Tropical Fruits

Malaysia is a country full of amazing tropical fruits. There are Durian, Mangosteen, Rambutan, Langsat, Dragon Fruit, Sugar Apple, Guava, Jambu Madu, Jackfruit, Banana, Starfruit, Mango, Longan and so much more. Well, guess what? I love all of them. All these fruits are snacks and desserts for Malaysian. Ocasionally, they are included in some gourmet dishes.

Durian(Durio zibethinus) is my favorite of all. It is the 'King' of the tropical fruits not just in Malaysia, but also the in Southeast Asia. Durian's shape ranges from oblong to round. It has formidable thorn-covered husk that is green or sometimes brownish color. Its flesh ranges from pale-yellow to red color. The edible flesh emanates a idiosyncratic odour, strong enough to penetrate even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant while others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.

My next favorite has to be Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum). It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits such as Lychee and Longan. Rambutan in Indonesian, Filipino, or Malay literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. It is red color on the outside and traansparent white color on the inside. The flesh is sweet and juicy. Rambutans are generally eaten out-of-hand after merely spliting the rind open, or cutting it around the middle and pulling it off. It does not adhere to the flesh. The peeled fruits are occasionally stewed as dessert.

Next in line as my favorite is Guava(Psidium guajava). It is called Jambu Batu in Malaysia as it is very hard, like stones, need to wait until ripe, then only you can eat it.The guava fruit is usually eaten fresh. It can also be processed into juice, jam, nectar and canned fruit slices in syrup. It is estimated to contain two to five times the Vitamin C content of fresh orange juice. Malaysian normally dip it with sour plum sauce.

There is also the 'Queen' of trpical fruits, the Mangosteen(Garcinia mangostana). It is red in cross-section, purplish-white on the inside. Mangosteen contains bitter yellow latex and a purple, staining juice. There are 4 to 8 triangular segments of snow-white, juicy, soft flesh that is slightly acid and mild to distinctly acid in flavor and is commendated as with refinement luscious and delicious.

There are also other mouth watery fruits like Jackfruit, Langsat, Dragon Fruit, Starfruit, Longan, Jambu Batu, Sugar Apple and others. If you visited Malaysia without tasting any of these magnificent fruits, do not tell anyone you ever went to Malaysia as you lost out at one of the best of Malaysia.

Dayak

Dayak is the collective name given to the aboriginal inhabitants in Borneo. The Dayaks mainly live in the south and west, in Kalimantan area, Indonesia. Some other Dayaks live in Sabah and Sarawak, Which are part of Malaysia. The Dayak population today is about 2 million people, out of total population of 35 million on the island of Borneo. They live mainly along the large riverbanks and in the forest.The Dayak indigenous religion is Kaharingan, a form of animism.There are differences in the practice of Kaharingan among groups. For example in some religious customary practices, when a noble (kamang) dies, it is believed that the spirit ascends to a mountain where the spirits of past ancestors of the tribe reside. The spirit is believed to descend to partake in celebration, a mark of honour and respect to past ancestries and blessings for a prosperous future.

Blowpipe is a weapon for the Dayak in Sarawak. It is used as an abet to track through the rain forest, as wells as a hunting tool for live food such as squirrels, wild boar and birds. An experienced hunter can accurately hit its target at an awe-inspiring speed with a single blow at one end of the blowpipe. This weapon is perforated by means of a long metal rod with a chisel shaped bit. The rod is moved on its own axis, back and forth, with the bit slowly drilling into the wood. The weapon itself is made of a long rod with a metal spear tied with rattan at one end.The blow dart is inserted at the other end using the spear to point to the hunting target. Blow piping is a kind of task that requires practices and skills. A random person can never blowpipe as well as a Dayak. A skilled Dayak hunter can blowpipe an astounding distance of .

Dayak tattoo is a spiritual artform that merges images of humans, animals, and plants into one unit, expressing the proliferation of life and the integration of living and spiritual beings in the cosmos. Death and fertility were the primary axes around which tattoo creativity spiraled. Tattooing offered visual testimony to the refusal of Dayak individuals to accept the finality of death and assert the indestructibility of their being. By imitating the life of the gods in everyday ritual, the Dayak obtained their own form of divine power that ensured the perpetuation of human life in a continuum of eternity. Therefore, tattoos were articulating symbols engraving implicit Dayak ideologies of existence upon the living canvas of human flesh.Dayak warriors attained a specific tattoo when they had “taken a head” as a headhunter or Ainu women in western Asia who used tattooing to announce that a young girl had begun to menstruate.

Dayak is the most important indegeneous people in Malaysia. If you ever visit Malaysia one day, try out the Dayak blow piping and see far you can blow pipe.

Scrumptious Cuisine

One of the reason I am proud to be a Malaysian is we have incredibly delectable gastronomy. Malaysian food are not only declicious, they are not as fattening in comparison to a lot of the western food. In fact, I am a living prove. I spent to United States for a year as an exchange student and went back to Malaysia with 140 pounds. However, spending the first few months in Malaysia, still eating the same portion of food, I lose 20 pounds in 3 months. How amazing is that? Therefore, I think those people that wants to diet, can go to Malaysia. Unless you eat too much, you can barely get fat with the amazing Malaysian food.

As mentioned in my previous blogs, Malaysia is a country with a people from different race. The three dominant races are Malay, Chinese and Indian. As a result, we have a vast variety of unresistable food. I am a Malaysian Chinese. There are a lot of mouthwatering delicacies, however, my top three favorite have to be Hakka Lui Cha, Char Kuey Tiao and Dim Sum(pictures below in order). Hakka Lui Cha is my favorite by far because it is a very healthy dish as it is rice with vegetables only. In fact, my greatgrandmother live up to 99 years old because she eats Hakka Lui Cha every meal for most of her life. Char Kuey Tiao is flat noodles stir fried. It is best with shrimps and a lot of spicy sauce. Last but not least is Dim Sum. I love most of the Dim Sum as they are not only delicious, they are small enough to be eaten in one bite with all the flavor exploding in your mouth.

On the contrary, the Malay and Indian have really good taste bud too. Typical Malay food are Satay, Nasi Lemak and Rendang. Satay is meat on skewers, dip in peanut sauce. Nasi Lemak is rice cooked with coconut milk served on banana leaves with egg, cucumber and meat in spicy sauce. Rendang on the other hand is usually beef cooked in a variey of Malaysian spices. Chicken rendang taste good as well. Indian food that can be found in Malaysia are like Roti Canai, Tandoori chicken and Roti Nun. Roti Canai is served best when it is hot. It is a kind of cooked dough served with usually fish curry. Chicken Tandoori is chicken cooked in Indian spices. It normally is in red color. Last but not least is Roti Nun. It is a type of dough as well. It is considered healthy food as it is cooked without any oil or butter. All these are without a doubt on my list of favorite food.

There are also other amazing food like Penang Laksa, Chee Chiong Fun, Fried Banana, Steamboat, Keropok, and Cendol. Malaysian food is not only colorful, spicy and eclectic – but also downright tasty .With such a pulsating diversity of food styles, Malaysia is a fabulous place to enjoy the art of eating and drinking as 'Live to eat’ is the National mantra for Malaysians. Therefore when you visit Malaysia, try out every single dish if you can and I guarantee you will fall in love with Malaysia after that.