My Life in Malaysia

I just got home from a pasa malam (night market in bahasa melayu), had a marvelous time scouring the different stalls and tasting the hawker fares. I love going to pasa malams, they are the counterpart of the bazaars or tiangges that we have in the Philippines.It excites me to discover really bargain finds and new things that I don't get to see in the "tiangges" that we have in the Philippines.Maybe because I'm in Malaysia so things are all new to me (been only in Malaysia for 3 months).
The street food is also interesting.The explosion of flavors in my mouth- - - heavenly. I have been telling my friends that Filipino cuisine suddenly tasted different to me.After experiencing the spicy and flavorful fares here in Malaysia, it suddenly dawned to me that Filipino food only had three flavors , salty, sweet and sour. Which is tasty but not so flavorful compared to Malaysian cuisine.A spoonful of their prawn mee (spicy hot prawn noodle soup with a taste of 5 spice,I think...) made me want more.I had yet to try the Laksa--my guess that it is yummy!I also noticed that most Malaysians are conscious about the food that they eat.More of the green leafys in their diet and most importantly, tea after they eaten.We tried eating in one hawker stall that served food on skewers...kind of like barbecue but instead of pork...seafood and other food stuff were on the menu.Things like squid, tofu and squid with kangkong leaves on sticks!Choose from the assorted plates displayed on the stall and dip your choice on a boiling hot soup --- imagine a shabu-shabu on the street if you will.Interesting,right? You have to keep the sticks because that is how the hawker would count how many you had.We also have one like this in the Philippines but they sell only barbecued pork,chicken intestines (isaw--yummy!), pork intestines,chicken feet (addidas--hehehe!),chicken blood (dugo), pork skin (balat)and chicken heads. I personally, don't eat the chicken heads--but I love the rest.They might sound gross, but they taste pretty good.But you have to make sure that the stall selling them has a good track record,meaning nobody has gotten sick from eating his fares.We are also wary of eating street food in the Philippines because of the questionable methods of preparation.Eating street foods in Manila is really like a leap of faith--or having a stomach of steel.
I also like the environment here in Malaysia.So very close to nature.I live in Ipoh and we are surrounded by hills.I love looking out at our window and seeing a hill, right smack in our neighborhood.There are still virgin forests to be found in Malaysia.It is also nice to hear birds chirping in our windows in the morning.Different chirping sounds at that.It's nice to bird watch from our room.Me and my daughter sometimes just make an afternoon pass just watching the birds frolicking in our garage and just perching on the Mango tree in front of our house.
I am coming to love our second home---Malaysia.But what the Philippines have that Malaysia doesn't have is the people--Filipinos are naturally happy and friendly people.Nothing beats living in the Philippines. Manila, with its bustling noisy streets and its warm and friendly people.And most importantly people who SPEAK ENGLISH!!!!