"DC." > wrote in message
...
[...]
> > > Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
> > > Filipino... if it's any help.
> >
> > Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
> > Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of
> the
> > many Filipino languages...
>
> Yes i was thinking about that too, i don't know Tagalog at all except for
a
> few words but i was thinking maybe the people living further south
(Palawan
> & Sulu Sea) nearer to East Malaysia & Borneo/Indonesia.


Well, even up north, there are common words. "Bawang" (garlic) and
"kambing" (goat), for instance.


[...]
> Yes you'll need to head out there sometime to really appreciate it. I
> occasionally find the food in the city a little bland while in the
country,
> you might be having jungle fodder like young wild fern tips, fried river
> fish, fresh water prawns, jungle fowl etc. It's making the best from the
> land & is always different.


Yeah, I'll head out there. In the meantime, I'll try out more Malaysian
dishes at home. What you describe reminds me of my trip to my home town in
the Philippines... And that's the only region in the country that regularly
features coconut milk and cilies, so the "bland city food" part you describe
rings true. (Though I love Manila.)

Peter