Where is Singapore? Malaysians gloat after Singapore omitted from top 50 ranking of world's cuisines

It's never fun to be left out, especially when others remind you of your exclusion.

On Dec 23, Croatia-based food and travel guide Taste Atlas released a list of the top 95 cuisines in the world.

Singapore wasn't particularly high up the list, and our dear neighbours up north made sure we knew about it.

"Where is Singapore?" was the rhetorical question led by some Malaysian netizens as they celebrated our poor standing.

Ranked 52nd, Singapore was just shy of making the top 50. The 3.94 stars earned placed our nation between Egypt (51st) and Afghanistan (53rd).

Which one is your favorite?
Full top 95 list: https://t.co/194Xj0ZMZ4 pic.twitter.com/v4uYHnGzGD

— TasteAtlas (@TasteAtlas) December 22, 2022

The list pointed out laksa, Hainanese chicken rice and char kway teow as among the more popular dishes in Singapore.

But based on the rankings, voters must've been left unimpressed by Singapore's local cuisine.

This might come as a bit of a surprise to some, given Singapore's reputation as being a food paradise.

To add to that, our nation's hawker culture actually made it to a Unesco cultural heritage list in 2020.

Malaysian netizens couldn't help but rub it in as they took delight in their country's higher standing on the list.

These jibes shouldn't come as a surprise given how passionate Malaysians tend to be about their food, especially when it comes to comparisons with Singapore cuisine.

While some Malaysian netizens focused on Singapore's poor ranking, others were more concerned as to why their nation was ranked 39th.

Malaysia earned 3.99 stars, tied alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina (38th) and Lebanon (40th). According to the list, Malaysia's best-rated food included nasi lemak, roti canai and satay celup.

"This list cannot be trusted," a Malaysian Facebook user said. Several others too, questioned the list's validity.

Based on the responses received on Twitter, it wasn't just Malaysians who were furiously typing away on their keyboards.

The backlash across the board prompted Taste Atlas to release a statement the next day.

The food catalogue shared how its yearly list will always conjure up angry responses but that they've "learned to live with it".

Explaining their methodology for deriving the rankings, Taste Atlas stated that people would rate the different types of food in their database and the company would then take the average of the best-rated dishes.

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

amierul@asiaone.com

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