* INFO !!
Malaysian food can be separated in three different cuisines. The Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% have all each their own styled cuisine. We will explore these cuisines here.
MALAY FOOD
The staple food of the Malays is rice, boiled to a white fluffy texture. It is served with dishes of meat (chicken or beef), fish and vegetables. Meat and fish are usually prepared as sambal (chili paste) or curry dish. In fact, Most of the Malaysian food can not be eaten without some spices.As most Malays (not all Malaysians are Malay!) are Muslim, pork or any food that comes from a pig is never used in Malay cuisine. Even cutlery and crockery used to serve Muslims must not have been used to serve pork.
Malaysian food (read Malay food) derives its flavor from the use of spices and local ingredients. Some of those ingredients used by the Malays in the Malay cuisine such as e.g. Serai (lemon grass) ,Bawang merah (shallots), Halia (ginger), Lengkuas (galangal), Ketumbar (coriander), Asam jawa (tamarind), Kunyit (turmeric) ,Jintan putih (cumin) etc.Another ingredient commonly found in Malaysian food is santan which is coconut milk. The milk is squeezed from the flesh of the grated coconut. As a sign of modern times, santan can be found in powder form, sold in supermarkets. It's much used by actually in the Malay cuisine.
The traditional Malay way of eating is by using the right hand. The use of the left hand is considered bad manners. The same goes with receiving or giving things, always use the right hand.
In eating stalls or at homes where hands are used to eat, guests will provided with a pot of water to wash their hands before and after the meal. Remember, this water is not for drinking. Or you simply use the always available tap to wash your hands. ;)
As with other cuisines, Malay food is prepared and enjoyed by all races. A staple breakfast favorite is nasi lemak. It is a simple but very satisfying meal. The rice is cooked in coconut milk with fragrant pandan leaves. Side dishes can be sambal ikan bilis (anchovies with chili), omelets or hard boiled eggs, peanuts, sliced cucumber, prawns and fried fish. If one Malaysia food can be named as the countries national dish, it's probably nasi lemak.
Another classic example of ever popular Malay food is satay. There's no pasar malam (night market) without satay. It usually consists of chunks of chicken marinated with a variety of spices.
Ikan bakar is grilled or barbecue fish which you will be able to find almost everywhere. A popular local fish is the Ikan Kembong, Chubb Mackerel, also called Indian Mackerel. This fish is usually marinated in various spices and coconut milk. Apart of mackerel other fish is grilled too. You can eat Spanish Mackerel (ikan tenggiri), Wolf Herring (ikan parang), stingray or Skate Wings (ikan Pari). It's great with some chillies and lime. 
Rendang Tok is a meat dish (chicken or beef) prepared with coconut milk, chilies, onion, and other ingredients. Around Perak the most famous kind of rendang is rendang tok. It contains beef, coconut milk, onion, garlic, chilies, coriander powder, cumin, black pepper, fennel, turmeric root, lemon grass and other ingredients. If you visit a Malay wedding, you most likely will have some rendang as it is usually used for special occasions even during Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji.CHINESE FOOD
Since most of Malaysia's Chinese are from the south, particularly from Hainan and Hakka it is quite easy to find food from this region. Throughout Malaysia one of the most widespread economical meal is the Hainanese Chicken Rice which cost around the figure of RM 4.00.It's another of the local favorite Malaysian foods. The Hainanese also produced steamboat, sort of Oriental variation of the Swiss Fondue, where you have a boiling stockpot in the middle of the table into which you deep pieces of meat, seafood and vegetable.
The Hokkiens have provided us the Hokkien fried Mee (thick egg noodles cook with meat, seafood and vegetable and a rich soy sauce. Mind you, if you go to North Malaysia, Hokkien Mee means prawn soup noodles. Hokkien spring rolls (popiah) are also delicious.
Hakka dish is also easily found in food centers. The best know hakka dish is the Yong Tau Foo (stuffed seafood bean curd) with soup or thick dark gravy.
When people in the west speak of Chinese food, they probably mean Cantonese food. It is the best known and most popular variety of Chinese food. Cantonese food is noted for the variety and the freshness of it's ingredients. The food are usually stir-fried with just a touch of oil. The result is crisp and fresh. All those best known 'western Chinese' dishes fit into this category - sweet and sour dishes, won ton, chow mein, spring rolls.With Cantonese food the more people you can muster for the meal the better, because dishes are traditionally shared so everyone will manage to sample the greatest variety. A corollary of this is that Cantonese food should be balance: traditionally, all foods are said to be either Yin (cooling) - like vegetables, most fruits and clear soup; or Yang (healthy) - like starchy foods and meat. A cooling food should be balance with a healthy food and too much of one it would not be good for you.
