Malaysia is a beautifully diverse country with a lot of amazing things to talk about. Nearly everyone you meet is crazy friendly, the money is waterproof and printed on colorful paper (which we really need to adopt in the United States. It would be so much more convenient), and the capital is a great place to shop. But nothing is as good as Malaysian food. I was only there for a year, and I gained an unholy amount of weight because of the sheer deliciousness of the dishes (and the overwhelming hospitality of my hosts and a lack of self control, but let's not dwell on that). Here is a list of some of my favorites. It is by no means a comprehensive list and if I leave out any favorites I am sincerely sorry. Also I stayed with a Malay family and I know that there is a lot of fabulous Chinese food in Malaysia
1. Tosai
This is a variant of the South Indian dosa, and it is so delicious. You usually dip it in some form of chutney, then enjoy!
2. Nasi Lemak
Nasi lemak is a traditional Malay recipe that includes ikan bilis (anchovies) sambal (the spicy red sauce on top of the rice), chopped up cucumbers, peanuts, and a hard boiled egg. It's usually wrapped up in a coconut leaf and even though I personally think that anchovies are disgusting and have no place on this earth, the rest of the dish is very good.
3. Nasi ayam
I can't think of anything I dislike about this dish. It's just rice with chicken and various sauce on the side (I think it's soy sauce and hot sauce in this picture). It's delightful.
4. Apam balik
So this is basically a glorified pancake. A pancake filled with peanuts and sugar. But it somehow tastes very very good.
5. Cendol
This dessert actually originated in Indonesia. It's rice flour mixed with coconut milk and palm sugar, then filled with some combination of filling like the green jellies and red beans shown below.
6. Rendang
I admit this does not look super appetizing, but it really is. It's a really spicy beef dish that's also originally from Indonesia and it is often eaten with rice.
7. Laksa
This is a spicy noodle soup from Perak, a state in Malaysia.
8. Roti canai
This is definitely not the healthiest item here- it's basically bread dough fried in vegetable oil- but in my opinion, it is the most delicious.
9. Satay
These are kebabs (as you can see), but they're served with peanut sauce and cucumber slices. They are absolutely delicious.
10. Char kuey teow
This dish is fried flat noodles mixed with bean sprouts and chives. It's fried with soy sauce and often served on a coconut leaf.
11. Pisang goreng
Pisang means banana and goreng means fried in Malay, so this dish is pretty self explanatory. You mix rice flour and water, dip the banana in it, then fry it for this delicious food.
