Bonding over food with friends, co-workers on Malaysia Day

Reggie spent Malaysia Day going food hunting with her friends in Penang.

MALAYSIA Day means a lot to the rakyat, more so for some in Sabah and Sarawak.

For those in Penang who could not head home for the special occasion, they had a mini celebration on Friday.

Engineer Esther Reggie from Kuching, who has been working here for almost two years, said she went food hunting with her friends in Penang.

“Malaysia Day holds special significance for the people of Sabah and Sarawak. I usually celebrate with my loved ones.

“As I could not do it in my hometown, I went food hunting with my friends on this special day.

Wei-Zhuang misses his hometown dishes a lot, especially during festive seasons.

“Back in Sarawak, it would usually be a picnic gathering with family and relatives.”

She missed having Nuba laya (rice wrapped in leaves) together with smoked meat, pork ribs soup with terung dayak (local eggplant) and daun ubi (dry-fried pounded tapioca shoots mixed with mineral-rich Bario salt).

“These are some of the comfort foods I enjoy,” said the 25-year-old, who was born in Kuching but grew up in Miri.

On her Malaysia Day wish, Reggie said: “I hope that all Malaysians will continue to live in harmony. The values of acceptance, compromise and tolerance must be promoted at all times.”

Operations manager Daniel Sambau Wei-Zhuang, 24, said he had a good night out with colleagues on Malaysia Day.

“As I was working on that day, this was the best way of celebrating the unification of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak,” said the Miri native, who has been working in Penang for eight months.

“I hope all Malaysians can be kind and nice to each other,” he added.

Wei-Zhuang said he missed popular food from his hometown, like kolo mee, Sarawak laksa and ding bian hu (a soupy dish loaded with seafood and meat).

Malaysia Day has been observed as a public holiday since 2010, to foster the Malaysian spirit.