Georgetown, Malaysia (dpa) – Storm clouds loomed in Malaysia's northern state of Penang, but the hub of food stalls in the capital Georgetown teemed with people unmindful of the threat of rain. Vendors shouted orders while others vigorously wiped plastic tables and collected used noodle bowls, plates and glasses, as families hovered around tables waiting patiently to be seated. Ethnic Chinese Ah Oeck, 58, and his 87-year-old mother managed to share a table with two foreigners engrossed in observing the hustle and bustle around them. “When you are in Penang, you don't eat in restaurants, you go to hawkers' food stalls, they prepare the best and most delicious food,” the retired businessman almost shouted, to ensure that he would be heard by his new companions. Ah said the street scene was his mother's favorite. They have been eating there for decades, along with his children who are now fully grown up and gainfully employed in Britain and Singapore. He also recommended other stalls in different parts of Georgetown, where the food is good and the prices cheap. Terence Netto, a social activist and columnist for an online newspaper, said Malaysians, regardless of race, color or creed, can always agree on food. “Penang prides itself of having very delicious food at cheap prices,” he said. Netto said cuisine is an equalizer in Malaysian society. “Rich and poor alike, they eat in the same place where they know the food is good,” he said, pointing to several flashy sports utility vehicles parked beside a bungalow housing an Indian food shop on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur. Inside the unassuming shop that does not even have a name, Indians, Malays, Chinese and a sprinkling of Caucasians shared tables and sat elbow-to-elbow over lunch served on banana leaves. The meal consisted of three curry-based vegetable dishes, a choice of meat or fish or a combination, unlimited rice, three types of curry sauces which are usually slathered on the rice. A cup of soup that is a merry mix of herbs and spices rounds out the meal. Jason, a hulking Malaysian of Indian descent in his mid 30s, said he has to avoid the meal because he has a tendency to overeat. “The banana leaf meal was just too much for me, I felt as though I couldn't stop eating,” he said. “I looked for an alternative and I found this really delicious curry mee (egg noodle soup flavored with curry) at a Chinese stall near where I used work and I go there every weekend to give myself a treat,” he added. Malaysia's cuisine reflects the multi-racial influences of its three major ethno-religious groups. The Malays comprise 60 percent of the 28 million people; the Chinese, 25 percent and Indians 7 percent. Various indigenous groups make up the remaining 8 percent. There are also influences of Western cuisines, including those of the Portuguese, Dutch and British, who at one time or another colonized the south-east-Asian country. Netto said Malaysians' passion for food helps in easing the racial tensions that periodically erupt in the predominantly Muslim country. “When people go to these food stalls they do not care about the color of your skin or your religion,” he said. “Everybody just wants to have good food.” Chandra Muzzafar, an academic and social reform advocate said the country's eclectic cuisine could be a key to forging enduring unity among the country's peoples. “You have to create conditions which will allow people to interact with one another, to absorb, to integrate elements from the culture of the other,” he said. “The best example of this is in the area of cuisine. We don't have a national policy on food in relation to unity. But we have created the conditions that enable people to savor each other's cuisine, as a result of which some interesting amalgams have emerged.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/cJsDK Tags: Culture, Ethnic, Food, Malaysia Section: Culture, East Asia, Features, Latest News
