Malaysians are perplexed by the rating of their regional cuisine received on yet another food ranking list. This time, Taste Atlas' top 50 list of the world's best cuisines place Malaysian food at number 39.
Image by Taste Atlas
The highlights of our regional cuisine were nasi lemak, curry puffs, laksa, satay celup, roti pisang, and others, according to the list made public on Friday, December 23 by the experience travel guide with a base in Croatia.
(Nasi Lemak, Curry Puff, Roti Pisang, Laksa) Image by Google
Malaysia received a pitiful score of 3.99 despite the many culinary delicacies this nation has offered. They are tied for 38th place with Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina (40th).
The Internet was buzzing following the release of the contentious list because many people felt that it did not accurately reflect the global perception of foreign cuisine. Some people even threw a tantrum in the comment section, expressing their thoughts and opinion about this scoring. Some are disappointed, and some are unsure.
But let’s take a moment to give the ‘IDG*F’ vibe to other countries. Malaysia, with all the herby, flavorful, and tangy cuisines, 39/50? Is TasteAtlas filled with tasteless people?
Well, it's understandable if people start to think like this when they don't see their countries on the top list. Naturally, given that Malaysia has long been renowned for its exquisite and diverse cuisine, many Malaysians were not overly pleased with the rating.
Despite providing well-seasoned and spicy traditional cuisine that tourists throng to our country sample, many were unhappy that Malaysia scored lower than several European countries.
Some online users conjectured that the list's creators couldn't take spice and, as a result, didn't rank the nations that are known for their highly-spiced cuisine favorably. Here are some of the logical opinions netizens posted, reacting to Taste Atlas' scorings.
Image by SAYS
However, regarding all the comments and reactions netizens gave, Taste Atlas posted something from their side, understanding people's feelings towards the list they made about the best country's cuisines, and best foods around the world.
Every year when we publish the list, there are a lot of angry people, even calls from embassies. We learned to live with it.
— TasteAtlas (@TasteAtlas) December 24, 2022
Let's clarify our methodology. We are a site dedicated to local dishes and have a database of 15,000+ dishes and ingredients.
There's nothing we can do to change the list. Even throwing tantrums and being mad at the specific party won't change anything. What we have to do is to understand people's palates, everyone has different preferences and favorites. Maybe some people are allergic, or they can't take several cuisines due to religious restrictions or their own decisions. Or they are just biased. Lmao.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media, Taste Atlas & various cross references for context.
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