What is and is not appropriate for eating fried/grilled chicken and fish at Malay eateries in Malaysia?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 24 Jul, 2023
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I have been to Malaysia many times and ate food from local restaurants. I can assure you that even Malay people will be eating just like you said. You can pick up fish or meat to eat with your hands, no problems at all.
However, there may not be option to wash hands in smaller establishments, and they won’t give you tissues for free. So, keep a small pack of tissues to wipe your hands and mouth after eating.
Also, Malay people, especially in KL are very friendly and accommodating to practices from outsiders. So, no need to worry.
It’s easy to find Malays eating food on Youtube, try a search such as ‘makan nasi kandar’
If you watch this mukbang video from a Malaysian with 16 million (!) subscribers
https://youtu.be/nxMGVgZV8Ws?t=410
you can see his right hand gets rather dirty, but he also uses his left hand whenever it is necessary. No doubt he is Muslim and practised from early childhood; if you are eating yourself, nobody will care if you use your left hand entirely, the only time IME to avoid using the left hand as a foreigner who has no prior exposure to such concerns is when paying for food, passing things to others, etc. – make an effort to pay using your right hand, and otherwise pass things using your right hand. Obviously this is within the bounds of practicality – when I have passed 40kg sacks of cement, you use both hands, but for small items you try to use the right hand.
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You’re not likely to offend anyone. Even Malaysians may ‘wield’ the food with 2 hands, meaning that even if they bring the food to their mouth with the right hand, they’ll often enough still hold a chicken wing with the left hand for example. Holding cutlery with the left hand is definitely not a problem.
(Just been to Malaysia for a few weeks, but been in Indonesia for 7 years and it’s close enough in these regards)
I suggest bringing alcohol disinfectant spray/gel too for those places with few hand washing options.
You’re clearly a thoughtful person to ask these kinds of questions. Based on plenty of time in Malaysia — and even working with Malay clients — it tends to be a pretty easy going place. Foreigners often are given a great deal of leeway compared to local expectations, as well.
Traditionally, you should eat with your right hand. At a hotel wedding or other formal occasion, there probably will be cutlery, but you might conventionally also be provided with a small bowl to wash your hand between bites. You should serve older people first. Pass dishes with your right hand or both hands if they are heavy. If you’re invited to a formal dinner, ask your host if you are unsure of anything.
At a local restaurant that serves Malay dishes on waxed paper like those you have pictured, you are unlikely to offend anyone — or even attract much notice — regardless of your specific table manners. Just don’t show up with alcohol and you should be fine.
In practice, locals eat with their right hand; the fork and spoon can be used with both hands at the same time if needed. At a wedding, more decorum may be in order, but at a local restaurant, you need not worry about picking up a chicken drumstick or piece of fish and chewing on it.
Enjoy your time in Malaysia!
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