Pakistani culture in Malaysia

Working with Pakistani boys in Malaysia gave me an opportunity to learn a bit about their culture. I am very grateful for that.

Very  quickly Biryani became my favorite dinner dish.
Biryani is a rise with ginger sauce and red chicken baked on fire!
Mniam!
(there are many versions of Biryani but generally its rise is fried or cooked separately from a thick sauce)

In one of cafeterias around the Universiti Teknologi Petronas one can get very nice Pakistani breakfast. It is very filling, and oily, but I like it a lot.

Cafeteria.

As a change to Malaysian Nasi Lamak I got to like also Pakistani food for breakfast.

Breakfast.

I got a present from a friend from Karachi, Pakistan. A modern version of traditional Pakistani outfit Kurti made by Sheep.

I have worn my Kurti to university, because after hours we planned to eat Raya dinner together with other students and professors from my department (Raya at university).

I have used my friend's scarf as dupatta, I wear it across shoulders which is a typical way of wearing it. One can easily wear Kurti as a shirt over jeans - and that is what I did.

A useful tip (that is probably only new to me) how to wash clothes like cotton Kurti. First of all hand wash, second of all if after washing you realize some unevenness in coloring then add a bit of vinegar to the next washing.

juices to try in Malaysia

I have tried a lot of different drinks in Malaysia that I have never tried before.

Bandung - milk flavored with rose syrup - very sweet but nice with a lot of ice, pink in color.

Jagung - milk flavored with corn syrup - as for me way too sweet, orange in color.

Sirap - just a rose syrup.

WARNING! Never take them without a lot of ice! They just way to sweet for that.

Teh - tea is mostly served with sweet condensed milk, can be hot or cold. Also very sweet.

In Malaysia they like to add different fruits or seeds or jellies to their water or teh or juice or soda.

Some of my favorites are:

(1)
Rose Lemon Iced Tea from La Kaffa! I even liked the jellies they add to it: black balls and long white stripes.

(2)

Barli (eng. barley) - hot water with barley, lime and sugar - perfect for cooling down not only on hot days but also when you catch a fever.

(3)

A great drink is also a watermelon juice with lychee or longan fruits.

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WARNING: Fresh orange juice might also come as a surprise. It is mostly not pressed but blended orange, only one per glass, with a lot of water, ice and sugar. But if you ask nicely you might get two oranges and no sugar, but it might not happen... no need to get angry just try again next time.

Generally it seems like there is no amount of sugar in Malaysia that could make a drink to sweet for them, but I couldn't enjoy some of drinks because of it.

My tip is that wherever you go ask for NO Additional SUGAR. Your drink will be crazy sweet no matter what but you might avoid a heart attack.

 Also pick you jellies wisely because some of them are very sweet, as for me way to sweet.

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And here are some commercial products worth trying:

Generally any drink you get in Malaysia if it should be cold drink it very cold, because went it will get warm... and it can get warm very fast in Malaysia it will be same awful experience as drinking warm coca cola.

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When I came back to Denmark from Malaysia I found a small surprise in 7Eleven. 

Bubble drinks came to Europe. 

Nice, but still nothing comparing to the choice of fun stuff one can add to drink in Malaysia!

Durian

Durian is commonly know as King of the Fruits in Malaysia. And it is in season now, so one can get it everywhere.

They not easy to open, because it has very sharp thorns.

Durian is very milky, sweet and sometimes has a bitter after taste. Its most unique feature is a horrible smell. When it is fresh it is not so bad, but if it lays for an hour the smell is very strong. And if you burp it seems like you dead or rotten inside.

I have tried two types one mild and second one more aromatic.

If you eat to much of durian you can get a fever so it is adviced to drink a lot of water.

It is claimed to be an aphrodisiac.

To wash the smell off your hands it is best to put the skin of durian under the stream of water.

mango steen

Mango steen is in season now. Sweet and sour in taste. Be careful while peeling because peel can color your skin.

Except of name it is nothing like a mango.

It look like garlic but the taste is completely different.

Eid ul-Fitr (Eid) - Hari Raya

I have eaten a lot during Raya.
It was all delicious and for a surprise of my hosts I had no stomach problems.
In some way I actually think it is easier to eat food during Raya than what we serve during Christmas.
Here you travel from house to house during one day so it is enough you take a little bit of everything and everyone understands.
Christmas are like a food competition you sit done by the table and eat until you drop ;)

Holidays like Raya are fantastic. You meat friends, family and just relax and enjoy seeing people you love.
I always eat as much as I can and do not worry about belly getting bigger and bigger...
However, when the new days come I quickly go for a exhausting training to the gym!
You want to eat till you drop you need to train till you drop as well ;)

Chicken soup with fish cake. Delicious!

Layer cakes are very popular. My favorite from those I tried was a two layer cheese cake. Very creamy sweet chocolate part balanced with a bit sour plain part!

I ate almost all black and white pieces of cake!

Pulut Lepa.

Rendang is a typical Raya meat dish eaten with a pulut lepa - a glutinous rice flavored with coconut milk and barbecued in bamboo leaves.

In a jars with cookies one can find huge variety of cookies where most traditional ones are: kuih bahulu - mini sponge cakes, and kuih loyang - honeycomb cookies.

In a jars are cookies, next to them rendang and on a right side pulut cut in cubes.

During Raya kids and those unmarried get small envelopes with money. In every house host will distribute them. I was lucky to get one too :)

My Raya present.

Lizards

My room has no air condition, I cannot really close the window and there is a big gap between floor and door... 

so it is very hot in my room, and any lizard can come in whenever it wants... 

Good that lizards that I came across until now are not dangerous at all, and because they eat insects they can actually be considered useful. 

I think they look cute and as long as they are not noisy I do not mind them, especially that they deadly afraid of me.

My little fly-eating roommate.

Cute!

Here is one cute lizard at university... they just everywhere.

Lizard from motel I stayed in Langkawi.

hair style fitting Baju Kurung

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri :)

One of my good Malay friends has lent me Baju Kurung (traditional Malaysian outfit). 

I didn't want to cover my hair with beautiful scarf since I haven't been doing it any other days.

However, I really wanted to look special during Eid ul-Fitr (or Malaysian Aidilfitri).

I was visiting my friend's whole family house by house and I wanted to pay my respect as much as I could.

I have decided on some special hairstyle and here are some photos how my wish was becoming true in a hairdresser salon - since I am not the best in styling my hair.

Seems like this shade of yellow makes my eyes appear to be blue, but they're not.

Lets get started.

Getting two buns.

Refreshing curls and I am ready.

I've never thought that yellow will fit me so well. I am now on a quest to get something in this sunshine color, because it makes my eyes look blue.
At least people were all the time commenting on my blue eyes.
Well, my eyes are weird color not really blue, not really green, and not really gray...
But apparently yellow dress makes them pretty, and that is all I need to justify another shopping trip ;)

On a road.

I think they should always test make-up in Malaysia or countries with similar climate. 

If you really do not get shiny skin, and your make-up do not decay after few hours in conditions of that sort then it is really worth your money. 

I mean anything works with always cool Denmark ;)

Anyway, my cheap Maybelline foundation didn't embarrassed me but my nose was quite shiny all the time ;)

Mango-Apple Tree.

A traditional Malaysian house.

It was a fun-filled day.

After family time, I changed and went to see a movie "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters". It is ok movie, but not even near to get onto a "must see list".

When I got to bed I slept like a baby... it was a great day!

Eid Mubarak!