Malaysian food is derived from the food of Malay, Chinese, and Indian people living there. So many Malaysian foods are based on rice, noodles, and bread (Indian naan). The meat most commonly used is chicken, but you can also find pork, beef, lamb, fish and whatsoever.
Table of Contents
1. Rice dishes
2. Bread dishes
3. Noodle dishes
4. Other dishes
Rice dishes
The food menu is a mix of Malay, Chinese and English. Rice in Malay is 'nasi'. So, any food with nasi is a rice-based dish. In Malay language grammear, nouns are usually placed before adjectives. So “fried rice” is "nasi goreng” in Malay. Goreng means stir-fried or freid.
1. Nasi Goreng
Nasi goreng is a signature dish in Malaysian hawker centers. This is the most eaten food in Malaysia. If you go to a hawker centre, you'll rarely find the menu simply saying "nasi goreng". There are several versions of nasi goreng.
You can make different types of nasi goreng depending on what you put in it. There are Chinese-style Nasi Goreng Cina (China), Nasi Goreng Ayam with chicken, Nasi Goreng Kambing with goat meat, and Nasi Goreng Udang with shrimp. .
2. Nasi Lemak
Nasi rumak, along with nasi goreng, is the most eaten dish in Malaysia. And these days, I eat nasi rumak more than nasi goreng.
Nasi lemak is Malaysia’s soul food. Nasi lemak is usually cheap but tastes great. Just like nasi goreng, you can add various additional ingredients to nasi rumak. However, you can add chicken thighs, lamb, etc. when ordering nasi lemak. Of course, the price of nasi lemak varies greatly depending on the ingredients you added.
3. Nasi Kandar
Nasi Kandar is a dish of Indian origin in Malaysia. Kandar means bamboo pole. These unexpected bamboo poles are responsible for the origin of the dish Nasi Kandar. Nasi Kandar is a native food of Penang and is said to symbolize the bamboo poles used to transport goods in Penang.
As mentioned earlier, Nasi Kandar is a Penang famous dish and you can easily find nasi kandar in Kuala Lumpur as well. However, the nasi kandar I had in Penang was more delicious.
4. Chicken Rice
Chicken rice is a famous food in Singapore. They even sold Handonghan Singapore Chicken Rice in the food court of Lotte Department Store in South Korea. I remember that the price of chicken rice at that department store was around USD 7.60. So I haven't tried it.
Malaysia also has Malaysian Chicken Rice. Chicken rice from both countries looks and tastes similar. Naturally, Malaysians whom I have known say that Malaysian chicken rice is better than Singaporean chicken rice. Above all, Malaysian chicken rice is quitte cheap.
Actually, my favorite food is duck rice rather than chicken rice. However, unlike chicken rice, duck rice is not commonly sold in places. And duck rice is more expensive than chicken rice.
5. Claypot Chicken Rice
Clay pot chicken rice is Malaysia's version of our country's stone pot rice. By its name, it is a dish made by putting chicken and sauce in clay pot rice.
You can usually get delicious claypot chicken rice at any restaurant. However, there are several places to eat claypot chicken rice in the Pudu neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur. So, if I want to eat this food, I sometimes go all the way to Pudu.
6. Lei Cha
It is a typical vegetarian dish in Malaysia. Lei Cha is a vegetarian dish that can be enjoyed even if you are not a vegetarian. This food is something I discovered relatively recently.
I first had lei tea in Johor Bahru, and then when I returned to Kuala Lumpur, I found a place in town that sold it. Fortunately, the local Lei tea has a decent taste, so I visit to try it from time to time.
Bread dishes
Bread-based foods in Malaysia are mainly Indian foods. The bread here is Indian naan, not the Western staple bread. Bread in Malay is Roti.
7. Loti Canai
This is a typical breakfast in Malaysia. Indian naan comes with two types of curry. In Roti Canai, Canai refers to Chennai, a city in southern India. Roti Chanai is a dish called naan from Chennai.
To eat roti chanai, you have to go to Mamak. Mamak means mother in Malay. However, mamak here refers to an Indian restaurant.
8. Roti Telur
Roti Telur is basically the same food as Roti Chanai. The only difference is that eggs are added to roti telur. Acutally 'telur' is Malay word for egg.
Roti Chanai's roti is just a crispy naan, while Roti Teulu's naan contains eggs, making it softer. And it's a bit more expensive. (Of course, eggs are added)
9. Kaya Toast
This is an occasional breakfast for Malaysian. Kaya (sounds like 'gaya') toast was famous for Korean people last time. Anyway kaya toast is a simple toast with kaya jam and butter. So what is kaya jam? Kaya jam is made of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and sometimes pandan leaves for flavor. Usually, when Malaysian people order kaya toast, they prefer order kaya toast set menu that includes half-boiled egg(s) with soy source and a cup of coffee.
