Malaysian food in Abu Dhabi

Last weekend, there was a Malaysian food fest at the Malaysian Embassy here in Abu Dhabi.  I was not going to give up this chance to eat some yummy food, although I really didn't know what kind of food was going to being served.

"Mommy, there are so many people here"... as Charlie said when we were roaming around the grounds of the Embassy.  I think he was a little overwhelmed.  There were food stalls/tables set up along the walls and tables and chairs in the middle and some mats to the side for those who were comfy eating on the ground.  First up, chicken satay. YUM!

And then, a local rice dish called Nasi Lemak - comes with a hard boiled egg, "sambal" which is sort of a spice or condiment made out of mostly shrimp, cucumber, peanuts, and topped with fried little anchovies.  Bobby was completely disgusted. Ha! It was funny though because when I had my first bite, it brought back memories of when I was in Primary School when I was 6 or 7 years old in Malaysia.  The school canteen would pack these for lunch. Another YUMMY dish! I suppose it would have looked nicer before I mixed it all up :-)

The next dish is a noodle dish called "laksa". Normally it's served with a peanut sauce but this version, which comes from Johor was served with minced fish.  Ha ha... I just gave Bobby the chills again when I was asking him if it was shredded or minced fish. He had a bite of the noodles before I did and I didn't know the sauce was fish-based. So, his first bite was obviously a memorable one, which he almost could not hold in!

And finally, some "ABC" or "Air Batu Campur".  It's a popular dessert served with traditional jello, sometimes corn, pieces of fruit like palm, mango, and other local desserts like "cendol".  And then, topped with sweet syrup and local brown sugar/gula Melaka and evaporated milk.  It was the Graham and Charlie's first attempt at this so I only requested for it with the jello.

The boys enjoyed it but I think Graham liked watching them shave the ice on the machine and after he was quite done eating, he just liked playing with the leftover ice in the bowl.

Come to find out, these food fests are being held once a month or so during the winter. Looking forward to the next one! Perhaps no Johor laksa though ;-)