News for January 31

A taste of Langkawi: The riders' table

By Steve Thomas in Kuala Lumpur

For the riders and the followers of Le Tour de Langkawi this event is truly a culinary experience. For many this experience is a delight, though for those of the thoroughbred racing kind it can be a traumatic experience.

The riders' table fare is far removed from what they might expect at the Tour de France; each day meals are served en-masse to the riders on an open buffet basis, and standard western foods do not feature highly on the menu list.

Breakfast tends to be a selection of spicy fried noodles, rice, curry and eggs. True you will find porridge, but it is generally rice porridge spiced with anchovies and chilli. Also on the breakfast menu you will find such things as chicken bacon, and pork beer, which is bizarre, but is in an effort to conform to Muslim and Hindu religious values towards meat consumption.

Evening meals are a similar affair, with riders hogging team tables in massive great convention rooms. A wide selection of oriental food is again served buffet style to the hungry bikers.

Outside of the hotel environment the multi racial society of Malaysia is reflected in the amazing variety of cuisine available. Typical Malay cuisine is perhaps the least common of everyday food in the country. It's generally quite spicy, and often contains fish and chilli and is served with rice, traditionally on banana leaves and eaten by hand. Fried bananas is another delicacy, usually sold by roadside street vendors.

A typical Malay breakfast is either nasi lemak, which is coconut milk rice topped with chilli and anchovies, or roti cannai, a simple fried roti bread and a light vegetable curry. The most popular of Malaysian dishes is of course satay, which is available almost everywhere. The town of Kjang, south of KL is known as the world's satay capital.

More popular everyday foods are Chinese and Indian, which are available everywhere, and are some of the finest that you'll find anywhere in the world. The predominant Chinese styles here are Cantonese and Hokkien, though just about everything is available. If you get chance then you should try Steamboat; this is more or less a Chinese style fondue, where you boil skewered meats and vegetables in hot water at your table, then pay for the number of skewers you eat.

The Indian cuisine is largely from the South, meaning that it's hot and predominantly vegetarian. Tandoori is also quite common, as well as the less spicy and meat heavy Muslim Indian food.

Malaysia is a Muslim country, so alcohol is not always available. Most Chinese restaurants serve beer, and sometimes even wine or spirits - but it's not cheap. Indian and Muslim restaurants generally do not serve alcohol. On the east coast, where the Muslim religion is particularly strong it's almost impossible to buy alcohol.

Most hotel dining in Malaysia will either take place in a coffee shop, or at street cafes. At street cafes you can often select particular dishes from a number of specialist stalls, which is a great and authentic way to eat. Generally food sold by street vendors is safe, and tasty.

You can be sure that as soon as the race is over the riders will be fleeing to Petaling Street KL for a Chinese feast, and hopefully not a dose of the Malaysian marathon marches.