Malaysia or Singapore food better? Ghib Ojisan hits up Kuala Lumpur, discovers 'the best' nasi lemak he's ever had

It's the age-old question around these shores.

Who's got the better food, Singapore or Malaysia?

Walk up to any Singaporean or Malaysian and they'd give you their honest opinion on this hotly debated topic. 

Singapore-based YouTuber Ghib Ojisan was keen on tasting Malaysian food as locals tend to admit that their food is "so much cheaper and better" than grub found in Singapore.

On Monday (Dec 19), Ghib shared a 20-minute YouTube video of what he ate in Malaysia's capital city, and gave a final verdict on whether he was team Malaysia or team Singapore.

The 32-year-old and his Singaporean wife were taken on a food tour by iChang RM, a Japanese YouTuber couple based in Malaysia.

First stop, a nasi lemak breakfast.

The couple brought Ghib and his wife to Nasi Lemak Tanglin, a popular joint right smack in the middle of central KL.

Just as Ghib was about to chope a table with an umbrella, his Japanese friends looked on in amusement claiming that they've "never seen anybody do it" in Malaysia.

After a passionate discussion on the different methods of reserving a table in the two countries, it was on to the food.

The breakfast spread was RM27 (S$8.25) in total and Ghib was a fan after just one bite.

He declared: "Oh my god, this is already the best nasi lemak I had in my life."

From the spicy sambal, crispy ikan bilis to enormous portions, the nasi lemak hit the spot.

Everyone was enjoying the breakfast, with Ghib's wife calling it the 'perfect' nasi lemak.

Up next was another Malaysian classic. Singaporeans would identify it as roti prata but in Malaysia, it's roti canai.

The trio drove 30 to 40 minutes from the first location to Fawwaz Roti Canai, and introduced Ghib to arguably the best roti canai in the city. 

On top of the basic roti kosong, they ordered flavours that might be seen as unconventional here — roti sardine and roti banana. 

"This is the crispiest roti prata I've ever had," Ghib said, after taking a first bite of the roti kosong.

Funnily enough, his Japanese counterparts seemed 'offended' and corrected him by insisting he call it roti canai instead.

It's the Singapore-Malaysia food war all over again. Well, at least they could all agree on how delicious everything on the table was.

At nightfall, Ghib was brought to a restaurant that served Malaysian-style Hokkien fried mee.

Living in Singapore, the YouTuber has had Hokkien prawn mee numerous times but this different rendition of a familiar dish got him rather excited.

As he was examining the noodles, Ghib likened it to bucatini pasta and also a dish found more regularly in his home county, yaki udon.

At RM22, it wasn't particularly cheap but based on Ghib's reaction, it might just be worth every penny.

The multiple layers of flavour was what captured him the most.

When Japanese folks are admiring a dish for its umami-ness, you know it's the real deal.

After dinner, Ghib showed his appreciation to his friends: "Everything I had was so special [and] so unique."

That's nice and all but come on, let's cut to the chase. Which country has got the better food?

Ghib gave a rather politically correct answer by saying how "difficult" it is to rank one nation's food above the other.

While he clearly enjoyed the dishes he tried, Ghib kept his cards close to his chest.

His wife, on the other hand, was much more expressive and straightforward.

When asked if Malaysia food really is better than Singapore food, she giggled and said: "Based on today, I think yes."

To be fair, this train of thought isn't all that new.

In March 2022, Malaysian influencer Ceddy Lopez was left unimpressed by the food at Newton Food Centre.

He ordered a huge spread of hawker food such as fried carrot cake and satay and described it as "decent lah but meh" before concluding that Malaysian food is "still supreme".

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEeZEFd9j9M[/embed]

ALSO READ: Only 1 teaspoon of sambal? Malaysian TikTok users do not approve of Singapore nasi lemak

amierul@asiaone.com

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