SEA Games are finally here and Malaysians are in a positive mood after seeing our athletes managed to bag one gold medal after another. There is no other way of truly feeling the spirit of ‘Bangkit Bersama’ than sitting down at a mamak and watching our athletes trying their best to win for us and our dear motherland, negaraku Malaysia.
Nonetheless, the palpable tension and suspense of watching a sports event live may be too much for some people because you know you will end up biting your nails and shouting abruptly when you see a missed goal or a foul made. Sometimes, your being a hot mess may annoyed other spectators around you.
So, to avoid yourself from shouting and banging tables every time your nerves cannot handle the tension, bite on this instead and keep your ‘Bangkit Bersama’ spirit alive!
1. Roti Canai
Nothing distracts you best than a piece of roti canai soaked in kuah banjir. At times you feel the need to sink your teeth in when you are starting to stress out looking at the huge score gap and every second wasted before scoring another point. A piece of roti canai will help you just focus on its delicious crispiness as it drowns in hot curry and melts in your mouth.
2. Teh Tarik
If you do not feel like eating but you need to focus on something else than the screen, take a break and sip some frothy, warm teh tarik to keep your spirits high and believe that we still have a chance to win another gold medal even though deep inside you know you might be deluding yourself. Besides, it will be fun to go out and watch a SEA Games event with your friends and create a halal drinking game with teh tarik.
3. Nasi Lemak
Nasi Lemak is a unique dish that combines all the best things from all of the races. The flavours are wholesome and gives you comfort whenever need a little pick-me-up after a terrible day. Therefore, order a plate of delicious nasi lemak first before watching a SEA Games event so you have a way to soothe your broken heart or celebrate a win with it.
4. Cendol
Sometimes, when watching a game or sporting event, tempers may run high and you do not exactly know when or how you are just going to fly off the roof. It could be because your favourite athlete or team is losing or simply because you’ve been baking under the hot sun cheering for hours. So, let’s get cool and chill with a slurp of cooling cendol especially when you can feel the slow simmer of your blood inside.
5. Cheese Naan
Watching a game is consider quite a festive affair since there will be chanting, beat of drums and cheering among the spectators in the stand for our athletes who are giving their best for us. Although you may not be at the event location physically, but you can be there in spirit through a plate of dripping cheese naan because nothing signifies festivities and Malaysian like a naan.
6. Nasi Kandar
If you do not feel the rest of the food listed above are Malaysian enough, there is one food that encompasses everything Malaysian in just one plate and that dish is our beloved Nasi Kandar. We may have our differences and arguments but our sportsmanship, passion for food and love of Malaysia are more than enough to keep us together even when luck is low for our beloved athletes.
Instead of feeling disappointed and angry that we miss a chance of bagging yet another gold, let us celebrate our athletes’ efforts of fighting till the end with a plate of delicious nasi kandar.
7. Chee Cheong Fun
Not a fan of heavy meals while watching a gut-wrenching game? Need not to worry because the chee cheong fun is the dish for you. Light and easy on the stomach, there is no chance for you to actually hurl in anxiety while slowly watching a SEA Games event that we are losing and use the last of your energy to continue motivating our athletes to fight and finish the game with their heads held high.
If food can be a way of showing our support to our homegrown athletes, we are definitely winning in the loyalty game and prove to the world that Malaysians will put their differences aside when it comes to honouring and protecting our motherland’s name because simply, Negaraku MALAYSIA!
