Makan

I have to prepare another Chinese presentation on my choice of topic. I decided on something close to home. Well, really at home. Makan!!! Now I'm depressed at not being able to get Char Koay Teow, Sar Hor Fun, Or Kuih and such things... *sigh*. Anyway, I was amused by a bunch of things. I looked at a photo I had of nasi kandar, and seeing the kacang, I briefly started thinking about different kinds of 'tau', then Ithought of "Or Kui Tau"... it occured to me that the Or Kui part of the name could be translated as "black devil". "Black devil beans"? ROFL! Well, if ho chiak, can d. We don't worry about etymologies or origins.

There's a sizeable Wiki on Msian cuisine, with links to everything that's popular, from Penang food to Ipoh food to Mamak food to (wait for it) RAMLY BURGER! I didn't know that Singapore had banned the import of Msian beef products, including Ramly Burger. Apparently there's a bit of a black market trade at pasar malams. Wonder what the penalty for smuggling burgers is.

It turns out there's at least one website from which I can buy sambal, belacan, bak kut teh liao and other stuff in the US. PRobably too expensive to be worth it. Something to keep in mind, though. MalaysianFood.net.

Oh, I ate roti canai the other night. Spice Root has it. The curry was kind of divergent from what you'd usually get. The roti was well done though. Very small, unfortunately, and it costs about $5 - it's an appetizer. Was there for my friend's birthday, though. Felt obligated to give them a taste of it. How much is it at home? Satu keping tiga kupang? Bleh.

A trip to Albany's Asian food store is in order over Spring Break.