Earlier this week, a man on TikTok had a lot to say about Malaysians glorifying foreign content creators and putting them on a pedestal whenever they mention Malaysia in their videos. While there are those who believe he’s made some points, many would still get excited whenever a foreigner talks about Malaysia.
Speaking of foreigners, we’re always curious to know what they think about our local delicacies. Recently, we had “Magic Man” Jackson Wang himself finally dining at a Mamak during his time here and it looked like he enjoyed his meal. Now, let’s hear what this Japanese woman has to say about snacks from our Family Mart:
@durianator She’s Mariko Kosaka from Google New York #devfest2022
TikTok user @durianator posted a video showing a Japanese woman doing a presentation at the DevFest2022 event earlier this month. The woman who goes by Mariko Kosaka from Google New York started her presentation by talking about her reaction to Malaysia’s version of Japanese snacks she found at a local Family Mart.
In the video, she listed down different variations of Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) at a Family Mart in Malaysia which includes Mala Chicken Onigiri, Crawfish Onigiri, and Garlic Mayo Shrimp Onigiri. The Google employee stated that she was very surprised to see them and explained that some of these concepts do not exist in Japan as Japanese people do not eat spicy food. However, there was one thing she found to be the most fascinating: Malaysia’s Family Mart’s Oden.
“This is genius. Oden in Japanese context is like a simple, bland, fish broth. But Tom Yam sauce and Satay sauce? This is genius!” she said. The Google Chrome developer then encouraged her Malaysian audience to import our version of Oden to Japan as she believes they will do very well there before proceeding to the rest of her presentation.
I need mall food in US to get on this level. (Nasi Goreng at food court in KL) pic.twitter.com/i0vJdM0ixl
— Mariko Kosaka (@kosamari) November 30, 2022
Speaking to TheRakyatPost, Mariko also revealed she’s familiar with Malaysian dishes as there are a few Malaysian restaurants in New York. When asked which dish is her favourite, she answered Soong Kee Beef Noodles in Lot 10, KL. “This beef noodle is not in NYC,” she said.
Sources: TikTok, TheRakyatPost, Twitter
