 By Caitlyn NgTeh tarik satu, kurang manis! If you were to visit many of the housing estates, what’s the one common factor that you would be most likely to find (apart from the houses, yes thank you, Captain Obvious)? That’s right, a mamak, also known as the eatery which most (if not all) Malaysians would have visited at least once in their lives. When the locals are asked the million dollar question of “Go where to eat ah?” what’s the first place that would pop into their minds? I wouldn’t be surprised if the mamak was on the list, so easily accessible they are and with cheaper price tags than most other eateries. So delicious and wide are the varieties of food found in a mamak that there have been multiple efforts to replicate that in other countries as well, just to allow the Malaysian flavours to be introduced to the rest of the world. An example would be the aptly named “Mamak” that’s located in Sydney, Australia. It serves up almost the same type of food as the ones in Malaysia do, except that the menu is much smaller and it may have toned down on the spiciness of dishes to match the western palate. Back here on home soil, there really is no such thing as having too little on the menu to choose from, one is literally spoilt for choice. You can even place custom orders on certain foodstuff (to an extent of course) to create your own tantalising dish. This SaveMoney.my writer personally prefers the fantastic taste of a combined roti: roti telur and roti keju! The succulent taste of eggs and cheese in the feather-light folded dough is enough to put a huge grin, à la the Cheshire Cat, on her face! Top Mamak food and drinks We are now ready to get to the most favoured dishes and drinks of all time, courtesy of tabulating the results from a small survey conducted. Food 1) Maggie Mee / Indomie goreng (with or without the telur mata) – RM4.00 to RM5.00
Now, I know what the “mamak nazis” are thinking, “That’s not possible! Maggie mee and Indomie are two completely different noodles!” I am very aware of that fact, but because they seem to have tied with each other for the number one spot, and because they are so similar, I decided to put them together. The name essentially explains itself: wok-tossed noodles using either Maggie mee or Indomie with vegetables and pieces of chicken. Some people prefer to have an extra sunny side-up egg too. Price ranges from RM4.00 to RM5.00. 2) Roti and its variations – RM1.00 to RM5.00
“Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside” is how many people would describe this delectably ubiquitous food. With the person in charge of making the roti canai in full view of the eatery’s customers, many would be admiring his skills in flinging the dough multiple times and deftly folding it till it reaches its final form. It’s so versatile that it can be eaten for either breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three if you fancy!) and some even choose to add other ingredients into it to further enhance its flavours. Price ranges from RM1.00 to RM1.20 for a plain roti and anything from RM2.00 to RM5.00 for the roti that come with extra fillings, such as eggs, cheese, onions or meats. 3) Nasi kandar – from RM8.00
This meal has an interesting background, having originated from North Malaysia. It is said that this dish got its name from the way it was sold back in the olden times, where the hawkers would be balancing a long yoke (the Malay word for that is “kandar”) on their shoulders with the baskets of rice and dishes hanging on either side. To this day, people who order this immensely satisfying dish will choose their accompaniments from a wide selection and then generously pour various curries on the rice (an act called “banjir”) to give the entire meal a decidedly flavourful taste. Expect to pay upwards from RM8.00 for a plate. 4) Nasi lemak – RM1.00 or RM4.00 onwards
I don’t think I need to explain further about this dish. It’s so “Malaysian”, with all the ingredients coming together in a masterful blend to win over the hearts of anyone who is trying it for the first time. White fluffy rice cooked in santan (coconut milk), fried anchovies, peanuts, hard boiled egg, cucumbers and (the best part, in my humble opinion) sambal belacan. Some even add curried chicken, beef or mutton and everything is wrapped securely in banana leaves. Enough said for this masterpiece. Prices are about RM1.00 for the absolute basic ones (usually called “bungkus”) but for the ones that are served in a plate, they usually cost RM4.00 onwards. Drinks 1) Teh ais/Teh o ais – RM1.30 to RM2.50
This drink won hands-down in the survey; it seems like Malaysians love their drinks to be sweet and cold. Well, I wouldn’t blame them if the tropical weather is taken into consideration. The first one is an iced milk tea whereas the second one is just tea with some sugar and ice-cubes in it. Pretty self-explanatory, except sometimes you will find people ordering for a lime or two to be dropped into the latter, to give it more of a zest. People pay anywhere between RM1.30 to RM2.50 for a glass. 2) Milo ais/panas – from RM2.30
Another drink that’s cold and just as sweet, if not sweeter, the name is also self-explanatory. Stir up a glass of Milo and condensed milk, put in ice-cubes and voila! A deliciously cooling drink that takes you back in time to when you were a kid and you drank a cup of it before bed (I still do that every now and then). It’s not hard to see why this drink made the list, especially so when certain mamaks include a generous heap of Milo powder on top of the drink! Expect the price to be from RM2.30 above. 3) Teh tarik (with or without the high levels of sugar) – from RM1.50
I actually have vague recollections of my father taking after his father in sharing his morning cup of teh tarik with me when I was still a toddler. If he was successful in peeling me away from the television, that is. Back when the world was a much simpler place, the teh tarik came in a chipped porcelain cup with an equally chipped porcelain saucer. Since I was still young, he would pour some of his teh tarik into the saucer, blow on it a couple of times and hand it to me so I can eagerly sip it. I won’t be the only one whose father has done this, for this sweet drink is so famous, not a day goes by without at least one cup being ordered! Called “pulled tea” by the Westerners, it derives its name from the way the man “stretches” the tea to achieve a frothy topping. Price of RM1.50 above. And there you have it, all my fellow mamak fans, the list of the top food and drinks ordered! I’m sure there are other firm favourites out there which SaveMoney.my did not cover. So let me know, is yours on the list? Or do you have any to recommend to the rest of the readers?
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com ... p-mamak-delicacies/
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Post time 6-3-2014 01:05 PM
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