I think of myself as someone who’s very adaptable and easily content – which makes travel really easy for me, ‘cuz I’m generally very happy to be wherever I am. Life is always good. But you know the one thing that sucks about being away from home for me (aside from missing my loved ones of course, ‘cuz that goes without saying)? It’s the mad food cravings I sometimes get.

Anyone who calls Malaysia home, has grown up there, or has even stayed long enough to truly explore the food it has to offer must certainly agree with me that no other country can give you the variety of yummy, albeit not always healthy, food options as best as Malaysia can. And at ANY given hour. That’s the bonus part.

I was tuning in to the online broadcast of a Malaysian radio channel yesterday, to listen to my friend Zain being interviewed, when he happened to mention two magic words (which had nothing to do with the main interview topic by the way), that triggered cravings in me to the point where my stomach gave out a loud rumble. Those words were: RAMLY BURGER.

The famous Ramly Burger of Malaysia

Ohhh how my mouth salivated at the mere thought of biting into this sloppy, delicious local burger. Famous across all of Malaysia, the Ramly burger comprises of thin beef burger patties -specifically made by the Ramly brand, hence the name-, sandwiched between two soft burger buns and complimented with cabbage, onions, dollops of mayonnaise, chilli or tomato sauce, as well as cheese and a fried egg for those who want it “special”. The Ramly burger is sold on tiny street corners and alleys around Malaysia’s towns and cities – somewhat akin to your  American hot-dog stands, if not smaller. Made fresh when ordered, these snack-sized burgers have especially satisfied the hunger pangs and munchies of millions of Malaysians in the late hours of the night.

Mind you, I won’t vouch for its health factor. The patty is made from processed beef, and along with the egg is typically fried in margarine, and you wouldn’t even want to start with the amount of mayonnaise and processed sauces that go into this burger. But as all unhealthy foods go, this is as delicious as it gets!

Needless to say my craving will go unfulfilled for many months yet, seeing as to how these special Ramly burgers can only be found in Malaysia. As far as I know, that is. If any of you out there know about a secret Ramly burger stall located in New Zealand somewhere, oh please then do tell me!

Well, since I still woke up this morning fantasizing about biting into a burger, I decided to try and somewhat suppress my craving for now by making my own li’l version of this sloppy delight. I made my beef patty from scratch using some leftover mince beef I had, and having no burger buns handy I used wholewheat bread as the base, plus I added in lots of fresh veggies and lite mayo to make me feel less guilty about the indulgence – so in the end it tasted nowhere near the same as a Ramly burger. But hey, at least I had a good meal nonetheless!

Fizzy's Burger, with my favourite homemade oven-baked sweet potato chips on the side 🙂

p/s: By the way, HAPPY 2012 EVERYBODY! I’m almost a week late with the “happy new year” wish, but I do hope you’ve all had a wonderful time welcoming in the new year. I spent a lovely week with my Dad who, as mentioned in my previous post, was here for a short visit. Have got lots to share about the trips we took! So can’t wait to write about those next 🙂

Soundtrack: Modest Mouse – Gravity Rides Everything
Mood: Apprehension. For some odd reason I cannot place my finger on.
Location: Kitchen at home, Wellington, New Zealand
Random thought: Have got to find time to do usual quarterly tidy-up of iTunes library