The food in Malaysia is heavily influenced by the Chinese. All towns of any size have a Chinatown where it is possible to get a quick and delicious meal for less than a dollar. Some combination of noodles, meat, rice and vegetables is the standard. While on the islands we ate seafood every night. Everything was freshly caught and we were able to choose our fish for the grill. On Tioman, the fish was wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled and then served with a simple delicious sauce (see below).

A traditional Malaysian breakfast is Roti Canai whose inspiration comes from India and which was my favourite breakfast of anywhere we have been. It consists of a roti, which is a chapati-type bread, cooked to order and served hot along side a dish of delicious curry for dipping. Very good!

Most people are familiar with Thai food so I won’t go into that too much. Dishes are similar to what you would experience in a Thai restaurant in North America: lots of cilantro, chilis and rice. It is usually delicious and can be very cheap if purchased from a non-touristy restaurant or from a street vendor. Strange things such as deep fried grasshoppers are also available but we saw no reason to eat any of those.

Compared to some of the other places we have been, Burmese food is quite plain. Many restaurants serve Chinese food but not nearly as good as what is available in Malaysia. Plain rice, vegetables, meat (usually mystery pieces with bone in) is the norm. We did have some decent Indian and Nepali food while there and avocados and mangos were in season so that was a nice treat for us. The best meals were the home cooked feast we had while on our trek in Kalaw and at the Nepali Food Centre, also in Kalaw.

Tioman Island Fish Sauce:
Lime or lemon juice
Lemon grass
Fresh minced ginger
Fresh minced garlic
Chopped chilis

Combine above ingredients until it tastes good! Use as marinade or dipping sauce.

Photos:
Fish BBQ on the Tiomans
Tioman Feast
After the Feast
Perhentian BBQ
Chilis at Malaysian Market
Bus Stop Thali in Burma
Tibetan Food in Burma