One of the significant traits of being a Malaysian is that you must know the street foods in this lovely country and where you can find them. All the way from Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah & Sarawak, here are the top five street foods you must try in Malaysia.
1) Asam Laksa
Sour and spicy soup well-cooked with fish meat and local herbs, Asam Laksa is served in a bowl with springy white noodles and fresh vegetables including mints, onion, pineapple, and cucumber slices.
Famous in Penang and Melaka, locals and tourists will definitely get a taste of this food whenever they visit these two states for being the place of origin of the dish. To elevate the taste of this dish, you have to add in a spoonful of prawn sauce and fully enjoy Asam Laksa in its delightful flavor.
2) Satay
Skewed chicken, beef or lamb served on a plate with its special satay sauce, cucumbers and onions slices, the meats are marinated and grilled over burning charcoal plates.
The special thing about this dish is its sauce that is made of chili, peanuts and several ingredients that give the grilled meat its divine flavours. You can easily find this in most food courts, night markets and it is especially famous in Kajang.
3) Roti Canai
The famous choice of Malaysian’s breakfast for its slightly toasted texture, served with curry and dhal. Available in almost all Mamak (Indian Muslim) restaurants, many locals love to hang out at these restaurants and enjoy their breakfast or any other course of the day including supper with this dish.
If you are looking for a sweeter taste, you can also request for sugar or condensed. To take it up a level, you can request to add on sardines, eggs, butter, and even banana.
4) Apom Balik
This is a local pancake, filled with sugar, peanuts, butter and corns toasted in a specially molded pan. You can easily find this at any morning or night markets throughout the northern and central region of Malaysia.
With its crispy texture and mouthwatering taste, Apom Balik is a traditional recipe in the Chinese tradition and it is highly welcomed by all races in the country as desserts. Recently, many young locals had improvised the recipe by adding more food items such as sausage, eggs, hams, chocolate sauce, and peanut butter to offer more choices.
5) Cendol
Malaysia is known for its warm and moist weather, so a cold dessert like Cendol is highly likable by the locals and tourists to cool themselves down under the hot sun. Famous in Penang particularly, you can find this dessert in many Malay shops, night markets and franchise local restaurants such as Little Penang.
Cendol is actually green Jello-ish squiggles, made from mung bean flour and stained green with pandan, the leaves of a tropical plant that tastes like vanilla. The squiggles, along with red beans, float in a soup of santan (coconut milk) and palm sugar. The soup is ladled over a big lump of ice, and condensed milk goes all over that.
There is so much more Malaysia has to offer in terms of great food. Remember to get a great cashback credit card to enjoy these dishes at the restaurants and get rewarded for your spending!