Regular, not to mention astute, readers of this column may have noticed that there was a temporary cessation of dispatches this past Thursday. And in that regard, I have good news, and bad news.
The good news is that the cessation was purely of an ephemeral nature. The bad news is that I don’t feel in the least guilty about having missed a deadline.*
And the reason I don’t feel the least bit guilty about having missed the deadline is because I was at that time in Malaysia, eating my way through the country.
I mean that quite literally, by the way. The conventional way of describing a vacation might be to say that I visited a country, or traveled to a country, but here’s the thing with your columnist: I travel to eat.
And take it from a man whose waist is larger than his prime minister’s chest: if you want to go to a place to eat, go to Malaysia.
It is a country that is located a little below Thailand, and above a little country called Singapore. It therefore borrows liberally from both places, and throws in for good measure influences of certain styles of Chinese and Indian cuisines as well. Combine this with some of the freshest produce in terms of both flora and fauna, and what you have is a place that was designed for a gourmand. Me, in other words.
I was in that country for ten days, and every single meal was a soul satisfying jaunt to the outer reaches of my knowledge about food. Laksas, Rendang curries, Nasi Lemaks, Curry capitans, Dimsums, Tom yums, Chinese style barbecued pork ribs and others of their ilk paraded themselves on my table for ten glorious days, and each meal seemed to surpass its predecessor.
It is impossible to recommend a particular place to eat at; in fact, as I was advised myself by a wise man, the best thing to do is step out into the city and trust your instincts. But having studied the subject at hand an intensely as I have, I do have a couple of counter-intuitive tips.
One, the best food and the most variety is probably to be found in the malls. Their food courts contain a bewildering variety of cuisines in a comfortable, air-conditioned, sanitized atmosphere, but doesn’t compromise a whit on taste. Food Republic in the Pavilion Mall, and Hutong Village in Lot 10 would be my top picks. Second, don’t waste time and money in going to a restaurant. The food at the hawker stalls and in the malls has more variety, equally good (if not better) taste and is cheaper by an order of magnitudes.
But if you, like me, enjoy learning about a new place by eating what they do, you could do no better than eat your way through Malaysia. Bon appetit!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an errand to run. All my belts seem to have shrunk appreciably while in Malaysia, and I’ll need to replace them. The one unsolved puzzle from an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable trip. Most peculiar.
* (Note to the editor: I do feel bad about having screwed up your schedules, I honestly do.)
He doesn't expect the paradox to be resolved in his lifetime
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