MALAYSIANS are passionate about food, and it’s common to see them patiently queuing—even for hours—to get their favorite meals.
But scrambling or fighting over food? That’s unheard of.
One Indonesian woman living in Malaysia was surprised to witness the orderly way Malaysians approach buffets.
TikTok user @viefriyani shared her experience dining at a hotel buffet in Malaysia, where she noticed that the food was neatly arranged, and no one was rushing or grabbing it chaotically.
In her video, she explained that if she hadn’t lived in Malaysia, she wouldn’t have known that queuing up for buffets here are so well-mannered.
“If I didn’t live in Malaysia, I wouldn’t have known that eating at a buffet here doesn’t involve scrambling for food.”
She then recounted a contrasting experience during one of her return trips to Indonesia, where she stayed at a high-end hotel. To her shock, the breakfast buffet not only ran out of food but wasn’t even refilled by the staff.
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The situation was chaotic, with guests cutting the queue and grabbing food without consideration for others.
“Just sharing a personal experience—when I went back to Indonesia, even at a hotel as upscale as JW Marriott, the breakfast buffet ran out and wasn’t refilled. I was absolutely speechless. Oh well, maybe we were just unlucky that day. It was chaotic—people didn’t know how to queue properly and just cut in line to grab food,” she wrote.
Her TikTok video has since garnered over 1,400 comments from Malaysians explaining their culture of patience and respect when it comes to food.
Many Malaysian netizens responded, emphasising how they were taught from a young age to be mindful of others when eating.
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The TikTok video has since garnered more than 1,400 comments from Malaysian netizens who explained to @viefriyani that they were raised not to be greedy and not to forget the others queuing up behind them.
“Why, sis? In Indonesia, don’t people queue like Malaysians? We’ve been taught since early school days that for everything, we must queue first. Manners and discipline are instilled from a young age,” shared @mamaluv.
“Scrambling for food isn’t part of Malaysian culture. No matter how poor someone is, even if food is given out as charity, they still won’t fight over it. We’ve been taught manners since childhood. If you don’t get it, then it just wasn’t meant for you. Patience is key,” commented @Kak Kemboja.
“Fighting over food is embarrassing. Even taking a second helping feels awkward because people might think you’re too hungry or worse, question if your parents ever taught you manners,” said @Emyca_99.
