I have been thinking about food a lot lately.

See, being in Europe for nearly a year now has been great, visiting new places and trying new flavours. But I have been missing true blue Malaysian food madly.

And no, it’s not the same to go to a Chinese or Indonesian or Indian restaurant here. For one thing, they usually aren’t authentic (trust me, I can tell). Also, and this is more critical, they aren’t Malaysian at all.

It’s different somehow.

Malaysians, as any sensible world traveller would know, have a horribly convoluted racial make-up of Malays, Indians and Chinese. This means our culinary platter has a little of everything from these three distinct cultures. Still, like any Italian munching on a NYC pizza will tell you, it’s just not the same.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, my American mates have assured me there’s nothing quite like a slab of pizza made in the good ol’ US of A. I believe them, for the same is supremely true of M’sian delicacies.

Rice from India, rice from China, even rice from Indonesia, nothing quite compares to rice from Malaysia.

Malay nasi lemak, or coconut-milk rice, for example, is nearly indispensable and nearly invariable in terms of ingredients. You gotta serve the fragrant rice, haunted by a ghost of screwpine leaves (daun pandan), with deep-fried small anchovies (ikan bilis), sliced hard-boiled eggs, stir-fried water spinach (kangkung), and the hellishly spicy sambal as a condiment. Delish.

My favourite Indian briyani rice gets served up best at this almost run-down shack in my hometown of Malacca. Aromatic rice with tons of goodies like spices and raisins and curry on the side. Incredible.

Speaking of Malacca, this is the only place in the world where you can find not just plain old Hainanese chicken rice, but our very own chicken rice BALLS. Warm, medium-size riceballs rolled up minutes before serving with merely a plate of white chicken (steamed with a modest splash of sesame oil after) and a light chilli sauce braced with minced garlic and the juice of perfect limes. Heaven.

All of these dishes can be found easily everwhere in M’sia (well, except the chicken riceballs, I suppose) in the galore of hawker stalls, the boon of food lovers everywhere.

There’s the Hokkien-style char kway teow, a dish of wet, flat noodles being wok-fried in a fiery flurry of dark soy sauce, eggs and bean sprouts. Demonic.

And all the rest: Cantonese wonton mee, midnight runs of naan bread with yoghurt and garlic, skewered satay, roti canai (hand-moulded pancakes), rojak (a spicy, savoury salad), Nyonya desserts, teh tarik (Ceylon tea flung into the air, sweetened with condensed milk), more more more.

Oh, gawd, I can’t go on anymore. I bite myself just thinking about all these wondrous things, waiting to be devoured …

You know what? The one thing I crave the most isn’t even a traditional relish or a hawker stall staple. It’s just two packets of Maggi Instant Noodles, a chicken soup sachet, one beaten egg and freshly cracked black pepper, the way I used to make it myself in my college days.

Yeah.

N.B. This Visit Malaysia advertisement has NOT been sponsored by the Malaysian Tourism Board. Remember, folks – Malaysia: The Heart of Asia.

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Copyright © 2002 Kenny Mah Ying Fye.