Although it is a simple food, it is not easy to find delicious Gaya toast than you might think. In the neighborhood, there is Gaya Toast that is grilled over charcoal, and it is not as bad as you might think.
Noodle dishes
The most eaten food in Malaysia is noodle dishes. And most noodle dishes are prepared by Chinese people living in Malaysia. Noodles are called mee (or mi) in Malay.
10. Mee Goreng
Mee goreng, along with nasi goreng, is a representative Malaysian food. These two stir-fry dishes are Malaysian signature dishes. That's why you can see both dishes on the menu wherever you go.
Like nasi goreng, mee goreng also has the names of additional ingredients attached to it. If you add chicken to mee goreng, it becomes Mee Goreng Ayam, if you add goat/sheep meat, it becomes Mee Goreng Kambing, if you add shrimp, it becomes Mee Goreng Udang, and if you add squid, it becomes Mee Goreng Sotong. Goreng Sotong).
11. Laksa
Laksa is a food that may have different likes and dislikes among Koreans. First of all, there are two versions of Laksa. One is Asam Laksa and the other is Curry Laksa.
Assam Laksa can be easily found in Penang, while Curry Laksa can be found in Johor. So Penang Laksa means Assam Laksa and Johor Laksa means curry laksa. The important thing is that despite the name, the two foods are completely different.
Both laksas (especially the Assam Laksa) take some time to get used to. This is because there are few foods in Korean food that are representative of sourness like Assam Laksa. Asam means “sour” in Malay.
A similar sour dish is Thai Tom Yum Goong. However, Assam Laksa is a food that has a much stronger sour taste than other flavors.
12. Char Kuey Teow
This is a representative Penang food. This is a stir-fried noodle dish. And if If you go to Penang and want to eat at the famous char kway teow shop, you may have to wait more than an hour when you go there busy times.
13. Wonton Mee
There are two versions of wantan mee, one is fried noodles and the other is noodle soup. Wontan is a small dumpling. There are places that sell wontons in Korea too but they are different. My favorite wanton mee is dried noodles and I like to eat this noodle at least one time per week.
14. Curry Mee
Curry mee is one of my favorite Malaysian foods. The curry mee and chicken feet set is truly the best. But these days, finding delicious curry mee is not as easy as you think.
Since I eat a lot of curry mee, my expectations have risen. Usually, Penang’s Curry Mee is the most delicious. Well, no matter what kind of food you eat in Malaysia, it's not easy to match Penang food. So Penang people is proud of their food.
15. Pan Mee
Pan mee is a dish slightly similar to Korean kalguksu (noodle soup). But strangely, the impression I got was similar to sujebi. It looks like kalguksu, but the taste is similar to Korean Sujebi which means handmade noodle soup.
16. Kolo Mee
Kolomi is the national dish of Sarawak, Borneo. A few years ago, several shops specializing in kolo mee suddenly appeared in the neighborhood. Sometimes, when I get tired of the existing menu, I go to eat kolo mee.
Other dishes
Malaysia has many cuisines other than rice, noodles, and bread dishes.
17. Bak Kut Teh
Bak Kut Teh is pork rib soup. The soup tastes like herbal medicine. Bak Kut Teh can be easily found in Singapore and Malaysia.
Singapore has a lot of clear soup, while Malaysia has dark black soup, except for Johor Bahru where is closed to Singapore. And in Malaysia, they also have dried bak kut teh.
18. Chee Cheong Fun
This is a Malaysian rice roll. When I meet Malaysian relatives, I eat this food more often than I think. That seems to be because chi cheong pan is a simple and light meal.
Compared to rice rolls in Vietnam and other countries, Malaysian chi cheong fun has no additional ingredients and has a stronger sauce.
19. Yong Tau Foo
It is tempura of meat and vegetables. To put it simply, it is the Malaysian version of fried peppers. You choose various ingredients, and they fry them for you. And what makes it different from Korean fried food is the sauce.
20. Ikan Bakar
And this dish is the last one among 20 dishes. This is a fish dish grilled over charcoal. Ikan means fish in Malay and Bakar means grilled.
Chinese people in Malaysia often make and eat steamed fish, so if you want to eat grilled fish, you have to order ikan bakar sold in certain Malay restaurants.
What Malaysian dishes do you want to eat?
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