintered in metallic surface until becomes slightly crispy. It is served with a small dish of curry, were pieces of the roti are soaked. We can find many versions of this dish, with the roti stuffed with egg, banana, sweetened milk…

For those who like Indian food, Little India is the place that offers best variety, especially focus traditional food of South India, as most of the Indian community resident here has his origins the state of Tamil Nadu. In addition to all the most popular type of snacks are the thalis with many restaurants serving this meal, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, in a banana leaf. Here are also the popular rotis, the dosa, uttapam, vada, puri, etc … Little India is also the best place to buy Indian origin products such as spices and condiments, lying in grocery stores a large variety of vegetables .

In Chinatown, even more than in other parts of the city, buzzing with activity around the food, dominating the food-courts, where you can meet hundreds of food stalls and find a bit of everything in terms of Asian cuisine, attracting thousands of people and open from morning until the evening, with food being served throughout the day. One of the most popular is the Chinatown Complex, where the environment is noisy and busy but it provides an interesting insight into the way of life, culture and way of being of the population. A meal in these food-courts can cost between 4 to 5 S$, with the meat and seafood dishes higher-priced.

One of Chinese specialties is the popiah, a very thin dough roll involving a mix of lettuce, soy sprouts, peanuts, cooked carrots and a spicy sauce. They are delicious, and a great vegetarian option for a snack.

Also in Chinatown, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, there is a canteen in the basement where only vegetarian food is served, but according to Chinese recipes, where the meat is replaced by derivatives from vegetable origin that resemble meat in appearance and consistency. A ideal way to explore the rich Chinese cuisine for vegetarians. Each meal, which consists of a rice dish with two dishes cost 3 $S. Only open till 3 pm. The food is good, the atmosphere is calm and has charitable purposes.

In terms of drinks tea is very popular among the Chinese community, being seen for medicinal purposes; but it is the milk-tea that gained in popularity, which is tea with sweetened milk that can be served hot or with ice. A sweet and refreshing drink that goes well with the hot and humid climate of Singapore. Addictive.

The coffee is also very popular and can be found at sophisticated coffee shops, coping the western style with espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc… or alternatively you can taste the Singaporean coffee, kopi, a filtered coffee extremely dense and very strong in terms of caffeine, which is served in different ways:

• Kopi: coffee with condensed milk, served hot
• Kopi C: hot coffee served with milk and sugar
• Kopi: with sugar
• Kopi Kosong: without sugar and without milk

Where to eat in China Town:

• Tooth Relic Temple: canteen with Chinese Vegetarian Food: 3 S$.

Address: 288 S Bridge Rd, Singapore 058840

• Chinatown Complex: the fresh market in the basement, laundry on the ground floor and food on the first floor where the options are so many it’s hard to choose with different types of cuisines and specialty stalls in specific dishes; meals from 3 S$.

Where to eat in Little India:

• Komala Villas: Typical South Indian food at affordable prices; thali served in a banana leaf.

Address: 76 Serangoon Road, Singapore 217981

• Famous Indian Curry Food Restaurant: serving delicious thali in banana leaf, in a informal and quiet restaurant in with vegetarian options. 6 S$

Address: 30/32 Upper Dickson Road, Singapore 207489

Where to eat in Kampong Glam (Arab Quarter):

• Kampong Glam Cafe: good food with a wide variety of Malaysian dishes (lontong, laksa, nasi lemak, nasi goreng and many more), rotis and also with the self-service option where based on rice can compose the dish with various side dishes to choose from a big range of option, and where you can also find vegetarian Optimal location for a meal or just for a drink (no alcohol) and watching the local way of life. Meals from 3.5 S$.

Address: 17 Bussorah St, Singapore 199438

• Singapore Zam Zam Restaurant: very popular for byriani (only meat) and the rotis

Address: 697-699 N Bridge Rd, Singapore 198675

Where to eat in Geyland:

• Rice House (Wang Da Zhou): This casual restaurant confeciona the recipes of Chinese cuisine but using derived from vegetable products, mainly soybeans, which are similar in texture to the meat, and we can thus enjoy “hainanese chicken rice” without sacrificing animals ☺

Address: Blk 129 # 01-102 Geylang East Avenue 2, Singapore380129, Singapore

• Rochor Beancurd House: here are produced and serve to soy-based products, for example soy-milk and beancurd (also called soybean pudding) a pudding made of very soft and smooth tofu that is served as a dessert or snack, washed down with sugarcane syrup, a typical product of Chinese cuisine. In addition, there is the “portuguese egg tart”!

Address: 745 Geyland Road (Lor 39), Singapore 389653