I WAS amused by a recent report titled “Maybe my expectations were too high: Tourist left underwhelmed after trying ‘best’ Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore”.
A British traveller decided to try a Michelin Bib Gourmand-listed chicken rice stall at a hawker centre. She arrived with a friend and joined the queue that stretched outside the Maxwell Food Centre.
It was her first time tasting Hainanese chicken rice, and she was disappointed. Her online video clip drew comments from netizens, with some claiming that the best chicken rice can be found in other outlets. One Singaporean even claimed the best he had tasted was in London.
Nonetheless, the taste of foods and drinks is subjective, and anyone consuming a dish for the first time may like or dislike it but will not be able to differentiate whether it is good or bad. For example, those who have not acquired the taste of strong-smelling meats such as mutton or fruits like durian will find them unpalatable. After all, one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Connoisseurs can differentiate gourmet food from the usual fare and between expensive and cheap wines. To the uninitiated, they make no difference. So, there is no need to go out of the way to have the “best” chicken rice or char kuey teow or any food the first time.
Last Saturday, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) posted in its World Factbook and directly translated nasi lemak as “fat rice”. It could be a ploy to get the public to laugh at the CIA but the capabilities of this organisation to gather accurate intelligence is unsurpassed.
However, no organisation can rank foods as universally acceptable, given the broad spectrum of tastes which are mostly acquired from young. Various criteria may be used for rating but it is not as simple as determining whether certain types of meats, vegetables or dishes are delicious.
At any rate, great meals are enjoyed thrice. First, the anticipation, then the consumption and finally the memories. Unfortunately, this was not the case for over 20 female students who experienced food poisoning after consuming packed meals during a leadership programme in Kota Bharu last week.
Healthwise, we should consume a variety of meats and vegetables. All foods can be enjoyable and healthy if well-cooked with minimal oil, salt, sugar, spice, preservatives and colourings. The texture and temperature must also be right.
The quality of meats and vegetables can differ greatly, depending on where they are bred or grown and how they were brought from the farms to the kitchen. For example, the humble tilapia fish will taste horrible if bred in ponds with still, muddy waters, and are different from those raised in large ponds fed with fresh water from a mountain stream.
The best-farmed tilapia (Chinese call them African fish where they originated) in the world are found in Batang Ai Dam in Sarawak. If freshly caught and not frozen, they taste heavenly, similar to many expensive river fishes, with the king being empurau.
Steaming is the healthiest way to cook fresh fish, with minimal seasoning to enjoy its unique flavour, not masked by spices. Grilling or roasting using charcoal fire may produce the most tasty meat but this method of cooking is less healthy, and the worst is deep frying.
More importantly, foods must be clean and freshly cooked. Sadly, food handling is poor in Malaysia. It is common to see fish and prawns sold outside wet markets by the roadside and in night markets, with little or no ice to keep them fresh.
It is also the practice of most restaurants, stalls and caterers to cook food hours before it is consumed, and fruits are often cut open and left to oxidise.
Cut red chillies and chopped garlic in soya sauce are normally placed on tables at Chinese eateries for diners to help themselves. However, chillies and garlic begin to oxidise once they are cut open. Not only does this cause them to lose their sting but they can also develop an unpleasant odour after a few hours.
Before the advent of the internet, I was aware that everything looked great on a postcard. Today, many dishes featured in digital photos and videos appear appetising, and food channels are popular but many of the recommendations need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
I have patronised many of the recommended outlets before viewing the videos, and do not wish to return. Influencers appear to relish nearly every dish they sample, often putting on a plastic smile to present a more favourable image on camera.
However, food channels and rankings will remain popular as food is close to the hearts of many but disputes over food between individuals from different countries are unnecessary. Food should be a source of celebration, uniting everyone as part of a big family, and there should be no winners or losers.
It can be a misconception to promote uniquely local foods to attract more foreign tourists. For example, kuih-muih (traditional cakes) may be popular with many Malaysians but others may find them too sweet and unhealthy.
However, it is effective to offer localised versions of food that foreign tourists are already familiar with, such as local Chinese foods to visitors from China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia and Australia.
As taste buds will not change overnight, most people will opt for familiarity or comfort foods, with the younger generation growing up more on fast food, and may not acquire the taste of many traditional foods, but when there is no choice, the hungry will settle for what is available.
