M'sians Are Upset That Nasi Lemak Was Labelled 'OK' & Outranked By Many SEA Food On A List
Many netizens think that the list is unreliable because bubur ayam is ranked higher than satay, pho, and nasi lemak.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 14 Mar 2022, 11:21 AM
A website ranking food around the world has upset many netizens with a list where Malaysia's nasi lemak is labelled 'OK' and has a passable score of 3.9
The list was made by TasteAtlas, a website founded by Croatian journalist Matija Babic.
On the list featuring Southeast Asian best-ranked food, nasi lemak is the only dish representing Malaysia.
The country's unofficial national dish has the same third-rate rating as Singapore's chilli crab.
Meanwhile, the Philippines' lumpiang Shanghai and tortang talong both have the highest rating at 4.8, and it is followed closely by Indonesia's bubur ayam at 4.7.
Vietnam's pho, Thailand's pad thai, and Indonesia's satay are labelled 'GREAT' with a score of 4.3, 4.2, and 4.2, respectively.
Lastly, the Philippines' balut, Indonesia's acar, and Cambodia's steamed curried fish are in the 'WORST' category with a score of 2.7, 3.2, and 3.3, respectively.
The ranking is based on TasteAtlas' audience and the list was shared over 1,000 times on Facebook.
Just like everything that revolves around food among fellow Southeast Asians, there is bound to be a debate.
The viral post has attracted over 500 comments. Even the official page of Upin & Ipin came to defend nasi lemak.
"Nasi lemak is so tasty when it's paired with ayam goreng, Kak Ros," said the popular animated show. Kak Ros refers to Upin and Ipin's sister in the cartoon series.
"Nasi lemak will always be the best for me and many other Malaysians," read a top comment.
"The fact that bubur ayam made [to] top three itself shows that this TasteAtlas rating is bland. I eat bubur ayam when I'm sick, it's just a gastro resus food/comfort food," added a Facebook user, who is likely to be a Malaysian as they said they are from the country where someone once picked up nasi ganja with a helicopter.
"As a Malaysian, I'm fine with nasi lemak being on the upper end of the 'OK' range. After all, the taste and quality can differ significantly from shop to shop. But what the heck is chicken porridge doing in the upper echelon? Granted, porridge can be delicious but by default, it's a relatively bland food. It's like rating oats as a 4.5+ item," contended a netizen.
"Something must have gone terribly wrong with this poll the moment bubur [wins] over satay, pad thai, [and] pho," wrote one person.
Very quickly, Indonesians came to defend their burbur ayam and said their version of the porridge is not as bland as people may think
"Bubur ayam from Indonesia is not tasteless as people think of normal porridge. It has curry soup, salty soy sauce, chilli sauce, and has more extra topping, such as fried chicken, cakwe (yau char kwai), satay, prawn cracker, salty egg, etc. It's tasty and become favorite breakfast food for many people so maybe that is why it has [a] high rating," said a netizen.
Arguments aside, some netizens pointed out that the list is unreliable as it does not feature many spicy food, something which the Southeast Asian region is known for.
"Maybe it (nasi lemak) is spicy and Westerners can't take the heat while eating. Hehe," read a reply to Upin & Ipin's comment.
"Haiya, when this thing [is] made by someone [doesn't] love spicy [food]. How come nasi lemak [gets] 3.5? That [is] the best dish. However, for Thai food, the best gonna be Thai green curry or massaman curry [...]," added another Facebook user.
