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Notes on DIN by Din Tai Fung in Malaysia
A pork-free answer in xiaolongbao I walk through Nu Sentral, connected to KL Sentral.My pace is the pace of a transfer.I drift along the mall corridor. A familiar logo appears.Din Tai Fung. The white sign and the neat typeface arrive fir... -
Notes on Choosing Main Dishes at a Nasi Kandar Counter
Hesitation in front of the glass case I stand at the ordering counter.Dishes are stacked behind glass.Brown, red, black, gold. The colors alone suggest the weight of the plate. What I choose is lauk (side dishes).It looks like a simple a... -
Notes on Sambal as Table Heat
A red paste that carries appetite through humidity Sambal is often described as Malaysia’s chili sauce, sambal. The description is convenient.It also shrinks the role. If it is placed on the side like ketchup, it becomes an accessory.At ... -
Notes on Nasi Lemak in Malaysia
A Familiar Coconut Rice, Folded for the Morning In early morning Malaysia, the city has not fully woken up yet.The sky is not bright enough. There are few cars.Only the roadside tables are already in operation. On top of them, small gree... -
Notes on Roti Canai Variations in Malaysia
A Small Dough That Accepts Everything Roti canai is one of the most common items in a Malaysian morning. The plain version, roti kosong, is only the beginning. In front of the hot griddle at a mamak stall, a customer’s preferences become... -
Notes on Ayam Goreng in Malaysia
A Shared Language of Gold, and the Burn Marks of Spice Ayam goreng in Malaysia is often described as fried chicken, but the logic is different. In many places, fried chicken is understood as a dish built on batter.A thick coat becomes ar... -
Notes on Nasi Kandar Kudu on Jalan TAR in Kuala Lumpur
A pot of blackness kept going since 1969 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.People in Kuala Lumpur shorten it to Jalan TAR. New buildings rise. Old shophouses remain.Stalls leak out onto the sidewalk. Even at noon, the air feels heavy. The street... -
Notes on Xiaolongbao as Taiwan’s Adopted National Dish
A dish with no Q, no tui, and no sweet-salty finish Taiwanese food often carries a set of shared codes.You can feel them after the first bite, even without knowing the name of the dish. I reduce that unwritten rule to three elements. The... -
Notes on Din Tai Fung
Eighteen Pleats That Carried an Oil Shop into the World Din Tai Fung is no longer only a Taipei name.The same sign appears in Los Angeles, London, and Singapore.Bamboo steamers stack the same way.Lines form in the same way. Many people a... -
Notes on the Future of Xiaolongbao
What this steam might become Xiaolongbao, the soup dumpling, appears to finish itself inside a bamboo steamer. I stood in front of a street stall and waited for it to rise.Thin white steam slipped through the gaps.Steam tends to blur mos...
