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.

EMBRACING OTHER CULTURES

NOT JUST BEING AMERICAN

  

             The U.S. is known as “the Melting Pot” of the world.  A country that has so many different nationalities living among another in which they come together to share each others’ culture.  It’s very important to embrace one another no matter what nationality you are.  The benefit is that you learn the values they have, foods, religion, and history.

             As we all know not everyone in America is an American.  If you come to New York City, then you will see other nationalities, such as, Asian, Indian, European, and West Indian etc…   Not just New York but other cities and states as well.

            New York is known for places to go, such as, Chinatown and Little Italy in Manhattan but other boroughs as well.  People go to these particular places to shop for foods, eat at restaurants, and to socialize.                       

            Yesterday, I took a trip into the city because I wanted to check out a Japanese grocery store.  I wanted to find out what products they have and what foods Japanese eat. Japan is one of the top countries in the world that lives over 90 years of age.  Did you know Japan has quite a lot of people living over 100 years of age?  Amazing right?

Makes you think what are we doing wrong in our diet.  I know environment contributes to the life span but most important the foods.  What foods? And how can we learn from it.

            As a child, my parents always went to the Asian stores in Chinatown to shop.  We used to go early Saturday mornings and traveled on the train for 45 min- 1 hr. to buy Thai foods and eat at Thai restaurants for lunch.   The streets were so packed and sidewalks filled with vendors.  The stores were jam packed with people and the foods hanging in the window, such as, duck and sausages.  The streets filled with noise and the people talking in their languages.  I considered myself lucky because I have the best of both worlds of having nationalities of Asian (Thai) and West Indian in my family.

            Imagine the foods and learning to cook it. And passing down the traditions and recipes to generation to generation.  That is why I feel that no one should deprive their family in venturing out to other ethnic places to eat, shop, and socialize.

            Therefore, do not just stick to the  “American foods” venture out and explore, open your palettes and your heart to different cultures.

            What I purchased?

Ø  Soba noodles (100% Buckwheat noodles)

Ø  Green tea

Ø  Seaweed 

The above are some of the foods Japanese likes to eat and drink.

The languages on some of the product labels were in Japanese and a little English.  One of the store employees helped me understand what type of seaweed and noodles I was purchasing.  Reading and understanding the labels on the foods is very important.  You have to know what you are purchasing and what kinds of ingredients are in it.  So you can avoid certain ones.  Educating yourself is the key.