It is so difficult to find a good breakfast here. I mean, a wholesome protein packed breakfast... Of course there are eggs in the morning... provided I make my own breakfast... that is. I really prefer to make my own breakfast... on the weekends or holidays. But as with most people, during work days, I can't seem to find anything good to eat which I would consider healthy.
I enjoy a good breakfast in the morning. Protein packed to give me the energy for the rest of the day, skipping lunch and then have an early dinner. This way, I control my weight and keep fit. Most people in Malaysia have a carbohidrate filled breakfast, a heavy rice lunch, later an evening snack of kuih (more carbohidrates) and a late dinner (around 9 to 10 pm). No wonder, many people are overweight with high blood pressure and diabetes being the most common ailment.
Let me explain what I mean...
I prefer the "western" version of breakfast, where you eat mostly protein; eggs, turkey or chicken ham, beef bacon, sausages and such with maybe a small piece of toast with a dab of butter. Wash it down with orange juice and a cup of coffee to perk me up. I can do that at home, but to find something like that outside is almost impossible, unless you are willing to go get breakfast at a hotel and pay 4 times you normally would for the 'complete breakfast' or even for a common 'nasi lemak' or 'roti canai' breakfast. So, in the mornings, I end up contemplating what to eat that will meet my standards. And the choice I end up with is a rice dish (lots of carbohidrates) with a side of fried chicken, to compensate for the lack of protein.
Nasi lemak is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk served with chili 'sambal', fried anchovies, with either half a hard boiled egg or fried egg. It is THE favorite breakfast dish in the country. Another is the 'roti canai' which I try to avoid, made from dough flattened out and cooked in a flat pan covered in oil and 'ghee', which is served with curry or dalca (vegetarian curry). You can get these almost everywhere, with some variations to the side dishes for the 'nasi lemak' and by adding in some extra 'flavors' to your 'roti canai'.
If I want eggs at all, I can go to places called "kopitiam" and get half boiled eggs with toast and coffee or Mc D's for its dry version of scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage mc muffins.
At places where there is a chinese influence, I can get noodles soup in the mornings, I especially go for the koey teow (flat, white noodles) in chicken broth with some chicken and vegetables added to it.
Well, so much for eating out in the mornings. I end up feeling full but in a lazy sort of way. By lunch, I am looking for something else and more coffee to give me another boost to last 'til the end of the working day. And when it's too late to come home and cook, I drop by an eating place and have a rice meal. By that time it is 8 or 9pm. I do my daily household chores, and watch tv 'til late before I go to bed and start the same process again the next day. Sounds familiar?
I enjoy a good breakfast in the morning. Protein packed to give me the energy for the rest of the day, skipping lunch and then have an early dinner. This way, I control my weight and keep fit. Most people in Malaysia have a carbohidrate filled breakfast, a heavy rice lunch, later an evening snack of kuih (more carbohidrates) and a late dinner (around 9 to 10 pm). No wonder, many people are overweight with high blood pressure and diabetes being the most common ailment.
Let me explain what I mean...
I prefer the "western" version of breakfast, where you eat mostly protein; eggs, turkey or chicken ham, beef bacon, sausages and such with maybe a small piece of toast with a dab of butter. Wash it down with orange juice and a cup of coffee to perk me up. I can do that at home, but to find something like that outside is almost impossible, unless you are willing to go get breakfast at a hotel and pay 4 times you normally would for the 'complete breakfast' or even for a common 'nasi lemak' or 'roti canai' breakfast. So, in the mornings, I end up contemplating what to eat that will meet my standards. And the choice I end up with is a rice dish (lots of carbohidrates) with a side of fried chicken, to compensate for the lack of protein.
Nasi lemak is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk served with chili 'sambal', fried anchovies, with either half a hard boiled egg or fried egg. It is THE favorite breakfast dish in the country. Another is the 'roti canai' which I try to avoid, made from dough flattened out and cooked in a flat pan covered in oil and 'ghee', which is served with curry or dalca (vegetarian curry). You can get these almost everywhere, with some variations to the side dishes for the 'nasi lemak' and by adding in some extra 'flavors' to your 'roti canai'.
If I want eggs at all, I can go to places called "kopitiam" and get half boiled eggs with toast and coffee or Mc D's for its dry version of scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage mc muffins.
At places where there is a chinese influence, I can get noodles soup in the mornings, I especially go for the koey teow (flat, white noodles) in chicken broth with some chicken and vegetables added to it.
Well, so much for eating out in the mornings. I end up feeling full but in a lazy sort of way. By lunch, I am looking for something else and more coffee to give me another boost to last 'til the end of the working day. And when it's too late to come home and cook, I drop by an eating place and have a rice meal. By that time it is 8 or 9pm. I do my daily household chores, and watch tv 'til late before I go to bed and start the same process again the next day. Sounds familiar?
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