8th
My Next International Destination: Malaysia?
Ever feel like the world is conspiring against you? Everywhere you turn, someone is sending you a signal that you’re being watched? Well, I believe I am currently under surveillance … by the Malaysian Board of Tourism.
It can’t be a coincidence that yesterday I read/watched about half a dozen things online or on television that made me want to visit Malaysia, a combination of two land masses in Southeast Asia — one that sits below Thailand, the other above Indonesia. I was actually so excited to watch Anthony Bourdain devour traditional Malay cuisine on his Travel channel show, No Reservations, that I rushed out of work to pick up some Malaysian delicacies of my own.
Wait. I live in Hartford. Scratch that.
But I did roll over to my second favorite Thai place in town (my favorite is closed on Monday) for some green curry with duck. I can assure you, the stuff on television looked even better. And that was after I had found my new favorite food blog, EatingAsia, which basically lets me live out my ultimate fantasy: traveling around Asia, eating great new things and writing about it (while taking mouthwatering photos of all the food and preparation and surroundings). Wouldn’t you know it, the lady behind the blog, Robyn Eckhardt, spends much of her time in Malaysia. Check out today’s most recent post about Nyonya zong, leaf-wrapped rice fritters tinted blue and filled with spiced beef, which she ate on a recent trip to Malacca.
The most compelling reason to visit Malaysia is its mix of cultures. Chinese, Indian, Thai, Indonesian and, of course, Malaysian — along with lots of other cultures, I’d suppose — all seem to mix there. That cultural variety is why I was so curious about visiting Mozambique last summer. Now Maputo may have to wait.
