La cuisine en Asie du Sud-Est

One of the absolute best reasons to visiti Malaysia is for its abundance of outstanding cuisine. And while local Malay and Chinese food are both insanely good, the Indian food is equally amazing. In Kuala Lumpur, much of the Indian food originates from the South of India, and much of it has Chettinad or Tamil Nadu influence. Banana leaf, as this meal is known throughout Kuala Lumpur, is basically a pile of rice sitting on top of a banana leaf that surrounded by a variety of vegetable curries and then one can also order meat or fish dishes on the side as well. The vegetarian curries change by the day, whatever fresh ingredients are available at the time are used. This particular day, there was an excellent beat curry, daal lentils, and some sort of okra curry.

Have you ever gone to a restaurant that was so good, you had to eat there multiple times in a row? That's exactly what happened to me at Vishalatchi Food and Catering Sou Indian Food restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. I had heard about it, and decided to go on a food excursion to go check it out. My first meal so so extraordinarily that the next day I returned fro breakfast and ended up eating nearly the same thing. I also returned again the next day for the same awesome feat, this place is literally that good! For this meal, I was greeted by the awesome South Indian staff, and when I began to film, they all were curious and wanted me to take their photos, it was great!

As for South Indian food, it's amazing. Along with the vegetarian side dishes at Vishalatchi, the meat and seafood is great. After long contemplation I finally decided on a bowl of dry fish curry known as fish puttu. It was nicely spiced and went extremely well with the pile of rice and other dishes. Another thing I really enjoyed was the bowl of yoghurt provided along with the meal. It just kind of brought all the South Indian food together in a harmony of flavors. The entire meal was so good, I simply could barely even believe it. For most of the meal, I honestly had to just close my eyes and savor every single bite! Another bonus of eating banana leaf meals like this in Malaysia is that you can basically eat as much rice and vegetarian dishes as you want - they will keep refilling your leaf until you surrender. If you do visit Kuala Lumpur this is one of the ultimate must eat at restaurants in the city, I know you'll love it!

Vishalatchi Food and Catering
Prices: I paid 13 RM for this meal and that includes rice and vegetarian sides (as much as you want), and also the fish dish and a tea
Address: 18 Jalan Scott, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lum 50470, Malaysia
Here are some direction on how to get there: From KL Sentral, walk down Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 and take a left on Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad. Then you need to take that until it curves to the left but keep straight until you get to Jalan Scott where you make a left. Vishalatchi Food and Catering is on your left hand side before you get to the Hindu Temple.

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Don't forget to check out my website by clicking here http://migrationology.com/ for lots more street food and travel adventures. Variations of nasi campur are widely eaten throughout southeast Asia and especially in Southern Thailand, Malaysia, and across Indonesia. The dish literally translates to mixed rice, and that's exactly what it is. The basic procedure when you arrive at a nasi campur restaurant is that you are handed a plate of steamed rice and you then make your way around the buffet line and pile on as many tasty dishes as your plate will hold. Normally the plates are just too small to fit everything you want - at least that's the case for me!

So anyway, when I travel to Malaysia, I'm always a fan of nasi campur because it's a good filling meal and it's insanely delicious. The area of Kampung Baru, located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is an area specifically set aside for local Malays living in the city. There also happens to be a ton of excellent food in the area. Nasi lemak is one of the famous dishes served in Kampung Baru, as is a bunch of restaurants that serve nasi campur. When I saw the amount of dishes ready made to eat at Resoran Lina Sea Food, I simply could not resist the draw to sit down for lunch. And it's a good thing I did, because it was a fantastic meal. But anyways, I could hardly contain my excitement, and I counted every single dish to discover that they had cooked over 80 different dishes for their nasi campur buffet line. I got my plate of rice and began to browse through all the different Malaysian food curries and other mouthwatering foods. After some bief contemplation, I finally settled on a piece of coconut fish curry, sambal purple eggplant, jackfruit curry, and some kind of green vegetables. Of course, I also scooped on a few spoons of hot shrimp paste chili sauce and soybean tempe. The fish curry was mild and smooth with coconut milk making it rich and flavorful on top of the rice. The jackfruit curry, which I've been a big fan of for so long, was excellent too - like starchy potatoes but even better. Finally my favorite nasi campur dish goes to the sambal chili fried egg plant. They were so creamy and cooked to perfection that they almost had the consistency of durian - creamy like butter. The vegetables were also good, especially since they were doused in the house chili sauce. I just can not get enough Malaysian food, and even though nasi campur is a completely ordinary everyday meal in Malaysia, I still find it to be exceptionally wonderful and fulfilling. The different variety of flavors, the chili heat and the rich coconut milk all combines to make the dishes so tasty. The next time you're in Kuala Lumpu, be sure to wander around the Kampung Baru neighborhood for a delicious nasi campur dining experience!