Dim Sum
Off all Malaysian foods the Cantonese specialty is Dim Sum or 'little heart'. Dim sum is usually consumed during lunch or as a Sunday brunch. Dim sum restaurant are usually large, noisy affair and the dim sum, little snacks that come in small bowls, are whisked around the tables on individual trolleys or carts. As they come by, you simply ask for a plate of this or a bowl of that. At the end the meal you are billed is the amount of empty containers on your table.Cantonese cuisine of the Malaysian foods can also offer real extremes. You can get shark's fin soup or bird's nest soup which are expensive delicacies. Cheap dishes include mee (noodles) and congee (rice porridge) and are equally tasty.Far less familiar than the food from Canton are the cuisines from the north and the west of China - Sichuan, Shanghai and Peking. Sichuan food is usually spicy (gong bao for example is a chicken rice dish with cashew nuts and spices). Where as to food from Canton are delicate and understated, in Sichuan food the flavors are strong. Garlic and chilies play their part in dishes like diced chicken and hot and sour soup.
Beijing (Peking) food is, of course best known for the famous 'Peking Duck'. Beijing food are less subtle than Cantonese food. Beijing food is usually eaten with hot steamed bun or with noodles, because rice is not grown in cold region of the north. But in Malaysia, it is more likely to come with rice.Other kinds of Chinese foods originated from for example Shanghai or Hunan (usually very spicy too) are not easily found over Malaysia.
The ducks are hanging in the air ;)
INDIAN FOOD
Malaysian food from the Indian population is quite different from the Malay or Chinese cuisine. The Indians flavor hot and spicy flavors. Their staple diet usually consists of either rice or bread (chapatti, tosai (thosai, dosa in India), parrata, puri). They eat this with various curries. As in accordance with their Hindu beliefs, they do not eat beef.The Malaysian food of the Indian population in the North-West part of Malaysia. Along with the rest of the local cuisine, it has evolved and assimilated according to society's preferences. Sometimes what is considered Indian food here, did not even originated from India.
Usually Indian Malaysian food is sold at the various local stalls and often ordered with a glass of teh tarik. Teh Tarik literally means "pulled tea". The tea is thick and frothy. The preparation involves passing the tea and milk from one big metal mug to the other with a "pour and pull" action. Where there is roti canai, there is bound to be murtabak. This is basically roti canai with stuffing of sardines or chicken as the Indian Hindus do not eat beef. Murtabak with beef however can be obtained from stalls owned by Muslims.
One could say the apart of nasi lemak, roti canai is probably the second national Malaysian food.
Indian mee was first created by Indian sailors and port workers. It is a combination of Chinese fried noodles with prawn fritters, potato, squid, taukua (bean curd, bean sprouts and lettuce). For more filling, an egg is usually scrambled into the mix. Mention North Indian food and what comes to mind is tandoori chicken and naan bread. Both are cooked in clay oven called tandoori. Northern Indian food is found in air-conditioned restaurants, richly decorated to reflect the Indian culture and Hindu tradition.
Ingredients as yoghurt's and ghee are liberally compared to Southern Indian cuisine, which uses a lot of coconut milk and chilies. Even the staple diet is different, rice for the South, bread for the North. Nevertheless, both are equally spicy and delicious.
Banana leave rice is a typical dish in South Indian cuisine.In banana leaf rice, white rice (or parboiled rice in authentic South Indian restaurants) is served on a banana leaves with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat or fish, pickles, and/or papadum. Most of the time, however, only the gravy of the curry will be served and no meat is served as it is meant to be a traditional Indian vegetarian dish. It is traditionally eaten with the hand.The banana leaf is used as it is believed that the hot rice will release the coating on the banana leaf, which aids in digestion.
* In Malaysia, to show your appreciation after a satisfying meal, fold the banana leaf towards you (i.e. inwards) to signify that the meal was good. Folding the opposite direction (i.e. upwards/away from you) signifies that the meal was not satisfying.
Little India’s “banana-leaf rice”, a heady mix of curries and rice, is usually eaten with bare hands and washed down with a glass on milk tea. Fridays are usually dedicated to vegetarians and meat is rarely served in eateries. ;)
China has always traded with lands near and far across the globe. During the Ming Dynasty, as a diplomatic gesture to strengthen ties with the rich and strategic port of Malacca on the Malayan Peninsula, the Emperor of China betrothed his daughter Princess Hang Li Po to the Sultan of Malacca. The royal princess and her entourage of about 500 formed the first permanent Chinese settlement in Malacca at Bukit China or China Hill. These early Chinese settlers wed local Malay brides and gave rise to the first generation of mixed Chinese-Malays known as Peranakan, the male being known as Baba and the female as Nyonya, pronounced nyoh-nyah and sometimes spelt Nonya.
