Where Would You Be Having Your Next Meal

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WE eat, drink, rest, and sleep daily. In between, we could be working, studying or indulging in our favourite activities such as pursuing hobbies, exercising, checking online contents, enjoying screen time, communicating over social media, interacting with others in person, or praying.
Apart from commuting to work or study, many others also leave home for dining, shopping, entertainment, treatment, or sports, using their own or public transport. In good weather, many could walk or cycle to nearby destinations.
Besides cooking and dining at home, it is common for many Malaysians to eat out, as affordable cooked foods are readily available in all cities, towns and suburbs.

One can be spoiled for choice, more so for those who prefer to consume a variety of food and not stick to only their favourites.
Much has already been written about the various types of delicious foods and popular eateries found all over the country. Here, we would only be describing the various places where the public can go to have a meal.
First off is street food, which is very much a part of our neighbourhood. It could be a makeshift stall selling nasi lemak in the morning or a roadside mamak stall occupying the same spot and offering the usual teh tarik, roti canai and nasi lemak bungkus, which is prepacked and cheaper.
The same and more is available in mamak restaurants operating on the ground floor of shop houses, and they are probably the most numerous nationwide.
Then there are traditional Chinese coffee shops (kopitiam), which are more common along the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.
Kopitiam serves all kinds of hot and iced beverages, plus fruit juices, soft drinks, beers, half-boiled eggs, toasts  and Chinese dumplings (steamed buns).
The shop is shared by several other stalls offering a variety of fried or soup noodles, plain rice with various meats and vegetables.

As breakfast is usually inclusive in bigger hotels, guests normally have breakfast in-house, but the buffet spread can be rather limited in smaller hotels, compared to those rolled out in better four-star hotels. The selection of food on display in the best five-star hotels can be astonishing.
Although not as popular as breakfasts, buffets have also been served for lunch, dinner and even high tea in many hotels over the past decades.
Of late, all-you-can-eat meals are offered at some standalone or chain restaurants, using the same concept as buffet with fixed price per head.
The difference for buffet is self-service on the ready-cooked food laid out, while all-you-can-eat is table service where diners place the order before food is cooked or brought to the table.
To deter wastage, customers could be charged for not finishing the food brought to their table.
Whether buffet or all-you-can-eat, taking food away is not allowed. But food delivery where one pays for the food plus delivery service is all too common everywhere, even at stalls operating by the roadside or in coffee shops. And so is payment by customers in person using the phone.
At most Western restaurants, a set meal could be offered in addition to a la carte, in which diners order individual dishes from a menu.
The price is fixed for set meals and there could be an option for soup, main course, coffee or tea, with bread and butter and possibly appetisers and desserts.
Then there are air-conditioned food courts in malls, open-air hawker centres, and soup kitchens for the needy. For those who can feed many and wish to host at home, they would engage caterers to celebrate special occasions, but it is often too warm to be seated under a marquee.
Finally, the most delicious foods are not found in grand dinners at huge ballrooms, but at popular restaurants operating in ordinary shophouses, and customers are willing to travel great distances for dishes such as chilli crabs and large freshwater prawns served with crispy fried egg noodles. 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of 
- Focus Malaysia.

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