Avoiding the Scales

Gastronomical Delights - Sep 2009

'This is what you would call an . . . OBSCENE (?) . . . amount of food.'

Truer words have never been spoken.

Obscene? Perhaps. Delicious? Indubitably! All the pre-departure notes about bracing myself for a year of gastronomical delights and good eating have been proven to be true - and then some.

Where to begin? There has been the Nasi Lemak with a spicy sambal, Bak Kut Teh, Banana Leaf Rice, Dim Sum, Satay, Mee Goreng, Nasi Goreng, Ayam Goreng -well, pretty much anything goreng, and the ubiquitous Yum Cha.

Last night, while sharing a dessert of Ais Kacang (Bean Ice) with friends, I had it pointed out to me that here in Malaysia food is such a part of daily life that it is even part of their geography. Instead of identifying a place with a landmark it is described with a flavor. For example, when I say 'I was just up in Ulu Yam for the past couple days,' I'll get a quizzical look in response. If I add in the phrase, 'You know, the place famous for Lor Mee,' their faces light up with recognition!

Despite the fairly lengthy list of foods I've sampled in my first month here, I'm fairly certain there is much more in store. With 11 more months ahead, there is a whole country out there for me to see and eat my way through.

As for that notion I had of being able to lose a lot of weight this year in the tropics? Let's just chalk that one up to naive cultural ignorance.