Publisher's Synopsis
This user-friendly & comprehensive dictionary, with over 3400 entries, will enable you to identify the meaning of local culinary terms rapidly, yet is of a size small enough to be carried & used anywhere. Fortunately for the average traveler to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia or Brunei, the written language of menus & ingredients is mainly in the western alphabet. This language, a reflection of the cuisine itself, is a rich mixture of Malay, Javanese, Balinese, other local languages, several dialects of Chinese, Tamil, English, Dutch & Portuguese. Although Chinese characters will be met with in relation to some regional dishes, they are generally also presented phonetically in western form, or in a completely or partially anglicized manner (e.g. curry mee). As far as menus are concerned, your main initial approach should be to look up the complete name of any dish. Less frequently, you will need to look up selected component words. Both methods are catered for in this dictionary. Variations in local spelling are also given to reduce the difficulties in identifying certain words or phrases. For completeness, & mainly for the use of readers or learners of Chinese, appropriate modern Chinese characters are also given with regard to selected entries.
