This post isn’t actually in my blogging calendar. But I ran out of time to write up these week’s posts, and one thing happened after another (don’t you just love how busy you get on holidays?) and one week went by with the blog staying quiet. So as an apology, I’ll try to show you what I’ve been eating and hopefully show you the top 10 things to eat if you ever do swing by for a holiday.

Bearing in mind that this is what I think the top 10 should be, but others may think otherwise. So please do share your thoughts and share what you think your top 10s are.

Top 10 Singaporean / Malaysian Delights to Eat

1. Roti Prata – the minute I step out of Changi Airport, this is my number 1 stop. There is nothing that welcomes me back home like Roti Prata at a Mamak stall on the way home.

Roti Prata is also known as Roti Canai in Northern Malaysia. It is essentially a type of flatbread (the word Roti means bread) and is similar to the Indian Kerala porotta. In future blog posts, I plan to go into more detail about the roti prata, history and how-to on making it at home.

My personal favourite in terms of types and flavouring is the original Roti. Plain and simple, torn into little pieces and dipped into little plates of dhal curry. That’s heaven right there, in that little piece of bread. A close favourite is the roti telur, where telur means egg. The making of the roti is the same but an egg is cracked onto the bread as it is cooking to make this delicious roti telur.

2. Char Kuey Teow is definitely on this list. Always the crowd pleaser especially with foreigners, this dish is tasty and a flavour explosion of orgasmic proportions – if cooked right.

Which is rather the problem, not many know how to cook it right. And in Melbourne right now, I find it hard pressed to find a restaurant that does it to the same standards as can be found in Malaysia.

Perhaps the most notable of them all is the Penang style Char Kuey Teow – which inevitably lead to many hawkers labelling their dish as “Penang style Char Kuey Teow”.

I’m not a Char Kuey Teow expert, but there are a few things a good Char Kuey Teow dish must have: good sized prawns, cockles, and most importantly, wok hei. You can have good ingredients and even the elusive cockles but without wok hei your char kuey teow will fail.

What is wok hei? Wok hei or sometimes referred to as Wok Chi by western cookbooks is the flavour, tastes, and “essence” imparted by a hot wok on food during stir frying. It requires high heat to bring out the fragrance that so characterizes Char Kuey Teow. Which is part of the reason why you won’t see me cooking Char Kuey Teow anytime soon: I don’t have a hot enough flame (or a flame for that matter, damn hot plates) and I don’t have a big enough wok to ensure ample tossing and stirfrying. But this is such an important part of the dish, that I rather go without the dish, than to ruin ingredients trying to cook without it.

3. Mee Hoon Kueh – After so many years of living abroad, everytime I come home, this is one of my must eats. I’m a huge noodle person, and while mee hoon kueh isn’t exactly in long thin strips like your typical noodle, it is high on my favourites list for its incredibly tasty broth and handmade texture.

Usually sold with it is Ban Mian, in fact some people know Mee Hoon Kueh as Ban Mian. The dough the noodles are made from are essentially the same, and more often than not, the broth is too. Both are equally yummy, tho I do prefer Mee Hoon Kueh over Ban Mian. I adore the slippery and hard-to-grasp thin squares of noodles. Eating them is like a game in itself!

4. Laksa – originated from the Peranakan culture, and is now a dish widely enjoyed by malaysians and singaporeans. Sure, the weather may be hot and eating this bowl of curry noodles is sure to get you sweating gallons especially if you are roughing it out at a road side hawker stall or one of those with no air-cons. But eating laksa is definitely high on the shiok! scale.

(Shiok – singlish for Great! Originated from the Punjabi word: shauk. I blame Gurmit Singh.)

There are many different types of laksa dishes. I won’t go into detail here, but rest assured that a detailed post is in the works!

5. Nasi Lemak – When I was young, Nasi Lemak was this. A simple rice, with sambal, roasted and salted peanuts with fried anchovies (Ikan Bilis) and slices of cucumber wrapped in a layer of banana leaf and then wax paper or newspaper. One dollar, instant food. Hand over an extra 50 cents and you can get curry chicken or fried fish to go with your rice. Worth every cent.

Nowadays, Nasi Lemak is much more elaborate with its beautifully laid out plates and larger servings. Thankfully the essentials are still there and it is one of those things that people have for any of the 3 meals in a day. You can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner and just adjust the serving sizes, and toppings that go with it accordingly to suit the time of day. My only regret is that the banana leaf is now reduced to a small square at the very bottom of the plate. It’s kinda like a nod to what used to be for this humble malay dish. Sigh.

