KUALA LUMPUR: For many Malaysians, breakfast has always been the highlight of the day — and now, it is also a source of pride after gaining a place on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.
The UN body voted on Thursday to include Malaysia’s breakfast culture, “a living heritage related to the traditional dietary practices,” on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The recognition was immediately welcomed by the Ministry of Culture as a “historic milestone” as it was Malaysia’s first UNESCO entry related to food and gastronomy. It also drew delighted responses from all those from whom breakfast is an integral part of family and social life.
Heng Wei Boon, a 47-year-old engineer, still remembers the food his mother used to prepare when he was growing up in Penang. The usual menu was half-boiled eggs with toast, porridge, or noodle soup. All three dishes until now remain his breakfast favorites until now.
“It did not matter if it was a school day. If it is, breakfast is at 6.30 a.m. If not, it’s around 7:45 or 8 a.m,” he said.
“It is a meal to start the day and here in Malaysia, we take it very seriously.”
From home kitchens to kopitiams — traditional coffee houses — to roadside stalls and office cafeterias, the first meal of the day is like a ritual in all of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic communities.
“I grew up in a kampung (village) neighborhood, in the city, and back then, sometimes, some of the moms took turns making breakfast for the kids ... It was such a fun time, and it is a memory so many of us cherish and still talk about,” Nur Natasha Siraj, a 35-year old pharmacist in the Klang Valley told Arab News.
“Now, as a working adult, taking that time for breakfast — to sit and share a meal to start my day — is an important part of my routine, as it is for many Malaysians. The boomers in my hospital would never not go for breakfast and even give us a scolding for missing breakfast. Not so much because they care about our health, but because it is our time to check in with one another and bond before the rush of the day begins.”
A screengrab from a 2023 clip by Malaysia's Department of National Heritage shows a food vendor serving nasi lemak. (UNESCO)
Her favorite breakfast item was nasi lemak — fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and with pandan leaves, accompanied by sambal chili sauce and various garnishes like fresh cucumber slices, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and boiled or fried eggs.
Traditionally served in banana leaves, it is one of the most popular staples.
Mahalakshmi Sundarasekaran, a Kuala Lumpur vendor who sells nasi lemak and idli — savory Indian rice cakes — runs out of her menu items within two hours from opening her stall in the morning.
“People are always in a good mood when having breakfast. I enjoy seeing that. I am glad Malaysia got recognized for this,” she said.
“We, Malaysians, love our food, give it to us three times a day, five times a day, we will eat. But there’s something about breakfast. A good breakfast to start your day ... This recognition is so appropriate.”
Other iconic breakfast items include roti canai — a flaky, crispy South Indian flatbread served with lentil or meat curry — and mi soto, a soup dish that combines broth spiced with turmeric, ginger and lemongrass, and thick yellow noodles.
Sulaiman Ramly, who owns a mi soto stall in Kota Bharu in the northern state of Kelantan, told Arab News that breakfast was a “reset time” for Malaysians.
“It is when they set their bearings for the day. For someone like me who sells breakfast for a living, I know that a good meal to start your day sets the tone for the whole day,” he said.
“In Malaysia, there is no shortage of good food and especially not of good breakfast.”
