Truly Asia

I was in Malaysia for a month. It's a relatively a loong stay that I started acting and talking  like one of the locals. "This is the way to the monorail station, lah" ;p

What can i say? In a nutshell, Malaysia, undeniably is truly Asia! It is inhabited by people of diverse cultures, predominantly by the Chinese, Indians, and of course the Malays. Having said that, the mix culture contributed to the uniqueness that is Malaysia :)

I have learned a myriad of nice things during my one month stay in Kuala Lumpur. But why the long stay you say? Let's just say it's work-related. Honestly, I wouldn't have the heart at this point to leave an eight-month old baby behind. My husband was telling me how his mom repeats over and over "Di madali yung ginawa ni Lami, malaking sakripisyo yon, may (napakagandang) baby pa dito sa Pilipinas na naiwan"  And right she is. And we all know that kids grow the fastest during their first three years of life. Cheenee was just learning how to crawl and string consonants at that time... I was crying a river on the way to the airport as i leave our little girl behind...(that's another melodramatic story i will tell next time)

Alright, going back to my truly asia experience,  I have discovered a gastronomicuan (i

coined this word) of things in Kuala Lumpur during my stay. I have learned that:

• Freshly fried fish cracker is the Filipino equivalent of fishballs (and KL fish crackers i must say are delish!) 
• It's okay to gobble roti tisu for snack.. at least for me (hehehe), although the locals dip it in dhal or lentil curry soup, i eat it alone.  For me roti tisu, is very much like the local fried turon without the banana. I can't imagine eating my turon dipped in sinigang! hehe
• Thai curry is different from Malaysian, Thai and Indian curries (and Thai cuisine has red, green and yellow curry). But the spices often  used are basically the same.
• Most groceries (ok, supermarket) sell sushi and sashimi by piece!
• Red chili is a meal staple (flakes, fresh, dried, whole.. whichever form you may wish to eat it! hehe)
• Not all street foods are junk. Malaysian hawkers sell fruits-on-sticks. They have a dipping "sauce" for the fruits (basically our equivalent of "alamang" or shrimp paste) and cherry powder.
• Nuts, chocolates, and chicken are somewhat cheap in Malaysia.
• Jacob's cracker is from Malaysia and therefore if you buy it there, it's cheap :)
• Our sugarcane juice and mangoes are waaay sweeter than their Malaysian counterparts.

Other than nourishing my gut, i have learned other more important and not-so-important things:

• 

  assorted sushi
  it's not that hot in Kuala Lumpur, in fact, i walked the stretch of Bukit Bintang to Jalan Sultan Ismail noontime and didn't even feel the heat of the sun.
• I got used to the different aromas, herbs, spices, Chinese, Malay, Thai and Indian culinary contributions thus, my tolerance to strong (foul) body odour increased (well, i will have to welcome that positively!)
• Nothing beats free wi-fi in a coffee shop while killing time.
• When in Malaysia and trying to haggle, remember this: mahal and mura have the same meaning in Bahasa! In fact, there are lots of Filipino words which have the same (more or less) meaning as Bahasa.. so be wary using you Filipino/ Tagalog in Malaysia. (lelaki, teksi, sakit, sadap, mahal, mura, etc) 
• The best electronics bargain can be found in Malaysia. In fact, my husband bought a laptop for half the actual price the same unit (same model, same specs) is selling in Manila.
• 

  CBTL free wi-fi
  Taxi drivers in Malaysia are no different from our taxi drivers (go figure)
• shu uemura is cheaper in Malaysia.
• Diesel is cheapest in Malaysia!
• Genting Highlands is overrated.
• Shopping in Manila malls is way better than shopping in KL. Our malls are still the best!