Food & Cuisine in Malaysia
Malaysia caters to every kind of palate and every kind of tourist. The spectrum of restaurants ranges from those serving authentic Malaysian food to those serving Western and continental cuisine.
Malaysian restaurants serve up a variety of cuisines to suit all tastes and budgets, making eating out in Malaysia an enjoyable experience!
Our Malaysia Restaurant Guide will tell you all you need to know about food and cuisine in Malaysia. Sit back and relax in an authentic Malaysia restaurant after a busy day traversing the local shopping scene.
Get familiar with the local restaurant scene in our Malaysian destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri & Mulu and Sandakan.
Food & Cuisine in Malaysia
Malaysian cuisine has been influenced deeply by Chinese, Middle East, Indian and Indonesian cuisines, thanks to the traders of these countries who visited Malaysia regularly. It uses many spices and condiments that are specific to these regions like kaffir lime leaves, screwpine (pandan) leaves and a lot of lemon grass. Chinese and Indian spices like fenugreek, star anise, cardamom pepper, coriander and cumin are also used liberally. Turmeric (kunyit), wild ginger buds (bunga kantan), nutmeg, polygonum (daun kesum) and basil (daun kemangi) are some of the fresh herbs that find their way into Malaysian cuisine. Malaysian cuisine is obviously spicy and depends a great deal on flavourings and seasonings. Often, dry spices and fresh herbs and seasonings are ground together and cooked in oil with fresh coconut milk.
There are spicy popular Malaysian dishes like satay, rendang, nasi lemak, roti canai, laksa, murtabak and the ubiquitous fried noodles and chicken rice. Then there is Portuguese cuisine, Nyonyan cuisine, an infinite variety of Chinese food and, of course, South Indian and North Indian cuisine available all over the island. Last but not least, the less adventurous traveller can settle for food from any one of the international fast food names which stand alongside the wayside food stalls and bazaars.
Rice is indispensable to cuisine in Malaysia and is served at every meal from breakfast to dinner and at supper, too. Fish, cuttlefish, shrimp, mutton and beef and chicken are the other popular ingredients in Malaysian cuisine. Pork is avoided as consumption of pork goes against the Muslim religion.
Sometimes lacy pancakes (roti jala) are served in place of rice. Roti jala is a unique Malaysian delicacy. Malaysians have a sweet tooth. They like their desserts to be really sweet. The desserts generally use liberal quantities of palm sugar, coconut milk and flour.
Another very popular dish is Chinese Dim Sum, which lends itself to over 30 variations. Dimsums are steamed or deep fried dumplings with different fillings. The Malaysians dimsums include steamed dumplings with fillings like shark's fin, shrimps with soft noodles, crabsticks with fish paste stuffing and super-size fresh prawns. Among the deep fried dimsums, dumplings with red bean paste and salted eggs are very popular.
The Indian element in Malaysian cuisine can be traced back to the 1800s. In the 19th century, a sizeable number of Indians came to Malaysia as labourers on contract, and brought with them the requisite supplies to make Indian food. Today, there is an interesting variety of both North and South Indian cuisine available everywhere on the island.
The North Indian dishes use spices, yoghourt, ghee and meat liberally and the dishes are served to the accompaniment of chapatti and bread. The South Indian dishes use a predominance of coconut milk, chillies and mustard seeds and all dishes are eaten with rice.
Street food is another Malaysia dining option that is worth a try. The streets of Malaysia and Penang, in particular, are lined with hawkers who serve every kind of cuisine with unusual variations. Penang is often called the hawker's paradise. Its street food is so famous that even Malaysians and others from neighbouring nations and states make a beeline for Penang, just to enjoy this food!
Hawkers in Penang and other Malaysian towns are required to carry a license which must be renewed at the prescribed times. Additionally, officers of the Municipal Councils and the Health Department conduct regular surprise checks to ensure a certain standard of cleanliness and hygiene. So the street food is actually quite safe!
The hawkers normally prepare the food fresh, then and there. The prices depend on the portions which range from small to medium and large. Additional toppings attract additional charges. Prices are normally displayed on the menu card; if not, do ask for the price list before you place your order.
Moving away from the beaten track, try out some Nyonya food. Nyonya food, also called Lauk Embok Embok or Straits Chinese food, is a blend of Malay and Chinese cuisine. Said to be almost 400 years old, Nyonyan cuisine traces its origins to Peranakan (Straits Chinese) of Malacca when Chinese immigrants married the Malays. Malacca Nyonyas lean towards Malaysian cuisine. It is much sweeter, uses more cumin, coriander and coconut milk. Penang Nyonyas, however, lean towards Thai cuisine. Their food is dominated by fragrant herbs, chillies and belacan or black prawn paste and has a sour tang to it.
The Nyonyan dessert comprises cakes made from coconut milk, palm sugar, glutinous rice and sweet potato. These rich cakes are normally served in place of fresh fruits.
