GoT’s winter is here, finally! The series that has kept many of us waiting for almost a year to be on aired, has shown us many surprising twists in the plot making us both angry, frustrated and excited at the same time.
After just four episodes, GoT fans are getting more and more intrigued and eagerly anticipating what is going to happen next in the world of Westeros, the white walkers, the dragons and Azor Ahai.
To make your GoT viewing session more interesting, I’ve decided to create a list of Malaysian food that reminds me of GoT characters and memorable scenes throughout the seven seasons of GoT.
Let’s get our toy dragons, wear our GoT shirts and cue the GoT theme music.
1. Durian
Ah, the durian. Who does not love a good durian? However, to taste its glorified flavour requires you to get through its thorny shell first. Somehow, the durian reminds us of the golden Lannisters.
How? Well, their signature blond hair is as yellow as the flesh of the king of fruits. The iron throne, which the Lannisters desire to sit on, you know, the uncomfortable chair with the swords melded together, looks strikingly similar to the thorns on the shell of the fruit.
Besides, people either hate it or love it, just like the Lannisters because despite our pure hatred for Cersei, you cannot help yourself from liking Jamie a little bit.
2. Ais Batu Campur
Although in the series winter has arrived, winter is never here in Malaysia due to geographical reasons. In order to make yourself more in line with the plot of the ongoing season, why not enjoy a bowl of cooling ais batu campur or ABC to feel the icy cold winter in your mouth? After all, in this hot and dry weather, nothing says comfort more than ABC. Don’t believe us? Then, “you know nothing.”
3. Javanese Sambal
For lovers of spicy food, a good lunch consists of hot rice, a piece of fried chicken and of course, some fiery sambal Jawa or Javanese sambal that makes you sweat, cry and filled with happiness. Not everyone can eat spicy food and for those who can, you feel powerful because you can stand the heat.
You could compare you self to Daenerys Targaryen. She feels powerful in being able to control the heat of her dragons. So, the next time you see your unlucky friends gasping for air when eating some spicy sambal, just say ‘Dracarys’.
4. Umai
Although the Dothrakis are savages, you just cannot help but love the unconventional romance that once bloomed between Daenerys and Khal Drogo, the sexy ex-Khal of the Dothrakis who died in vain. Of all the scenes shown about the Dothrakis, no one can ever forget the scene where Daenerys ate a raw horse’s heart to prove that the son in her womb is the stallion of the world.
Want to know how it feels to eat something raw without needing to retch afterwards, try eating some Umai, a traditional dish made of cured fish using lime and chillies. Umai is not only delicious but makes you feel like a stallion (or a mare) for being brave enough to eat it.
5. Kuih Talam
Kuih Talam is a type of kuih or traditional Malay tea-time delicacy that is made up of two layers; a layer of santan and another layer of rich kaya or pandan. Even though it is one delicious kuih, Malays usually use it as an idiom to call someone “two-face” or a hypocrite. Well, in GoT, there are a lot of kuih Talams characters and the most famous of the Talams are Varys and the hated Littlefinger.
For those who follow GoT religiously, you will know that these two characters are the reason the whole story of GoT happens in the first place (we do not know whether to thank them or to kill them). So, if you have a Varys or a Littlefinger in your life, do not waste your breathe calling off their bluff, gift them a piece of kuih Talam and whisper, “The North never forgets”.
6. Daging Bakar
In Perlis, the most popular delicacy there is daging bakar or grilled beef. The beef is so sweet and fatty that one piece will just melt in your mouth like butter. In GoT, gory scenes are a must and if you watched the recent episode of GoT (psst… it’s the fourth one), you will know why eating daging bakar is so apt. Wait, you missed it?! Go, go watch it now!
7. Cili Padi
When people look at a cili padi, no one actually expects something so small to cause such a big fire on your tongue. That is why, the Malays have a saying, “kecil-kecil cili padi”. This saying actually means not to judge someone based on their size or appearance. Who better is representative of the tiny cili padi than Daenerys Targayen.
She was an underrated character before, until her dragons hatched. After, that she become THE mother of dragons and no one messes around with the mother without being burned.
That was fun! I hope you got to see GoT in a different light now. Tell me if you feel there should be a Malaysian version of GoT and if so, will it be a food game or something more sinister? Share your thoughts on this in a comment below and remember, Winter is coming….