In
a land known worldwide as a cultural melting pot with a daring dash of
old-meets-new charm, Malaysian food never leaves one wanting for flarour. With
a little digging, however, we’ve encountered a small selection of stranger,
lesser known favourites – some of which have ended up on menus in restaurants!
Do
you drink Milo or eat eggs every morning? What about combining the two as one for
breakfast? Some crack the egg directly into the hot drink while others sprinkle
Milo powder over an egg frying in the pan. Afficianadoes swear by this method
to producing the fastest and most delicious breakfast you will ever make. You
won’t even have to make a morning drink!
2. Coca-Cola Pork
A
familiar urban legend making its rounds on the internet involves pouring
Coca-Cola on meat and observing the supposed worms that crawl out of the meat.
The validity of such a claim aside, this particular food combination is sure to
blow your mind. Pork and coke stew has been loved by many and said to be more
flavourful compared to the typical stew. Were there any worms involved in the
making of this dish? None at all, claimed those who have tried this odd combo!
3. Durian Petai
An essential part of the Malaysian
experience consists of either the infamous durian or ‘petai’ (the local name for bitter beans).
Famed for their terrible smell, eating either one could stink up your breath
for a fairly long time, even after brushing your teeth! Now consider both of
these malodorous fruits combined. An ardent fan once had to stop associating
with people for nearly an entire day after consuming the smelly concoction!
4. Watermelon Belacan
Every
family has one or two recipes that trickle down through the generations into
the kitchens of its modern day members. Some recipes, however, should probably
remain in the past. This weird combination comes in form of watermelon and the
Malaysian favourite - sambal belacan. We aren't quite sure how this began - a
piece of watermelon dropping into a dish of belacan? Or the result of an
archaic game of truth or dare? Either way, the mixture of the pungent spiciness
of the belacan, smeared over a piece of sweet juicy watermelon has been passed
down generation to generation and has made its way onto our list of weird food
combinations.
Honourable mention: Mee Goreng Milo
While we encountered several other strange
instant noodle combinations (from cereals to potato chips to Oreo cookies),
this one takes the cake:
The typical Malaysian weekend begins at a
restaurant – possibly a “mamak” (Indian Muslim eatery) and possibly with a
plate of mee goreng (fried noodles). But what do you do if it is cooked too
dry? One audacious individual’s desperate quest for gravy led him to mixing
Milo with the noodles to give it some ‘gravy’. As they say, necessity is the
mother of invention and this particular combination has been repeated ever
since!
5. Durian with Chicken Skin
Whenever
the annual durian season begins, a zealous group of people begin their
pilgrimmage to Kentucky Fried Chicken just for the skin. Why, you ask? The
skins of the pieces are lovingly removed and wrapped around pieces of
noxious-smelling durian flesh to be eaten with rice. This offbeat combo is so
well known among the locals that the recipes begin to vary in different states.
For example, people from the Penang state enjoy the combination with soy sauce
while in other states like Pahang, prefer an extra dash of spice by adding sambal
belacan to their wraps!
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