Malaysia - Malaysians love their food. And when you live in a multiracial country, the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner will be as eclectic as its people.
Walk through the pasar malam, and you are bound to see a myriad of local delicacies on offer. From popiah to char kuey teow, kebabs to nasi lemak, the range is wide.
But when was the last time you took a look at the person preparing your food? The lady selling nasi lemak may not necessarily be Malay, the man behind the tau foo fah stall is not a Chinese, and the murukku lady not of Indian descent.
When it comes to food, racial boundaries are practically nonexistent. Not that food sold in Malaysia must toe the racial line, but cultural origins meant certain food have always been traditionally sold by certain segments of the society.
Not anymore, apparently.
Take Madam Cheak, 45, for example. For the past 20 years, she has been selling nasi lemak at her stall with her husband at the Petaling Jaya Section 17`s morning market.
Everything, including the 10 accompanying dishes ranging from the ubiquitous sambal ikan bilis to sotong sambal and mutton rendang, is snapped up by 11am.
Her multiracial customers would converge at her stall from as early as 7.15am, waiting patiently in line as she sets up her stall.
“It`s my own recipe.
I settled on the dishes to accompany it through the process of trial and error,” says Cheak.
“I`ve been doing it for such a long time, and nasi lemak is very much a Malaysian dish, anyone can make it.” The “rice in fat” may have roots in the Malay culture but it has evolved into such a local favourite that it`s regarded as the unofficial national dish, says online encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
Another dish so widely held to have been “Malaysianised” that its origin is lost on many is the char kuey teow.
“I don`t know the origin.
Is it really Chinese?” asks char kuey teow hawker Adam Malik, 24, who learnt how to cook the dish from a friend.
Every Tuesday, the young Kelantanese chef serves up Penang char kuey teow at the Section 17 pasar malam.
Down the road, Mohd Zaini Ahmad Tajuddin, 25, who sells yong tau foo, and tau foo fah maker Mohd Usope are also unconcerned about the origins of the food they serve.
When it comes to food, racial lines are not so well defined anymore, says Zaini.
“Yes, yong tau foo is originally a Chinese dish, but other races are selling it now because everyone eats it,” he says, claiming that the dish gained popularity among the non-Chinese 15 years ago.
He also sells chee cheong fun — steamed sheets of rice flour served with minced meat, sliced fried bean curd and thick, sweet sauce.
Many traders actually see Malaysians` gastronomic love affairs in a multicultural setting as an opportunity to cut a new niche in the market, as demonstrated by Usope.
Aside from the original tau foo fah, he also sells those flavoured with pandan and corn to suit the taste buds of his multiracial customers.
Bestmas Pastry Trading, which makes dim sum and steamed buns, also adopts the same ideas to cater to its customers.
At the ABC restaurant in Taman Taming Jaya, Balakong, which houses one of Bestmas outlets, patrons can order a variety of filling.
They offer sardine, ikan bilis, curry chicken, vegetarian and black pepper chicken siew mai to chocolate, coconut, raisin and barbeque chicken pau, all served in small, steaming rattan baskets.
ABC`s manager, who only wants to be known as Sheik, says the reason for introducing the breakfast favourite to the restaurant`s menu last year was to attract more Chinese customers.
Bestmas` halal and beeffree products mean that practically everyone can have a taste.
“Normally, when Malays want to eat dim sum, they have to go to a hotel restaurant. Now, they can just go to eateries like mamak outlets and restaurants which serve Bestmas pau and dim sum,” says sales manager Syed Nordin Syed Jaffar.
“Some of our dim sum have been modified for the Malaysian taste. It`s an assimilation of cultures.” The origins of laksa, another favourite Malaysian dish, is also practically unknown.
With so many variations ranging from curry to assam, and differing from state to state, from Penang to Johor, the dish`s origins is not a matter of concern.
“So long as it tastes good,” says laksa hawker Nina Cheong, 43.
Cheong helps her uncle sell Penang laksa at the SS4C night market in Petaling Jaya. The noodles are served with mackerel fish stew and garnishes.
The Terengganu version is served with white coconut milk and fish gravy, whereas the Sarawak laksa is served with curry-like sambal belacan, coconut milk and sour tamarind sauce, topped with omelette strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and, optionally, lime.
System developer Ahmad Fahmi Mohd Amin says Malaysians generally no longer bother about the origins of the food they eat and cook.
“In a multicultural scene like ours, local favourites symbolise more than its taste and smell. Food actually binds us all,” The 33-year-old`s love for Chinese cuisine has made him a frequent customer at the Subang Ria restaurant in Kelana Jaya, where hawker dishes such as kong fu chau (Cantonese fried noodles), popiah, asam laksa, curry mee, chicken rice, fish ball soup and hokkien mee line the menu.
Eighty per cent of the coffee shop`s patrons are Malays, says owner Elene Ng, who runs it with husband Sam Ng.
When the shop was in its infancy 30 years ago, business was slow as non-Chinese in the area were hesitant to eat in a Chinese coffee shop, says Ng. But things turned around two years later.
“I guess we managed to win our customers` trust,” says Ng, 50.
“Over the years, we`ve seen many parents bring their children here to eat, and the children, when they grow up, will bring their children. Three generations of them.
“We have a very muhibbah concept.” “If you enjoy eating the food, why can`t you enjoy living with each other?” asks Fahmi (Chai Mei Ling And Nurris Ishak).
Source: www.nst.com.my (17 Maret 2008)
