Comments on: My Dad’s taste buds & a book review: The Flavors of Malaysia

By: cribs

cribs — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 03:47:10 +0000

I have always loved dishes that have rice and viand and everything in one. All in one!

By: Jonny & Amy

Jonny & Amy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:46:48 +0000

@Peter – you just articulated the very reason why Spain’s Costa del Sol is so popular with the English. They serve Carling lager, make tea from imported PG Tips, and offer a fried breakfast!
@Emiglia – you’re too kind.
@TS – we’ll meet you there and eat our faces off. The heat, the humidity, the lushness and all the diverse food, it would be a feast for the sense.

By: emiglia

emiglia — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:26:17 +0000

You are the first person I’ve ever heard of to use “farty” as a flavor description… and I adore you for it

By: Rachel (S[d]OC)

Rachel (S[d]OC) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:45:39 +0000

I have never had Malaysian food, but I definitely want to check it out. I love Indian and Thai and other spicy cuisines.

My MIL is not much of a cook by her own admission, so my husband grew up in a bland food world. I managed to sway him to the dark side (too bad I couldn’t do that with beef and pork) and convince him that spicy food is GOOD. His brother never changed his tune though.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:52:08 +0000

Living in Hawaii’s melting pot of diverse ethnicity, I have come to love and acquire all those spices, and an ancient Malaysian cookbook, as well as C. Solomon’s Asian one (which includes Malaysia) but it’s about time to update. This book sounds wonderful.

By: TS (eatingclub vancouver)

TS (eatingclub vancouver) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:43:18 +0000

It’s actually not easy to eat Malaysian (or Indonesian, or Singaporean) food here in Vancouver; there aren’t many places that serve them (or, serve them well). And, I believe the ingredients are not all that available as well. [sigh]

Thanks for the book recommendation. I am also intrigued by _Cradle of Flavor_, James Oseland’s book. Have you had the chance to take a look at/cook from it?

I seriously need to go to Southeast Asia and taste the dishes there in person.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:34:44 +0000

My Dad grew up in England during and after rationing and to this day cannot cook his way out of a paper bag. Somewhat ironically, though, as a poor student he ate a ton of curry and so he’s a pretty adventurous eater. I remember when I lived at the British School in Rome that many of the fellows would sit around drinking G&Ts and complaining about how nobody in Italy knew how to make a proper cup of tea.

Do you know Nyonya on Grand St.? I enjoy eating there. The flavors of Malaysian food are unlike anything else. I’m going to look into getting this book.

By: ruth

ruth — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:36:10 +0000

Excellent review! Such a shame your dad missed out on the experience! Wonder what he makes out of the incredible variety of flsvours and cuisines we now have in the UK. I, personally have always been fascinated by the Vietnamese and Malaysian cuisines.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:16:06 +0000

@LG – Unfortunately, perhaps, the majority of people do not live in either Spain, New York or London, so I stand by my remark that for the vast majority of people Malaysian cuisine, and the ingredients to make it, are unfeasibly exotic. The fact that I did have curry leaves, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and black onion seeds in my pantry without trailing all over town to find them is because I am a keen hobbyist cook. Of course, all of it is available on the internet too, but the point I was trying to make is that unlike say the art of french cooking, which is reasonably approachable even to complete novices, this book represents a challenge that not everyone would be willing to take.

@Heather – you’re not wrong, love, cookbooks are pricey, even ones that aren’t in full color. I’m guessing this one is more expensive though because of it’s likely limited appeal.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:00:45 +0000

I love Malaysian food. Even the trashy stuff from mini-malls is great – it hits that sweet spot between Chinese and Indian just perfectly. $40 is the going rate for cookbooks these days, innit (if they have decent photography, anyway)? I’ll look for it at the library, I guess.