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Be sure to click on my website http://migrationology.com/ for a lot more travel and food adventures!

Malaysian food is among the top cuisines in the entire world, and local style ikan bakar or grilled fish, is one of the absolute best things to eat. Sure there are plenty of dishes like nasi lemak and nasi ayam, but for a single giant feast, there's nothing like a pile of seafood grilled in succulent sambal chili sauce and cooked to perfection. Ikan bakar has to be one of the best meals in the world. So I had no idea where exactly Ikan Bakar Medan Gerai No. 3 on Jalan Bellamy in Kuala Lumpur was, so I went of for an exciting food adventures. One thing I dislike about KL is that sometimes you'll be walking along and all of a sudden you'll walk into the middle of a highway, or the sidewalk will just end abruptly. But anyway, after running across a few highways, hopping a few fences and trekking across a few jungles I finally made it to Jalan Bellamy for the feast.

I could see the smoke rising as I arrived, a pillar of sweet perfume fuming off the beautiful assortment of grilling seafood. It was a jaw dropping sight to see, a bed of solid seafood all smoldering like lava on the hot grill. Honestly speaking, I could barely contain myself and began to go a little crazy wanting to reward myself for finding the restaurant by ordering the entire ikan bakar menu. The first thing that looked delicious was the grilled stingray, known as ikan pari. It was mouthwatering, so intensely good, I could barely even believe it. The stingray was wrapped in a banana leaf before being smothered in sambal chili sauce and slow cooking on the grill. The result of the ikan pari was flesh that nearly had the texture of chicken but with even deeper more rewarding flavor. The next item I couldn't resist was a grilled squid known in Malaysia as sotong bakar. It was equally amazing, marinated in the same exact sambal chili sauce and grilled while surrounded by banana leaves. The owner, upon seeing my enthusiasm for their ikan bakar, generously gave me a free plate of grilled prawns. They were excellent as well, especially when sprinkled with a squeeze of calamansi citrus juice.

Another great thing about Ikan Bakar Medan Gerai No. 3 on Jalan Bellamy in Kuala Lumpur is that you get a plate of rice to accompany your grilled seafood and it's then self help to choose whatever nasi campur mixed curry and Malaysian side dishes you want. It all looked great, but stuck with just a few garnishes and salads in order to more fully focus on the brilliant ikan bakar. The entire meal was nothing short of epic, all the seafood was cooked to perfection and that sambal chili sauce was enough to make any man cry with Malaysian food satisfaction.

