MOST POPULAR MALAYSIA DISHES

Sate / Satay
dish consisting of chunks or slices of dice-sized meat (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) on bamboo skewers. These are grilled or barbecued over charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings

Nasi Lemak
Nasi lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish, and it is sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia. Its name is a Malay word that literally means 'rice in cream'. The name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in rich coconut cream and then the mixture steamed. Sometimes knotted screwpine leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. Spices such as ginger and occasionally herbs like lemon grass may be added for additional fragrance.
Traditionally, this comes as a platter with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg and hot spicy sauce. Nasi lemak can also come with any other accompaniments such as chicken, cuttlefish,  and beef curry (beef stewed in coconut milk and spices).

Nasi Goreng
Literally nasi means rice and goreng means fried. The dish is often accompanied by additional items such as  fried egg, fried chicken, satay, or krupuk (fried crackers / chips made of shrimp or vegetables). Nasi goreng can be eaten at any time of day, most Malaysian people often eat nasi goreng during breakfast or dinner. Nasi goreng is a complete meal but sometimes it is also part of a banquet.

Lemang
is a traditional food originated from the Minangkabau people of Indonesia and Malaysia, cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick. Usually prepared for festivities such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji. Lemang is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, with salt added for taste. Lemang is usually eaten with rendang.

Ketupat
is a type of dumpling from Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch which is then boiled. As the rice cooks, the grains begin to expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. This method of cooking gives the ketupat its characteristic form and texture of a rice dumpling. Ketupat is usually eaten with rendang or served as an accompaniment to satay.Ketupat is also traditionally served by Indonesians and Malays at open houses on festive occasions such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Rendang
Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally chicken or mutton) slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost dried, leaving the meat coated in the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender.

Assam Laksa
is a popular spicy noodle soup from Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements.
Assam laksa is a sour fish-based soup. Asam (is the Malay word for tamarind, which is commonly used to give the stock its sour flavor. The main ingredients for assam laksa include shredded
     fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillis, pineapple, common mint, "daun kesum" (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and ginger buds. Assam laksa isnormally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with "petis udang" or "hae ko", a thick sweet prawn paste.Variants of assam laksa include:     Penang laksa, Perlis laksa, Johor laksa etc.

Roti Canai
is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia. Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay. The term "canai" derives either from:
i) "Chennai" the original name for the city of Madras.
ii) "Channa", a mixture of boiled chickpeas in spicy gravy from Northern India which it was traditionally served with.
      In English, roti canai is sometimes referred to as "flying bread," a term that evokes the process of tossing and spinning by which it is made. Traditionally, it is served with 'dhal' (lentil) curry. It can sometimes be taken with sugar or condensed milk.

CHAPATI
It is a medium sized, rather thin, cooked dough product, like a bread. It is a type of roti or Indian bread.
It is made from dough of atta flour (whole grain durum wheat), water and salt. The dough is rolled out into discs of approximately twelve centimeters in diameter. Then it is browned on both sides on a very hot, dry tava or frying pan. Chapatis are usually eaten with cooked dhal (lentil soup) or vegetable (Indian curry) dishes, and pieces of the chapati are used to wrap around and pick up each bite of the cooked dish.


ROTI JALA
Is a popular tea-time entrée. It literally translates to ‘net bread’ referring to its thread-like pattern that resembles fishing net. The batter is made from a mixture of plain flour and eggs, with a pinch of turmeric powder that gives it a yellow colour. A special mould with small holes is then used to make the lacy crepe which is cooked over a hot griddle.

Ikan Bakar
BBQ Fish - or Ikan Panggang is a general term meaning grilled or barbecued fish. A popular local fish for grilling is Ikan Kembong [chubb mackerel, also called Indian mackerel]. The fish, kept whole is marinated in spices, coconut milk, and sometimes stuffed with sambal, then wrapped in fresh banana leaves and grilled over hot charcoals.

Char Koay Teow
literally "fried flat noodles", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is made from, approximately 1 cm or slightly narrower in width, fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilly, prawns, cockles, egg and bean sprouts.

MOST POPULAR MALAYSIA DESSERT                                     
                                           

Onde-Onde
Coconut Poppers - small round balls made from glutinous rice flour with pandan [screwpine] leaves essence, filled with palm sugar and rolled in fresh grated coconut. A delight to eat as it pops in your mouth with a sweet sensation of oozing palm syrup!