While Nyonya food contains many of the traditional ingredients of Chinese food and Malay spices and herbs, Nyonya cuisine is eclectically seasoned and different than either Chinese or Malay food. It is fusion cuisine at it's best! As in Malay cooking, a key ingredient in Nyonya cuisine is belacan " shrimp paste" pronounced blah-chan - a dried shrimp paste. It's commonly in the form of a pressed brick or cake. Not overly 'fishy', a tiny amount of this paste adds sweetness to meats, intensity to fish & seafood and a 'kick' to vegetables like kangkung belacan. It makes a flavorful base for sauces and gravies, adding depth and an intriguing taste that you can't quite decipher. When uncooked, the pressed cake has a powerful scent, like "stinky cheese", but don't be put off - it mellows out and harmonizes in the cooking, leaving behind an understated richness that cannot be reproduced. Best described as a natural flavor enhancer, belacan is what gives many of the foods from Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam - that authentic zest and flavor underlying the dense fabric of spice and herbs!
Nyonya food in the North drew inspiration from neighboring Thailand. Nyonya food in the North, Penang, has a preference for tangy or sour food such as the famous Penang Assam Laksa. Tamarind paste is used as a souring agent as well as green mangoes and Belimbing or Belimbi [Averrhoa Bilimbi], a close but sourer relative of Carambola also called Starfruit. Similar to belacan but slightly sweet tasting - a black color molasses-like paste - locally called haeko [pronounced 'hey-ko'] or Otak Udang, in Malay [Prawn Paste, in English] is also used in many Nyonya gastronomic creations.
NYONYA FOOD
China has always traded with lands near and far across the globe. During the Ming Dynasty, as a diplomatic gesture to strengthen ties with the rich and strategic port of Malacca on the Malayan Peninsula, the Emperor of China betrothed his daughter Princess Hang Li Po to the Sultan of Malacca. The royal princess and her entourage of about 500 formed the first permanent Chinese settlement in Malacca at Bukit China or China Hill. These early Chinese settlers wed local Malay brides and gave rise to the first generation of mixed Chinese-Malays known as Peranakan, the male being known as Baba and the female as Nyonya, pronounced nyoh-nyah and sometimes spelt Nonya. Nyonya basket (bakul sia) is one of the most popular Baba Nyonya equipments
While Nyonya food contains many of the traditional ingredients of Chinese food and Malay spices and herbs, Nyonya cuisine is eclectically seasoned and different than either Chinese or Malay food. It is fusion cuisine at it's best! As in Malay cooking, a key ingredient in Nyonya cuisine is belacan " shrimp paste" pronounced blah-chan - a dried shrimp paste. It's commonly in the form of a pressed brick or cake. Not overly 'fishy', a tiny amount of this paste adds sweetness to meats, intensity to fish & seafood and a 'kick' to vegetables like kangkung belacan. It makes a flavorful base for sauces and gravies, adding depth and an intriguing taste that you can't quite decipher. When uncooked, the pressed cake has a powerful scent, like "stinky cheese", but don't be put off - it mellows out and harmonizes in the cooking, leaving behind an understated richness that cannot be reproduced. Best described as a natural flavor enhancer, belacan is what gives many of the foods from Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam - that authentic zest and flavor underlying the dense fabric of spice and herbs! Nyonya food originating from the North of Malaysia - Penang, and Nyonya food originating from the South - Malacca and Singapore, have distinct differences.Nyonya cooking in the South has an Indonesian influence. The food is generally sweeter, richer with liberal use of coconut milk and more traditional Malay spices. In Malacca especially, Nyonya cooking is heavily influenced by Portuguese-Eurasian style of cooking. Many Nyonya dishes are indistinguishable from Portuguese-Eurasian dishes, with both kitchens using similar ingredients and methods of cooking.
Nyonya food in the North drew inspiration from neighboring Thailand. Nyonya food in the North, Penang, has a preference for tangy or sour food such as the famous Penang Assam Laksa. Tamarind paste is used as a souring agent as well as green mangoes and Belimbing or Belimbi [Averrhoa Bilimbi], a close but sourer relative of Carambola also called Starfruit. Similar to belacan but slightly sweet tasting - a black color molasses-like paste - locally called haeko [pronounced 'hey-ko'] or Otak Udang, in Malay [Prawn Paste, in English] is also used in many Nyonya gastronomic creations.Nyonya cooking is not only about the blending of pungent roots but also the long marinating of meats and seafood before it is cooked. Fresh herbs such as lemongrass, lengkuas [galangal or wild ginger] and kunyit [turmeric root] are pounded, more often than not, by hand using a granite mortar & pestle. Chilies, candlenuts, shallots and belacan are a must in most Nyonya dishes. Aromatic leaves such as kaffir lime leaves, pandan or pandanus [screwpine leaves], daun salam [fresh bay leaves] and daun kunyit [turmeric leaves] add 'Nyonya zest' to it's wonderful cookery.
Amazing popular nyonya food such as pie tie, Assorted nyonya kueh, Ayam buah keluak and devils curry prawn. ;)
