Open in Kuala Lumpur for two or three days, then take the west coast north: Penang for the food, Ipoh for the shophouses and caves, Langkawi for a beach at the end. Melaka is the short southern detour for the trading-port streets. The east coast and its islands run on the opposite calendar, open roughly April to September. Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo are a flight away, and hold the rainforest and the diving. Pick the coast first, then the month.
2 Malaysia city guides
Fun fact
Malaysia elects its king. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is chosen from among nine hereditary Malay rulers for a five-year term, a rotating monarchy no other country runs.
Stereotypes, sorted out
The realityIt is the length of both put together and holds two coasts, a highland interior and a third of Borneo. The stopover reading comes from the airport. Kuala Lumpur alone repays three days, and Penang repays more.
The realitySame strait, different country. Malaysia is federal, largely Malay and Muslim with big Chinese and Indian communities, and its cities still keep their shophouses. What travels between the two is the food, and even that is argued about.
The realityThe pantry is Malay, Chinese and Indian at once, and the best of it sits where they cross. Nyonya cooking is Chinese technique with Malay aromatics, mamak stalls are Indian Muslim, and nasi lemak is the national breakfast of all three.
The realitySabah and Sarawak are around 60 per cent of the country's land, a flight from the peninsula, and they run their own immigration. Give them their own week or leave them for the next trip.
The realityThere are two monsoons on opposite schedules. The northeast one closes the east coast islands from November to March while the west coast has its best weather, and the pattern reverses by mid-year. Pick the coast, then the month.
The realityMalaysia is Muslim-majority and plural with it. Mosques lend robes at the door, Kelantan and Terengganu are conservative, and Kuala Lumpur, Penang and the Borneo states are not. Shoulders and knees at religious sites, ordinary clothes the rest of the time.
Cultural notes that actually help
- Eat and pass with the right hand. The left is for other jobs, and at a Malay table it stays off the food.
- Shoes come off at homes, mosques and temples, and at plenty of small shops. Follow the pile at the door.
- Point with your thumb over a closed fist, not with an index finger. It reads as rude here.
- Mosques lend robes and headscarves at the entrance and are usually happy for visitors outside prayer times. Ask before photographing anyone praying.
- During Ramadan, eating in public in daylight is tolerated but kept low-key. The evening bazaars are the best street food of the year, so go at dusk.
- Halal and non-halal kitchens are kept apart. Do not carry outside pork or alcohol into a Malay restaurant, and do not offer either without asking.
- Race and religion are live political subjects, not small talk. Listen further than you argue.
- Manglish is its own language, and "can lah" means yes. Answering in kind is taken well.
Famous Malaysian faces
Michelle Yeoh
Lee Chong Wei
Nicol David
Jimmy Choo
Tunku Abdul Rahman
P. Ramlee
Yuna
Mahathir Mohamad
Yasmin Ahmad
James Wan
Tan Chui Mui
Siti Nurhaliza
Sheila Majid
Zee Avi
Lee Zii Jia
Chef Wan
Tash Aw
Tony Fernandes
Lat
Parameswara
Yap Ah Loy
Pandelela Rinong
Azizulhasni Awang
Zang Toi
Tan Twan Eng
Robert Kuok
Mazlan Othman
Must-try Malaysian food
Nasi lemak
Coconut rice with sambal, anchovies, peanuts and egg. Breakfast, and the national dish.
Hainanese chicken rice
Poached chicken, rice cooked in its stock, and a chilli-ginger sauce that does the work.
Hokkien mee
In Kuala Lumpur it means thick noodles braised black in dark soy with pork crackling.
Nasi kerabu
Kelantan's blue rice, coloured by butterfly pea flowers, with herbs, crackers and sambal.
Teh tarik
Condensed-milk tea pulled between two jugs until it froths. The pour is the point.
Kopi O
Black coffee from beans roasted with sugar and margarine, thick and bittersweet.
Sirap bandung
Rose syrup and evaporated milk over ice, bright pink and sweeter than it looks.
Rendang
Beef cooked down in coconut milk and spice paste until the sauce turns dark and dry.
Satay
Skewers grilled over coals, dipped in peanut sauce, eaten with rice cakes and raw onion.
Roti canai
Flaky flatbread slapped into shape at a mamak stall, torn and dipped into dhal or curry.
Nasi kandar
Penang rice under several curries at once, their gravies poured over each other.
Bak kut teh
Pork ribs simmered in herbs and garlic. A Klang breakfast, with dough sticks and tea.
Char kway teow
Flat rice noodles seared with prawns, egg and cockles over a fierce flame.
Asam laksa
Penang's sour fish broth, sharp with tamarind, with mint, pineapple and shrimp paste.
Curry laksa
The coconut version, richer and milder, with tofu puffs that soak up the soup.
Wan tan mee
Springy egg noodles tossed in dark sauce, with dumplings and barbecued pork on top.
Mee goreng mamak
Yellow noodles fried hard with tomato, chilli and potato at an Indian Muslim stall.
Murtabak
Roti stuffed with minced meat, egg and onion, folded into a square and griddled.
Otak-otak
Fish paste and spice steamed or grilled inside banana leaf, sold in bundles.
Rojak
Fruit and fritters tossed in a black shrimp-paste dressing, savoury and sweet at once.
Pisang goreng
Bananas in batter, fried at a roadside stall and eaten from the paper they come in.
Cendol
Shaved ice, coconut milk and palm sugar over green rice-flour worms and red beans.
Ais kacang
A shaved-ice mountain over sweetcorn, jelly and beans, poured with syrup and milk.
Apam balik
A thick pancake folded over crushed peanuts, sugar and sweetcorn, crisp at the edge.
Nyonya kuih
The Peranakan sweet counter: coconut, pandan and glutinous rice in a dozen colours.
