A SHORT STOP TO MALAYSIA

"Malaysian Winter Market"

NYC Bryant Park

     I had the opportunity to have two chances in going this past Tuesday and Thursday to the Malaysian Winter Market at Bryant Park Manhattan, NY.  Every year NYC has a two day Malaysian Market event during the year where Malaysian restaurants and vendors come together to promote their unique signature dishes and traditional food products.  Plus, give several cooking demonstrations from chefs throughout the day and Malaysian dance routines to the public for free.  How about that!  The organization behind this wonderful event was "Malaysia Kitchen for the World."  The public had a nice feel of the Malaysian culture temporarily during the bitter cold but we were warm once we got under the heated tents!  The smell of the foods- drove your taste buds crazy.  The wonderful aroma of spices that was so familiar to me I knew I had to sample something.

Organized by Malaysia Kitchen for the World

    





Some vendors...

Spices, yum!

Wow, exotic foods!














and THE CROWDS & LINES!

Now, the cooking demonstration begins...

Chef Hasni "Jeff" Ghazali, Bentara

Set up...

              Flour

              Ghee

              Water

              Condense Milk

              Oil

              Salt








The making of Roti Canai ...

flipping the bread dough...














Enjoy the Roti Canai video demonstration...

So, what did I bring back to the office to sample...

Curry potato rolls (3 for $2) & sweet potato donut (1 for $1)

Curry potato rolls was crispy on the outside and spicy potato filling inside.  YUM!  What was missing to go with it was a nice sauce to dip the rolls in.  The sweet potato donut was a mini little thing.  A sweet glaze on the outside and the cake part was chewy- a bit different from our normal American glaze donut.  But, it was a nice mini snack to temporarily satisfy your sweet craving.

            I couldn't resist the temptation of this hot cup of ...

Tamarind Cider $1

Sweet and sour!

The next day, Thursday, after work I rushed back to the Market to catch the Traditional Malaysian dance routine performance.  Unfortunately, my android camera recorder didn't record the whole show just the very end. (Oh no!!! It was on pause)  So, I only have a picture of the ladies dancing.

Traditional Malaysian Dance

I enjoyed myself!  Plus, I was able to bring a co-worker along with me to experience this wonderful event.  While, I was video taping the cooking demonstration Rebecca was nice enough to stop at the Travel and Tourism table to pick up these brochures!

If you are given the opportunity to experience other cultures, then I suggest you take advantage of learning about it other than your own.  It's good to get out of your norm and learn about various foods, native languages, people, and country.