Be sure to click on my website here http://migrationology.com/ for lots more travel and street food photos and videos! Malaysian street food is one of the best cuisines in the entire world. Part of the reason it's so good is because there's such an incredible variety of food to eat. Local Malay, Indian, and even authentic Chinese food are all very much a part of the local dining scene in Kuala Lumpur and throughout the entire country of Malaysia. One of the cheapest meals to eat in Kuala Lumpur is known as economy rice. The term normally refers to Chinese food that served like a buffet style right off the streets. Everyday, there are loads of economy rice eateries that sprout up around the city to provide workers with tasty filling meals that don't break the bank. Throughout the day you'll find economy rice stalls, but my particular favorite time to eat at them is for lunch. On this particular day, I was just walking around looking for something good to eat when I noticed a cluster of outdoor carts and few people hovering around all the food. After seeing what the commotion was about, there was not way for me to resist having Malaysian Chinese food lunch. It works pretty simple, the vendor just hands you a plate of steamed rice, and you proceed to pile on as much or as little side dishes as you want. after filling your plate to your heart's desire, you go back to the vendor who simply calculates how much food or meat you took and write you a bill for how much you owe. I got a few vegetables, some tofu and nice helping of pork ribs and my bill came to just 4.5 Ringgits which is about $1.50. The tofu was nice stewed in a sweet soy sauce blend giving it plenty of flavor - I'm also guessing it was fried beforehand to give it a nice crunchy exterior and soft interior. The vegetables, were some kind of a green leaf spinach vegetable that were nice stir fried with chunks of garlic. But the real dish that I was most excited to try were the thumb sized chunks of pork spareribs that were cooked in a light black bean sauce. They were fall apart tender and wildly delicious! Though economy rice is an everyday working class Chinese street food meal in Kuala Lumpur, I'd have to say that it's well worth the price tag and the food is pretty tasty!

Don't forget to check out my travel and food adventures on http://migrationology.com/ and http://eatingthaifood.com/

A la découverte du durian ---> http://migrationology.com/2012/11/durian-fruit-bangkok-thailand-guide/



Quick Facts
Durian season in Thailand is from around April through August
However, durian in Bangkok can be found year round
Durian is banned from many hotels and public facilities
Durian is both loved and hated by many
Durian is also known as the “king of fruits”
Mangosteen, known as the “queen of fruits,” complements durian perfectly - they should be eaten together
Durian makes your body hot, for reals!
Important: Don’t eat durian and drink alcohol, due to raising blood pressure it’s a bad combo. Don’t do it.

There are a lot of different Thai desserts and sweets to sample in Thailand and while I don't like all of because I'm not a big sweets lover, one of my all time favorites is known as Khao Lam (ข้าวหลาม). The main ingredients includes sticky rice, sweet beans, palm sugar, and coconut cream which are all mixed together and then added to a bamboo pole. After being stuffed into bamboo, it's closed with wadded up leaves and roasted over a low bed or charcoal using indirect heat. The rice slowly cooks and mingles with the coconut and the sugar to create a wonderful Thai dessert.

When you purchase Khao Lam (ข้าวหลาม) on the streets of Thailand the dessert is still wrapped in a bamboo and as soon as you make you order the vendor will proceed to whack it with a hammer or machete to break the bamboo. It's then much easier to grab the contents of this special and widely loved sweet. There are two different sides to any Khao Lam (ข้าวหลาม). The bottom side is less sweet and is more of just the sticky rice mixed with beans. The front or top of the bamboo is filled with sweetest sticky rice and coconut mixture. It becomes gooey and almost turns to a rich coconut custard that's sweet and delightful. Since I'm not into real sweet things, I prefer the bottom have of Khao Lam (ข้าวหลาม), however, I do think that mixing the two different sides makes for the perfect bite.

So there you have a little overview of a Thai dessert known as Khao Lam (ข้าวหลาม). It's one of my favorite sweets in Thailand and it's a must sample when you visit the country. You'll be able to find the dessert by seeing a vendor transporting bamboo sticks, normally about 1 foot in length or so. While it's not overly common in Bangkok, you can occasionally find it, and it's really popular in both Nakhon Pathom and Bang Saen.

Follow my food adventures at http://migrationology.com/ & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/ Also check out my Bangkok travel guide http://migrationology.com/ebook-101-things-to-do-in-bangkok/ and my Thai food guide http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/

Yet another popular Bangkok street food dessert or snack is a Thai style crepe or pancake (เครป). You can find them all over the streets, most of the time at small markets, and from roaming motorcycles and street stalls.

