A Family Affair

The Malaysian leg of our trip is really meant to be a time for us to catch up with family, as such, just one quick post will be dedicated to our three weeks here. Basically, our three weeks here could be simplified into a single word, makan. Makan, in Bahasa Melayu, means ‘eat’. Anything that has to do with food is ubiquitous to Malay culture and as inseparable as the head is from the body. ‘Restorans’ line the streets in big cities and in small kampungs (villages). Late night restaurants pop up in the form of wheeled carts with tented seating areas in carparks, alley ways, and even in front of other brick and mortar restaurants at 9pm and stay open till 3-4 am. Not only can you eat at 3am, you have all the options available if you are in a big city or even in a tiny village. Pasar malam are yet another extension of the food culture. These weekly night markets are supposed to a bit of everything mixed together in a once a week shopping opportunity, however, 90% of the merchandise is edible.

This focus on food walks right into the kitchens of all Malaysian households. Firstly, a typical Malaysian home is fitted with two kitchens (should be a hint right there). A more tidy inside ‘dry’ kitchen for final preparation, some stovetop cooking, and eating, and, a second outside ‘wet’ kitchen for the more messy preparation and heavier cooking (actually, one of my aunties has three kitchens in her house plus a very large kitchen at the restaurant she co-owns). To assist with the cooking chores (among others) you may even find an Indonesian worker busy helping out in more well-to-do houses. The chorus of activity in both kitchens seems nonstop and if you happen to step within eyeshot of a food-producing area, a flurry of questions will saturate your presence….Lapar? Makanan? Nak Makanan? (Hungry? Food? Want some food?)

It is important to note, gastronomic satiation is second to your host’s desire to continue filling you with food…simply put, it is rather rude to say ‘no’ when offered food. A good example of this occurred when we were at Auntie’s house in Kedah. After finishing a rather large meal (which, throughout the course of the meal continued to grow because of additional stuff placed on my plate) of nasi, rendang, cucumbers, beef soup, murtabak, dhal, and telur goreng, I walked my empty plate to the kitchen sink to quickly deposit it and disappear. In the short time it took me to walk from the kitchen table to the sink and out of the kitchen (8 steps maybe) I was told that I should have some more nasi. After I ate more nasi and dhal (on my new dinner plate), I was then offered a chocolate bun and a rather substantial amount of watermelon, which, really cannot be refused. Thoroughly stuffed from over-eating, I hobbled to my bed for a nap.

<Side note: Literally, in the short time I was typing this blog on the couch at Auntie’s place, I was asked twice if I wanted to eat>

So, our time here in Malaysia has been good…lots of catching up and even more food. Congratulations to Izhar on his graduation, Isham, your kids are adorable, and Auntie Sakina, you take the prize for the best tandoori chicken in the world. Ok, that is all for now….we leave for Beijing in 7 hours.


PS: (Dan speaking) I got a haircut today…it was getting rather shaggy and my beard was long enough that it was starting to scare my little niece-in-law. Ended up going to an Indian-run barber in Rawang near where Rozita’s brother lives. After seating myself in the chair, I proceeded to give the guy instructions on how I wanted my hair cut…”shaved 3/8 inch all the way around”. With a half smile and a nod, I was dressed with a neck towel and an apron and, with haste, the buzzing of the shaver commenced. It was soon blatantly obvious that this guy had already chosen the style of hair he felt was most suitable for my crown. Thirty minutes later after lots of detailed shaving, a brutally painful menthol-oiled head massage, neck cracking, and back pounding I emerged from the barber’s chair sweaty, in pain, and with a hairdo straight out of a early 1990’s R&B video….a closely cropped fade that exudes male sexuality in a way chicks probably found attractive fifteen or so years ago. Disappointed, I slouched back to the car whilst Rozita took her cheap shots making fun of my new style. As we drove away, I glimpsed back at the barber’s sign which had a big smiling picture of Shahrukh Khan and thought, damn, my hair really sucks ass.

STATISTICS

• Rozita steps taken = 196,245
  
• Flights taken = 1
  
• Intercity trains rides taken = 2
  
• Intercity bus rides taken = 6
  
• Times lost = 0
  
• Total instances of diarrhea = 0
  
• Total number of requests for pictures with Daniel = 0
  
• Total megabytes of pictures taken = 1,860
  

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