Ask any Malaysian what they consider to be some of the most memorable dishes that immediately put us on the gastronomic map, and nasi lemak often tops the list. Which comes to no surprise, given its ubiquity and convenience among Malaysians, with anything from roadside stalls to restaurants offering their own take on the classically Malaysian dish of fluffy, santan-rich rice paired with spicy-sweet sambal, a hard-boiled egg, slices of fresh cucumber and not to forget, crispy bits of toasted peanuts and anchovies.
Nasi lemak is just ‘OK’ in comparison to other Southeast Asian foods, according to European travel guide
And while we may sing praises to nasi lemak for days, it would seem that not everyone would agree to its reigning status as one of the must-try dishes in Southeast Asia. This came to be after European travel guide TasteAtlas shared a recent table which broke down some of the most familiar dishes from the Southeast Asian region by rank, beginning with the Best dishes at 4.5 stars to the worst at 3.5 stars.
Now you may be quick to think that given the dish’s almost universal appeal, it would easily rank pretty high up the list among its peers, but boy do we have news for you. Nasi lemak is only considered to be just ‘OK’, and was awarded a partly 3.9 stars on the list.
Meanwhile, bubur ayam from Indonesia was ranked as one of the Best dishes, alongside lumpiang Shanghai and tortang talong from the Philippines, and were awarded 4.5+ stars each.
Malaysians come out in full force to defend the dish
And while the travel guide was quick to add an addendum explaining that the results were obtained according to votes submitted by the TasteAtlas audience, many Malaysians were puzzled, if not a little peeved at the fact that nasi lemak had somehow been relegated to settle for almost the very bottom of the list.
What do you think? Did the TasteAtlas readers have it right? Let us know in the comments section!
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