h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having just returned from Malaysia I was amazed to see three interesting entries available in the buffet breakfast at the hotel:

Porridge with chicken
Beef Curry - very good
Fried spicy noodles

All of these went down very well with cheese omlete and chicken frankfurters. Malaysia is a varied and wonderful country. Visit it if you get the chance.

i must point out that in eastern countries like malaysia, "porridge" does not refer to oatmeal. rather it's slightly mushy, watery rice with the general consistency of oatmeal. (alternatively, there *is* the more watery sort, which i believe is called congee) they're usually served with salted eggs and this local breadstick thingy that is fried instead of baked, and is called (in the local dialect) what translates to 'greasy cake'. i think. oh, and anchovies. and - in some places - a raw egg that you're supposed to stir around in the porridge.

and then you have the hong kong variety, which is (i believe) usually served with peanuts and mushrooms.

and, while we're still on the subject of malaysian food, i believe there is one dish that appears quite regularly on breakfast menus and at hawker centres: laksa. (i don't think there is an english equivalent for it) you get it all over malaysia, although it tends to vary from state to state. for example, in the capital, kuala lumpur, you'd get this curry noodle thingy with tofu and long beans and chicken; up north in penang you'd get white noodles in a slightly thai-ish sour-ish soup with sardines, pineapples, onions and chili, and mint. whereas if you were to go east, you would get vermicelli in a not-so-much-curry-as-chili, coconut milk-and shrimp-paste soup, with shredded chicken and omelette. (oh, and don't forget the lime) the smell is unbelievably good - if your eyes don't water first