KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - With ingredients such as high cholesterol coconut milk, clarified butter and sugar cane, the traditional Malaysian diet may be among the most unhealthy cuisines in the world.
But chefs in food-mad Malaysia, which touts itself as an Asian gastronomic heaven, are reinventing local cuisine due to a sharp jump in cases of obesity, diabetes and strokes in the Southeast Asian Muslim country.
Fattening coconut milk, an essential ingredient in Malaysia's spicy curries, is being shunted aside for nutritious soy milk. White rice is being replaced by brown rice and greens are playing a more dominant role on the menus of local restaurants.
Malaysian celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad has changed the menu of his restaurant Rebung in an old bungalow in Kuala Lumpur to include more vegetables and less meat.
"People want to look good, they want to look healthy," said the 47-year old who has added braised tofu, ferns and beansprouts in chili paste to his menu.
"Before, 70 percent of my buffet dishes was meat. Now I use more roots and vegetables," added Ismail, who said he cut sugar and rice from his diet after a battle with gout.
From fine dining lobster veloute to rice flour noodles fried in lard from street hawkers, food in Malaysia is often high in cholesterol and fat, with copious amounts of sugar and salt.
In a country where eating is a national pastime, Malaysians routinely drive miles in search of deep-fried dim sum in the northern town of Ipoh or curried offal rice in the island state of Penang.
But healthy eating is catching on.
Diets to lose weight and get healthy are popular, ranging from the classic low-carbohydrates, high-protein diets to fad diets of eating certain foods or adding herbal medicines to dishes.
At Purple Cane, an eatery in the Malaysian capital, tea is an ingredient in all its dishes ranging from fish to prawns.
"Our customers like something that's not oily," said K C Tan, a manager with the restaurant. "Tea is good for health, it brings down cholesterol and fat."
FOOD: A NATIONAL PASTIME
Malaysia has good reason to curb the widespread use of fats and sugars in local food as it has one of the highest rates of diabetes, strokes and heart disease in Southeast Asia.
In 2000, 7.6 percent of Malaysians over the age of 20, or 1.82 million people, were diabetic in a country of nearly 24 million people, according to the World Health Organisation. At around the same time, 6.7 percent of the population of Indonesia and 3.8 percent of the population of Thailand had diabetes.
Experts blame rising affluence, a sedentary lifestyle and a growing trend of working mothers for the rise in health problems.
"Generally people are eating more and eating higher-caloried food," said Tan Yoke Hwa, President of the Malaysian Dieticians' Association.
"We need to have more aggressive education and to impart information to the community, getting them to make the change."
More than two-thirds of Malaysians over 18 do not exercise, government statistics show. The number of overweight Malaysian adults rose to 29.1 per cent last year from 16.6 per cent in 1996, while obesity increased from 4.4 per cent to 14 per cent during the same period.
At the same time, public healthcare costs rose from 1 billion ringgit ($297.4 million) in 1983 to 6.3 billion ringgit in 2003. Health spending is expected to exceed 10 billion ringgit by 2010.
Food is plentiful, cheap and easily available in Malaysia. Night markets and hawkers on bicycles serve fast-food meals, while 24-hour eateries offer Indian chapati bread and ginger tea for anyone feeling peckish at three in the morning.
To deter the consumption of unhealthy foods, the government has banned fast food eateries from advertising during children's television programmes. Fast food chains are also required to detail the cholesterol, fat and sugar content of their items.
Chef Bong Jun Choi has noticed a change in eating patterns, with diners requesting less meat.
"Now people are more concerned about being healthy," said Bong who serves up Cantonese food at a five-star hotel in the Malaysian capital.
But not everyone is ready to give up traditional Malaysian comfort foods.
"Of course not," said S.C. Wong, a 34-year old lawyer, scoffing at the idea of trading oily fried noodles for a salad.
"I love food. I'm going to die anyway so I might as well eat hearty."
(Additional reporting by Tan Ee Lyn, editing by Megan Goldin)
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Comment:
Well, this is a typical 'gourmet' tourist who authored this article. I would not jump to any conclusions and arrive at a benighted deus ex machina that Malaysian diet may be the most unhealthy cuisines in the world as this traveler did. This is a traveler's tale.
Malaysia does not tout itself as a gastronomical heaven - the tourists publicize it as so, and rightly so. That is why we have travelers who discard their diet and gorge theselves on the local food when they are here.
Who does not love eating when you have lip-smacking food?
Sure the food in Malaysia is not on the world's top ten most healthy diet spots. Then again can the author provide us with information about food in his/her her country? I have not met a person who does not love food from a place outside his/her country.
I personally love Columbian, Ethiopian, Greek, Italian, English, French and most European food. Heck, even hot dogs and burgers. I also love Asian food.
One must live in a country for a certain amount of time before one passes sweeping statements/generalizations.
You cannot do a 'research' based on a largely ephemeral journey, be it related to food or resorts. This is like a tourist who reads brochures and visits those places then writes about such places in Malaysia without knowing where the pot of gold really is.
The people of Malaysia are very conscious about diet and are consuming more greens and eating less red meat which is, I believe the 'staple' diet in the U.S.
I would like to ask the author what he/she means by "traditional" food? Do not forget that Malaysia is a pluralistic society and each ethnic group has its own cuisine.
Obesity is a global issue. It is not peculiar to one country alone.
Which country does not boast of being a haven for a bon vivant? Minus the 'fattening' ingredients, what do you call that dish?' I guess you call it salad. So you trot around the world and eat only salad?
Good food invariably comes with some caloric value. The problem in Malaysia is that fast food outlets are ubiquitous. To name a few... McDonalds, Burger King, Kenny Rogers, Pizza Hut, San Francisco Steakhouse among others and soon Roy Rogers may make it's way in here. The two big giants, Pepsi and Coke stealthily made their way in Malaysia. They are two of the best sellers in Malaysia - these are certainly not categorized as healthy food.
Vendors selling hot dogs and burgers are having a field day. This kind of food is certainly not 'traditional' to Malaysia but I would venture to say that it is quite a big part...almost part of the American culture...'traditionally' American.
This is what the government should curb. The ubiquitous Western fast food outlets.
However, parents are now discouraging children from binge eating such food - if you could call it that.
When I was in the U.S, I enjoyed BBQ sessions, red meat along with BBQ sauce. In France, I enjoyed the French cuisine. The U.S seems to delight in having BBQs whenever the sun comes up. I don't blame the people who love BBQs, I love it too but I believe like most Americans, I would certainly not make that my staple diet.
Like so, 'Malaysian' food has variety, to cater to everyone's taste buds. All things in moderation.
When on vacation, gorge and guzzle. There should be a certain amount of gluttony when traveling to countries. That is very much a part of anyone's vacation. Return and stick to your salad routine if you like.
Heck, indulge ( not overindulgence ) yourself in 'avariciously' consuming a variety of food, even high cholesterol coconut milk - after all, you are just passing through.
The author is merely whimsical and is heterodox in his/her opinions about cuisine. This is, a mediocre piece of work, lacking sadly in a thorough search of good food in the right places but that's the author's contorted perception of South East Asian cuisine.
If you have to tread on unfamiliar waters, a local well-versed guide would be useful.
Yes, you're right. This is Asia where food is spicy and scrumptious. Perhaps your insatiable appetite got the better of you when you were in Asia. You were dragged in by the aroma of appetizing food. Nothing wrong in whetting your appetite and devouring Malaysian food but remember to exercise moderation, no matter which country you are in.
Then again, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion no matter how vacuous it may be.
anon
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