Written by Zoë and Translated by Jesse
Over the month of May my family introduced Jesse to a spread of Malaysian dishes. Some were local foods, some western favorites, and others were more peculiar which Jesse was brave and curious enough to try. These include the Durian (the most pungent of fruits) and chicken feet (which speaks for itself).
Durante el mes de mayo mi familia presentó muchos platos de Malasia a Jesse. Unos eran locales, o occidentales, y unos eran más peculiar. Jesse tuvo el valor y la curiosidad de probarlos probarlos. Entre ellos estaban el Durian (el más acre de las frutas) y los pies del pollo (que hablan por sí mismo).
An interesting fact about Malaysian street food is that stands open as early as 6 a.m. and close as late as 4 in the morning. It is quite common to see locals enjoying a Roti Canai (a type of layered flatbread) and Teh Tarik (a local milk tea) at a Mamak stall (Indian-Muslim cuisine) with tables and stools spilled out across the sidewalks after hours. Cheers to that!
Un hecho interesante sobre Malasia es que puestos alimentares les abren tan pronto como las 6 y les cierran tan tarde como el 4 de la madrugada. Se ve mucho los locales gozando de Roti Canais (un tipo de pan plano en capas) y el Teh Tarik (un té local con leche) a un puesto Mamak (comida indio-musulmán) con mesas y taburetes difundidos por los aceras próximas. ¡Salud!
Briyani, Banana Leaf and other Indian snacks in KL
Besides landmarks such as the Petronas Twin Towers or the KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur is known for its food. During the first few days of our arrival, we were invited by my relatives for a Hari Raya (known commonly as Eid in North America) open house. At the open house, we had delicious homemade beef Briyani.
Además de lugares famosos como los Torres Petronas o el Torre KL, Kuala Lumpur es bien conocido por su comida. Al inicio de nuestro viaje, fuimos invitado por mis relativos a una fiesta de Hari Raya (conocido comúnmente como Eid en norte america). A la fiesta comimos un plato de Briyani de ternera cocinado en casa.
On another outing we had an Indian version of chicken Briyani which was much spicier. So spicy, in fact, that I had to wash my chicken in my glass of water to eat it. Jesse ate his like a champ (while sweating profusely). Everyone has been quite impressed by his spice tolerance. He's assimilating so quickly to local culture, and he even made his own Teh Tarik (pulled tea) from the Masala tea we were served.
Una excursión otra nos encontramos comiendo una version de Briyani pollo que era super picante. Su sabor picante era tal que tenía que lavar mi pollo en mi copa de agua para que pudiera comerlo. Jesse comió el suyo sin problemas (aunque sudaba mucho). De verdad, su tolerancia a cosas picantes dio la sorpresa a todos. Está asimilando a la cultura malasia con rapidez, y por encima hizo su propio Teh Tarik de la bebida Masala que nos compraron.
My parents tend to gravitate towards Indian food. Maybe it's because my mother was vegetarian when she first moved to Malaysia or maybe it's simply because Indian food is so tasty. One night we tried Idli (savory rice cake), curried chickpeas, Kesari (a semolina Indian sweet), fried spring rolls, Vadei (a savory fried lentil patty), stuffed tofu, curry puffs, and Appam (Southern Indian thin pancake made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk) with curry.
A mis padres les gusta la comida India. Quizás es gracias a mi madre que era vegeteriana cuando se mudó a malasia, aunque es posible que la nos atrae solo por su riqueza y sabor. Una noche probamos el Idli (pastel de arroz) garbanzos al curry, Kesari (un dulce indio de sémola), rollitos de primavera fritos, Vadei (una sabrosa empanada de lentejas fritas), tofu relleno, bocaditos de curry y Appam (tortita del sur de la India hecha con masa de arroz fermentado y leche de coco) con curry.
Banana Leaf, Tandoori Chicken and Naan are also considered staple South Asian foods. Jesse does a pretty good impersonation of how the experts make their Naan bread - tossing and slapping the dough round and round before sticking them to the walls of a Tandoor to be fired. Our Banana Leaf meal was quite the experience too. The waiter laid down four leaves for my parents plus Jesse and me. Next came the rice and then side dishes such as dahl, curried okra and yoghurt cucumber salad. My dad requested for a side of chicken, papadams and rasam (a cup of soup to aid digestion) to complete our feast. After finishing, we folded our leaves towards ourselves to show appreciation for the meal.
La hoja de plátano, el pollo tandoori y el naan también se consideran alimentos básicos del sur de Asia. Jesse puede actuar convincentemente de como los expertos cocinan su pan de naan - dando vueltas y vueltas a la masa antes de pegarla en las paredes de un Tandoor para cocerla. La comida encima de la hoja de plátano era una experiencia inolvidable también. El camarero puso cuatros hojas para nosotros. Luego vinieron el arroz y guarniciones como dahl, okra al curry y ensalada de yogur y pepino. Mi padre pedió un guarnición de pollo, papadams y rasam (una taza de sopa para facilitar la digestión) para completar nuestro festín. Por fin, nosotros doblamos las hojas para agradecer el restaurante.