Kuih Talam
Steamed Coconut Pudding - this 2 layered pudding                                              made of rice flour, sago flour and coconut milk is cooked by steaming. Screwpine leaves lend essence and the green color to one layer. A white coconut layer goes on top.

Pulut Inti
Glutinous Rice with Coconut Topping - a kind of 'dry' rice pudding made from glutinous rice & coconut milk. It is cooked by steaming. The dessert rice is topped with fresh grated coconut sweetened with palm sugar. It is traditionally wrapped in banana leaves folded into a pyramid shape.

Bubur Pulut Hitam
Black Rice Pudding - a rice pudding made from black glutinous rice sweetened with brown palm sugar. A surrey of creamy coconut milk is swirled over the rice pudding before it is served.

Kuih Lapis
it is very common sight at most stalls because it's a favourite kuih for every age. It has a smooth greasy texture and it has a an epitome of the classsic layered cake a'la nyonya style. A common colour for the Kuih Lapis is yellow, pink, and white sheets lie one after the other but the topmost layer is always stained in bright red.

Ais Kacang
It is also popularly known as air batu campur in Malay or ABC for short. It was made of only shaved ice and red beans. Today, ais kacang generally comes in bright colours, and with different fruit cocktails and dressings. Often, a large serving of attap chee (palm seed), red beans, sweetcorn, grass jelly, cubes of agar-agar and chendol form the base. Evaporated milk is drizzled over the mountain of ice.

Cendol                                                         
It is a traditional dessert originating from Indonesia, but it is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. The dessert’s basic ingredients consist of shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring usually sourced from the pandan leaf, and palm sugar. Red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly and creamed corn are optional additions. Cendol has become a quintessential part of cuisine among the multi-racial population in Southeast Asia and is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centre and food courts.

MOST POPULAR MALAYSIA LOCAL FRUITS

Ciku
The Ciku fruits are produced in frequent intervals throughout the year. The fruits are round or oval, about 5 - 10cm long. Mature fruits have a dull pale to rusty brown thin skin. When ripe the flesh is yellowish to pinkish brown, soft, sweet and delicious. Unripe fruits are hard and unpleasantly astringent. Each fruit has 2- 3 seeds about 1.5 - 2 cm long which are hard, black, shiny and somewhat flattened. They are easily separated from the flesh.

Mangosteen
This small purple-brown fruit has tasty white segments inside with a tart, sweet flavor.

RAMBUTAN
Though the rambutan's hair like spines can look intimidating, they are actually quite soft, and hide an incredibly sweet and succulent white fruit. The outside of the fruit is bright red, and it grows in small bunches from a tree.

Starfruit
The name is obvious once you see a starfruit for the first time. This waxy, four-ridged fruit is one of the best thirst quenchers around, and it is available almost anywhere in Malaysia. Its flesh is watery, crunchy, and sweet.

Jackfruit
The fruit is huge, seldom less than about 25 cm in diameter. Even a relatively thin tree can have huge fruits hanging on it. The fruits can reach 36 kg in weight and up to 90 cm long and 50 cm in diameter. The jackfruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world.The sweet yellow sheaths around the seeds are about 3-5 mm thick and have a taste similar to pineapple but milder and less juicy.

Durian
"It smells like hell but tastes like heaven," is a common description of the durian, the national fruit. This large green fruit has a hard and spiny exterior containing several soft, edible segments.

Guava
Also a native of tropical America, the guava is known for its musky aroma and soft, delicious pulp. It has a thin greenish-yellow skin and a flesh of varying thickness which may be white, yellow-pink or red. It is popularly consumed in juice, ice cream, marmalade, and jam, and of course eaten raw.

Coconut
In Malaysia, the coconut is known as pokok seribu guna, "the tree of a thousand uses”. Few people need an introduction to the coconut, which has a worldwide following due to its widespread use as a flavoring in candy, ice cream, and sauces. Fresh coconuts are available year-round in Malaysia, and coconut milk is present in a variety of culinary treats. The peak season lasts from October to December. Choose one that's heavy for its size and that sounds full of liquid when shaken; avoid those with damp "eyes."