Sunday, June 1, 2008

Food nation

Malaysians love to eat. There are plenty of restaurants, hawker stalls, roadside mamaks and eateries at every corner of every streets in this country. We eat at almost all time of the day, especially at night. I know for sure that it's easier to get food here than in european countries as I remembered that I couldn't find cooked food on sale after 9 pm in UK or Ireland. The abundance of foodie-blogs is a testament to the popularity of eating as it is elevated to an art-form and obsession to many in this country.

As for me, I have to admit that my culinary prowess is unheard of. Frankly, its because its never there to begin with. Although I work with knives, I apply it mostly to human beings so unless I have a leaning towards cannibalism, I don't think my cutting skills would really work in the kitchen. Therefore, I always marvel at how some people can cook, bake, boil, grill like they are born to do so. Juicy, glamourous people like Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, etc look good on tv and cook even better. What's even more amazing is how much some people can eat and never seem to put on weight.

My housemate is quite gifted in the art of making good food. She can bake stuff, make nasi kerabu, grilled chicken wings and some foreign dish that I would gladly finish off in minutes. All I can prepare is probably some fried rice, chicken stew, steamed fish and stir-fried vege. Basic survival stuff that all young people learnt in uni in order to survive. And of course, who could forget the all-important, faithful instant noodles that any one could whip up in 2 minutes. It's a perennial favourite dish among many of us youngster, especially if we have to live in a hostel with no kitchen. Ah, those were the days of instant mee goreng and mee-in-my-cup..


I never have a sweet tooth but cakes look gorgeous and I love taking pics of well-presented cakes. This is my first vegetarian cake and it tasted exactly like a normal cake. not to say that vegetarian cakes are abnormal but it is unique enough for me to feature on my blog. Don't the cherries looked yummy? Its practically glistening and sparkling!

This is one of the famous side dish in teluk intan. I mean this is not kajang but we do have a good version of satay here. These skewers of grilled meat is aromatic and scrumptious but it takes a lot of experience and talent to cook satay well. I just found out that the boss of this particularly good satay stall is one of the hospital staff..so at least i have faith in his hand-washing skills!


I have mentioned the 'tiny' farm behind my house and this is the proof that it really exist. Look at how well-maintained my fren keeps her farm. There are plenty of edible plants here and I do enjoy eating freshly-harvested, truly organic food grown by a medically-trained person. Haha..hopefully, our nation will learn to be more self-sufficient when it comes to food as our food security is kinda precarious even as shipments of rice arrives from our beloved neighbours. It makes me wonder what will happen if we truly faces a shortage in foodstuff? That's food for thought yeah...

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