The sambal is most undoubtedly the star of the dish. Have crappy sambal with your nasi lemak and you will feel terribly let down and cheated. The fragrance of the rice is of utmost importance as well, and the crunch of the peanuts introduces textural differences in the meal as well as giving you the amazing nutty flavour to enhance the meal.

6. Satay – unless you were vegetarian, you’d be daft not to try Satay when you are in the region. Of course, whether or not you like it, that’s up to you. But at least try it.

Sliced pieces of marinated meat usually chicken and beef on a bamboo skewer, barbecued over a charcoal fire and then served with a peanut gravy for dipping is what makes up this amazing local delight. Just remember to sit further away from the guys actually bbq-ing up the satay or you will end up with your clothes and hair smelling like smoke!

Together with satay, you can opt to have Ketupat, slices of cucumber and onions. Dip them in the peanut gravy and off you go! Ketupat is a rice dumpling and is often made during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The folding technique of the coconut leaves to form the rice casing is not exactly easy and is something that I’m planning to show you as well. So that’s something to look forward to!

7. Hainanese Chicken Rice – Growing up, I think this is the lunch that is the most popular lunch there ever was. Most people I knew would eat Chicken rice at least once a week. Usually more. The tender and soft chicken along with the fragrant rice… topped with a good helping of chilli, is enough to get anybody drooling.

To be honest, my favourite Hainanese Chicken rice was the one made by my uncle’s dad. But he passed away before I could learn to cook like him. *sad*

8. Kaya Toast – a simple yet effective and tasty breakfast. Kaya is a favourite local spread that is made from eggs, sugar, coconut milk and flavoured with pandan. It doesn’t cost very much and may not look like much, but it’s definitely worth a try.

You will find yourself going back for more, guaranteed.

9. Ikan Bakar – which is malay and literally means ‘burnt fish’. Usually the meat is marinated with spices and sambal belacan and then grilled. It is then placed on a banana leaf and served with calamansi lime juice freshly squeezed all over the meat. Popular seafood used for this dish include squid and stingray.

My personal favourite is stingray. The fragrance from the grilled fish along with sambal is undeniable and it is one of those dishes that will get you drooling even before the plate hits the table. Even thinking about it now has me craving for it. An incredibly memorable dish and something you should definitely try. Although a word of warning to those who don’t like spicy food – let the hawker know that you’d like it to be mild if not you might be in for a dash for the nearest water cooler.

10. Yong Tau Foo – Did you know that Yong Tau Foo originated from Hakka cuisine? I grew up eating this and I didn’t know. Which is extra embarrassing considering I’m Hakka. *hangs head in shame*

Yong Tau Foo is a Chinese soup dish. As stated before, it is a Hakka dish but as time went by, the Teochew and Hokkien folks came up with their own variations as well.

This soup contains a varied selection of food items including fish balls, crab sticks, bittergourds, cuttlefish and more. These items are usually stuffed with fish paste and cooked briefly in boiling broth and served either by itself or with noodles.

So there you have it! All the yummy delights that I get to look forward to everytime I come home to visit my friends and family. This holiday I’ve not had the chance / time yet to eat through all of those, but I’m definitely making my way through it all.

As a quick recap, here’s the top 10 again:

Top 10 Singaporean/Malaysian Delights to Eat

1. Roti Prata
2. Char Kuey Teow
3. Mee Hoon Kuey
4. Laksa
5. Nasi Lemak
6. Satay
7. Chicken Rice
8. Kaya Toast
9. Ikan Bakar
10. Yong Tau Foo

As stated before, this is my top 10 list. I didn’t add things like rojak (I don’t eat rojak), and chilli crabs (personally I think cooking fresh crabs with chilli is a waste) and other foods that others may know better, so I’d love to know what you would change from my list.

What are your favourite Singaporean/Malaysian Hawker Delights to eat?

Photo credits:

Header pic – Slim Teller
1. Roti Prata – Inju via Flickr
2. Char Kuey Teow – Shaolintiger via Flickr
3. Mee Hoon Kuey – Edmund Yeong via Flickr
4. Laksa – Anhsfoodblog via Flickr
5. Nasi Lemak – Framboise via Flickr
6. Satay – Choo Yut Shing via Flickr<
7. Chicken Rice – Entrospeck via Flickr<
8. Kaya Toast – Jet Alone via Flickr
9. Ikan Bakar – Hyoh via Flickr
10. Yong Tau Foo – Amazing Melaka via Flickr