The basic Thai crepe (เครป) cart is just a hot skillet that completely flat and heated by a gas tank that slow and evenly distributes fire to heat it up. When the skillet is nice and hot a few spoons of pancake batter and dumped into the middle of the skillet and the vendor proceeds to spread it out evenly using a wooden mallet that looks kind of like a small water scraper. A few circles and the Thai pancake is evenly thin and just takes a few moments to fully cook all the way through.

Next it's up to you to choose your toppings. Just like lots of Thai street food, you have a choice between sweet and savory, or even a combination of both together. Lots of Thais like dried shredded pork on their crepe pancakes, but I however don't care so much for that version and decided to go for the sweet version including bananas and chocolate - as the vendor personally recommended that combination for me. After the pancake was fully cooked she proceeded to slice up a banana and evenly layer it over the entire pancake base. From there the busted out the chocolate syrup and began to generously squirt on lots and lots of chocolate. When I thought she was going to let up, she just continued to add more and more chocolate! Finally she determined it was all ready and she then folded the crepe in half and then in quarters. Before serving me, she stuck it into a handheld little cardboard device and gave it to me.

So there in my hand I had a Thai crepe pancake (เครป) filled with bananas and chocolate and piping hot. The crepe was a little crunchy while the bananas and chocolate were hot, sweet, and flavorful. There are many Thai street food desserts and sweets to choose from, and if you like pancakes, you may want to try a Thai banana chocolate crepe!

Music is by Singsiri and the song is called Asking for Her Hand in Marriage.
Music in this video is used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License from Soundcloud.com

Follow my food adventures at http://migrationology.com/ & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/ Also check out my Bangkok travel guide http://migrationology.com/ebook-101-things-to-do-in-bangkok/ and my Thai food guide http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/

Here's my article about Salak (Snake Fruit): http://migrationology.com/2012/07/sna... and also check out my travel and street food website here http://migrationology.com/

There are a lot of exotic and awesome fruit varieties in Southeast Asia. The fruit just never seems to get boring - and there's such a great diversity available, depending on the season. Throughout the year you'll find things like mango, pineapple, bananas, rose apples, oranges, and mangosteen, and some other exotic fruits like durian, jackfruit, cempedak, and of course, salak, which is commonly known is English as snake fruit. The reason salak is called snake fruit is because the skin is remarkably similar to a snake - it really does appear to have scales and is dark brown in color.

What is snake fruit? Salak is actually native to Indonesia, but nowadays it can be found all over southeast Asia and even other parts of the world. It grows from the base of certain palm trees in clusters of about 20 or so of the fruit pieces in one clump. The fruit is picked and can be eaten just straight out of the outer wrapper or it can be served in one of the many local sweet desserts. For myself, I prefer to eat snake fruit (salak), right out of the snake looking shell. For this video, I grabbed some of the fruit while at the Chow Kit Market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, it's possible to eat snake fruit all over southeast Asia and I frequently eat it on the streets of Bangkok where vendors conveniently peel it and package in plastic bags so you can eat it on the go.

What does salak taste like? Well, it kind of reminds me of a fermented apple. It's super juicy and is almost like alcoholic apple juice - that is if the snake fruit is really ripe and ready to eat. I think the flavor is wonderful. It's an exotic fruit, but I'm sure it would be quite appealing to most who give it a try.

There is one catch to eating snake fruit, and if you read the article above you'll know what it is. But basically, just remember to eat that small white film that comes wrapped around each morsel of the fruit, don't peel it! Eat too many peeled fruits and you could face constipation consequences - go it?! Let's just say that I was in Indonesia eating snake fruit without knowing the consequences and though I ate about 25 pieces, I luckily overcame the force!

Next time you see some snake fruit (salak), be sure to give it a try!

Grab a copy of my Eating Thai Food Guide here: http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/ and check out my travel and street food website http://migrationology.com/

It would be virtually impossible to say anything negative about Thai grilled chicken, known as Gai Yang (ไก่ย่าง). It's available all over the streets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Nakhon Pathom, and you'll be able to smell the luscious aroma of grilled chicken smoke from hundreds of meters away.

