Asia Trans Travel

Singapore, also known as “The Lion City”, is located along the equator and separated from the southern tip of the Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. A country in Southeast Asia and a multi-racial society, it is not difficult to observe that Singaporean cuisines are a fusion of Malay, Chinese and Indian foods.

The Malay cuisine in Singapore is a blend of traditional dishes from Malaysia with strong influences from the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Like the Chinese cuisine, rice is also the staple food, which acts as a “neutralizer” for the spicy cuisine.

Coconut milk is widely used to blend vegetables, fish, beef or prawns that are served with white rice. Food stands serve a tasty Malay treat such as satay, nasi lemak, rendang and asam pedas. One of the characteristics of Malay food is that it is often hot (pedas in Malay) and spicy. If you’re trying to eat these “pedas” type of foods make sure that your have a glass of cold water as a standby to save your tongue from burning!

You can find Malay cuisines in most eating-places in Singapore. However, if you are keen to immerse yourself in just Malay cuisines and nothing else, visit Geylang Serai, the cultural heart of the Malay community in Singapore.

Satay
Satay is perhaps the most famous of the Malays cuisines. Satay is comprised of little pieces of mutton, beef, or chicken skewered over charcoal and eaten with a rich peanut sauce, sliced cucumber, onions, and chunks of compressed rice. A tasty hot sauce is prepared for you to dip the satay before it is eaten. If you are not used to spicy food, use the sauce moderately or you will run the risk of burning your taste buds!

The satay tastes just as nice on its own! Besides the sauce, satays are also eaten with cut onions, cucumbers and “ketupat” (or Malay rice cakes).

Beef Rendang
Large chunks of beef are cooked with lashings, spices and herbs to come up with Beef Rendang. It is another hearty, and very spicy, favorite among Singaporeans.

Nasi Lemak
Rice that is cooked with rich coconut milk and pandan leaves, Nasi Lemak is a popular Malay cuisine in Singapore. Eaten with fried ikan billis (anchovies), nuts, egg and fish, Nasi Lemak goes well with a specially made chilli paste. Skip the chilli paste if it is too hot for you.

You can also try tp make your own Nasi Lemak combinations in most Nasi Lemak food stalls. Side dishes like luncheon meat, fried chicken wings and fish cakes go very well with this Malay coconut rice too.

Laksa
Beehoon (or rice noodles) soaked in rich, spicy soup, is another must-eat in Singapore. The main ingredients of the soup are lemon grass, shrimp paste, coconut milk and of course not to forget the red, hot chillies! Served with half-cooked clams, shredded chicken, toufu (or beancurd), bean sprouts, nuts and hard-boiled egg, its aroma excites the taste buds of many Singaporeans.

If you are game for real hot stuff, ask for sambal chilli paste to be added to your laksa. This will surely bring its good taste to a greater height!

There are many more Malay cuisines in Singapore that are tasty and you can try them during your travel to Singapore. If you ever fall in love with the Malay cuisines, tell your friends just exactly how “sedap” the food is. “Sedap”, the Malay way of saying delicious. So enjoy the nice and hot Malay cuisines.