Day 096 - Taste of Malaysia Abroad: I Had Nasi Lemak with A Fellow Malaysian in Melbourne

Updated: Oct 5, 2023

Day 096 (07 April 2023) - Melbourne, Australia

DAY 096 (07 APR 2023) – I met Mr Vasu, a friend of Mr Chandra from Penang, Malaysia. He is an electrical engineer and has been working in Melbourne for the past 5 years.

He treated me to lunch at PappaRich, the famous Malaysian chain restaurant. Finally after so long, I get to have Malaysia’s favourite dish - ‘Nasi Lemak’!

An exact translation of ‘Nasi Lemak’ is ‘Fatty Rice’ (‘Nasi’ = Rice and ‘Lemak’ – Fat). This Malay cuisine consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and ‘pandan’ leaf. It is served with ‘sambal’, which is a hot spicy sauce and other garnishes including fresh cucumber slices, anchovies, roasted peanuts and hard-boiled or fried egg.

It is most commonly consumed as a breakfast in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It is also popular in several countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Australia’s external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Nowadays, you can find it served with additional dishes such as beef and chicken, especially the ‘rendang’. ‘Rendang’ is basically meat stewed in coconut milk and spices. While, beef ‘rendang’ is the most popular, those who don’t eat beef can enjoy chicken ‘rendang’.

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