Nasi Campur
Nasi campur (mixed rice) is the most common meal a Malaysian might eat on the daily. Consisting of white rice with many side dishes to choose from, some of these eateries are located right on the roadside, in shop lots or even under trees! It is usually self-serve, and you show a waiter your food before you can chow down so that they can kira (count) how much you'll need to pay.
Nasi Campur (arroz mezclado) es la comida cotidiana para malays . Consiste de arroz blanco con muchas guarniciones para elegir, y unos puestos les ubican directamente a lado de las carreteras, estacionamientos y igual por abajo de los árboles. Tienen auto-servicio, y muestras el plato al camarero antes de comer para que puedan sumar la factura.
Putu Piring and Onde-onde in Malacca
A steamed rice flour snack, Putu Piring is a sweet snack filled with palm sugar that we tried in Malacca. Onde-onde, another sweet is a green little glutinous rice ball filled with molten palm sugar and rolled in shredded coconut. The green color comes from the Pandan leaf which gives it a fragrant flavor.
El Putu Piring, un bocadillo de harina de arroz cocida al vapor, es un dulce relleno de azúcar de palma que probamos en Malaca. Onde-onde, otro dulce, es una bolita verde de arroz glutinoso rellena de azúcar de palma fundido y enrollada en coco rallado. El color verde procede de la hoja de Pandan, que le da un sabor fragante.
Char Kuew Teow and other snacks in Penang
In Penang, many colorful food stalls lined the alleyways and parking spots of shop lots. There were also food halls, referred to as canteens along the jetties. Jesse and I enjoyed the spring rolls at one of the stalls. We stopped for a quick lunch at a Mamak restaurant before exploring more of Georgetown. There was a communal Hotpot set up on the roadside in which people would pick their skewered meat or vegetable and take turns cooking it while standing.
En Penang, muchos puestos coloridos están en las callejones y estacionamientos de las tiendas. Habían también salas de comida que se llaman 'canteens' cerca del mar. Jesse y yo nos gustaban los rollitos de primavera a uno de los puestos. Paramos para almorzar a un restaurante 'Mamak' antes de salir y explorar Georgetown. Había un Hotpot communal establecido a lado de la ruta donde los clientes escogieron su brocheta de carne o verdura y se turnan para cocinarla de pie.
At a fruit market we bought fresh mango, starfruit, and water guava. Our next mission was to find a knife to cut the fruit. We ended up in an Ais Kacang (shaved ice dessert) store, and Jesse, while walking through the empty kitchen to use the bathroom, helped himself to a knife in the kitchen. The fruit was delicious!
Al mercado de fruta compramos mango fresca, carambola y guayaba de agua, pero faltaba una cuchilla para cortar y abrirlos. Por fin nos encontramos a una tienda de Ais Kacang (postre de hielo raspado), y Jesse, mientras atravesaba la cocina vacía para ir al baño, encontró un cuchillo a usar en la cocina. ¡La fruta estaba deliciosa!
Once night fell we made our way to a night market in search of the island's signature Char Kuew Teow -- boy was there was a long queue for it! While waiting, Jesse brought back snacks from other vendors like Durian, Apam Balik (a peanut pancake with corn), and fresh Popiah (spring rolls with turnip, tofu and other fresh veggies). Jesse reports the Durian was his least favorite food after spending 3 weeks in Asia.
En la noche andamos hasta un mercado local en busco de el famoso Char Kuew Teow de Penang -- joder, qué la cola era tan grande! Mientras esperando, Jesse volvió con aperitivos de otros vendedores como Durian, Apam Balik (una tortita de cacahuete con maíz) y Popiah frescos (rollitos de primavera con nabo, tofu y otras verduras frescas). Jesse nos cuenta que el Durian era su comida menos favorita después de pasar 3 semanas en Asia.
When it was finally our turn in the Kuew Teow queue, I put my rusty Mandarin to practice and ordered our noodles - "我的不辣，他的有点辣" (no spice for me and a little spice for Jesse). Can you guess below which plate of noodles had a kick to it?
Al fin cuando teníamos la oportunidad ordenar el Kuew Teow, hablé un momentito en Mandarin para practicar y compré los fideos. "我的不辣，他的有点辣" (sin picante para mí y un poco picante para Jesse). Puedes adivinar a continuación qué plato de fideos tenía un toque picante?
In a short period, we managed to try a little bit of food from every culture of my home country. I hope Jesse liked his first taste of Malaysia as much as I did getting reacquainted with it. He promised that the taste of Durian would grow on him, but we'll have to see about that!
En general, pudimos probar algunas comidas de todas las partes de mi país. Espero que a Jesse le haya gustado su primera experiencia en Malasia tanto como a mí, que he vuelto a conocerla. Prometió que le gustaría el sabor del durian, ¡pero eso habrá que verlo!
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