True Malaysian Cuisine Is Street Food And Our Best Chefs Are Hawkers
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If French food brings to mind haute cuisine where small servings in large plates are paired with aged wine in a fancy restaurant playing classical music, then Malaysian cuisine is large portions spilling over a plastic plate as you sit at a mildly greasy table on a wobbly red plastic chair to the cacophony of shouting hawkers.
Malaysian food is already recognized internationally for our unique and savoury flavours, with our food ranking at the top of foodie charts consistently. Even a kopitiam-style Malaysian restaurant in New York has made waves in the US!
However, non-Malaysians may have a hard time eating comfortably in the midst of the hawkers hawking their wares and the diverse options afforded at every kopitiam and pasar malam, but for Malaysians- it’s our lifeblood.
(Credit: Tiger Beer)
Food Is BAE (Before Anything Else)
There’s a strange saying in Malaysia: “The best kind of food is the kind served at a stall next to a longkang.”
Whether or not you agree, it’s often used as a marker for how good the food is- if people are willing to line up hours and sit on uncomfortable plastic chairs for a steaming plate of char kuey teow, you know it’s going to be the real thing.
The main reason for our enthusiasm is because the food comes first. We just want good, cheap food. Everything else is secondary.
We don’t judge great food on ambiance, or fancy restaurant decorations, or whether the chef is professionally trained. We judge great food with our mouth, and more often than not that’s all it takes for us to sacrifice a little bit of creature comforts for another bite.
Malaysians when they see a big plate of brown: FINALLY some good freaking food!
(Credit: Tiger Beer)
Unlike other countries, hawker fare in Malaysia is delicious, diverse, and cheap! It also means you can literally eat out everyday and reasonably get something new all the time without spending too much.
Support Those Who Make It Possible
Which makes our support for local hawker stalls even more important during this time. Without local support, these food hawkers may not make it until the end of the pandemic, whenever that will be.
Our food hawkers and small business owners have been struggling throughout the whole year, facing limited operating hours, and drastically decreased footfall.
(Credit: TRP)
The various lockdown schemes in place have been proven to be effective in dropping our Covid-19 numbers, but we may well risk losing our hawkers to the lockdown.
Hence, the universal dilemma: how can we support these protectors of delicious food without compromising our community’s health?
Have A Street Food Festival- But Virtually!
Fortunately, Tiger Beer feels the same way about street food. They wanted a way for Malaysians to still enjoy the street food vibe while staying at home, so they created the Tiger Street Food Virtual Festival.
(Credit: Tiger)
The website allows you to ‘explore’ street food in a virtual 3D space, so you can bask in the full street food experience directly from the comfort of your own couch.
All The Fun Parts Of A Festival
To make the virtual experience even more realistic, Tiger thought of everything. You can get ready and dress up for a night out with customized avatars and find your friends to ‘explore’ together!
Then, you should definitely try out the minigames such as the Tiger Crystal Mountain Climber and Tiger Beer Hunt to get additional rewards!
(Credit: Tiger Beer)
Once you’re ready, ‘take to the streets’ in search of good food and ‘browse each stall’ like you would in real life. Then, it’s just a matter of ordering your food and lounging around while it gets delivered straight to your home.
(Credit: Tiger Beer)
As a little reward for supporting our local hawkers, Tiger will be offering their beer at special prices together with bundle packages, so you can have a refreshing drink to go with your food! Combo meals also come with a free, limited edition set of Tiger Street Food chopsticks, with two exclusive designs to collect.
Want more? Get more!
Additionally, Tiger is also offering TWO limited promo codes for you to use during the festival period, so you can eat, drink, and be merry for less!
(Credit: Tiger Beer)
The STREETFOOD30 promo code will get you RM30 off a minimum spend of RM150 at the festival’s Drinkie’s bar for Tiger beverages, while TIGER8 will get you RM8 off a minimum RM30 food and drink set meal throughout the whole festival! (You can use the code and read the full T&C here.)
Don’t believe how fun the Tiger Street Food Virtual Festival is? Check out our video below!
Craving for some hawker fare? Share your thoughts on TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