So for today's video I was in Nakhon Pathom, about an hour outside of central Bangkok, a city that happens to be famous for their Gai Yang (ไก่ย่าง). It can be found across the city, being grilled up and then laying on banana leaves waiting to be purchased. Believe me, every time you walk past, you'll be tempted to purchase. And that's exactly what happened to me, I had no intention of eating Thai grilled chicken that day, but the fumes and the juicy looking chicken thighs were all I need to lure me in. Soon I found myself choosing a big fat chicken piece and my mouth was drooling for a taste.

There are a few different marinades for Thai Grilled Chicken Gai Yang (ไก่ย่าง). This version, that's widely available in Nakhon Pathom is first soaked in turmeric (to make it orange), fish sauce, salt, garlic, and some kind of sugar to make it slightly sweetened. Once the chicken has been marinated, it's then attached to a bamboo stick. It's then thrown on the hot fire and roasted until done, but not overcooked to the point where it's dry. The great thing about the chicken vendor I bought from was that she had hand grilled every piece to perfection. I think she took some real care in her grilled chicken.

Along with my choice of chicken piece, which was fresh off the grill and still hot, I also bought a bag of fresh sticky rice. Back to the chicken, that first bite was miraculous - it was so good I almost couldn't believe it was chicken. It was salty to perfection, nicely garlicky, and the tinge of turmeric made it even better. A bite of Thai grilled chicken (gai yang ไก่ย่าง), chased by a bite of plain sticky rice is one combination the Thais have seriously mastered.

When you eat grilled chicken in Thailand, make sure you choose the fresh hot pieces that haven't been sitting out all day. If the vendor is still cooking, you can be more sure that her chicken is fresh and good to eat. Also, feel free to choose your piece of chicken and then throw it back on the grill to re-heat it if necessary. You don't have to go to Nakhon Pathom to eat gai yang, I just happened to be there for this video, but you'll find grilled chicken all over Thailand!

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As you may have seen in previous episodes of Migrationology, I highly enjoy exotic fruit! Among the many fresh and unique fruits to sample is something known as a cempedak, also referred to at a chempedak or extremely officially as an artocarpus integer. This fruit, which is about a foot in length is widely available along the Malay peninsula, parts of Indonesia, and Brunei.

The fruit, like many other exotic fruits in Southeast Asia, has quite a seriously pungent aroma that to myself smells like a combination of urine mixed with sweet honey. That's right, though not the most attractive description I've ever come up with, that's really how a really ripe fruit can smell - and even though it smells like that, I simply love it and consider it one of my all time favorite fruits!

A cempedak is quite similar to a jackfruit - except a jackfruit is much larger in size, usually rounder, and also has green skin. A cempedak on the other hand is shaped more like a really big summer sausage and has scaly brown or golden skin. The fruit on the inside is very similar to each other, but as I'll explain below, I find cempedak to be far superior to a jackfruit in flavor.

The first step is to purchase the exotic cempedak fruit. Once you have one you'll need to cut it open. The outer shell is extremely sappy with glue like white liquid that can be a pain to wash off your hands. That being said, just go for it, as it's well worth the sap on your hands to get to the edible portion. Within the string shell of a cempedak are little bite sizes pieces of fruit. Just grab a piece and start to eat the fruit while avoiding the large sized seed in the middle. The seeds can be boiled and eaten, tasting a bit like a starchy potato, but I don't care for the seeds too much.

Cempedak fruit tastes like a combination of bananas and pineapple that's been massively infused with the sweetest honey you'll ever taste. It's an absolute outstanding flavor and it's nearly unbelievable that a natural cempedak can be so sweet and honey like. During this video I decided to eat the entire fruit, and it was quite a task but I did feel quite wonderful after polishing the entire thing off!

There's an overview of the cempedak fruit, yet another exotic Southeast Asian fruit that everyone should try!

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/05/18/deal-durian-coconuts-bangkok%E2%80%99s-definitive-guide-king-fruits