2. The Malay cuisine in Singapore is a blend of traditional dishes from Malaysia with strong influences from the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Like the Chinese cuisine, rice is also the staple food, which acts as a "neutralizer" for the spicy cuisine. For religious reasons, pork is never used in Malay and Indonesian cuisine.

3. Satay originated from Indonesia and is now popular throughout Southeast Asia. The many varietions in the marinade and peanut sauce reflect the influences of local ethnic cooks. The most common and popular satays are made with barbecued or grilled beef, lamb, chicken, or seafood. Pork, is used only on the island of Bali, where the majority of the population is Hindu rather than Muslim.

4. A wonderfully fragrant Malay dish which uses fresh roots and herbs rather than dried species for its flavour. If you don't like the fiery hot, reduce the amount of bird's-eye chillies.

5. As the ancestors of many Malay Singaporeans originally came from Java, it's not surprisingly that the Javanese noodle soup can be found at most Singapore food centres. It's ideal as a light luncheon dish, or can be eaten as a starter to a main meal. Many Singaporean dishes are quite simple. It is the array of garnishes that accompanies the dish which makes it so exciting and interesting. A perfect example is Soto Ayam, a popular street- hawker and family-style soup. It is a simple chicken soup spiked with mild seasonings. The accompanying garnishes add dimension, complementing the soup and stimulating the appetite. Make as many or as few garnishes as you like, and set the table so that your guests can garnish their soup.

6. Barbecuing was a very common method among Malay cooks in the old days, when every dapur (kitchen) had a wood fire. These days, barbecued or panggang foods are more likely to be found at food stalls, where whole chickens are generally replaced by chicken wings or drumsticks.

7. Stingray was an inexpensive and largely ignored fish until relatively recently, when the excellent way of cooking it -- slathered with chilli sambal, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over charcoal -- filtered down from neighbouring Malaysia. Needless to say, the price of stingray has risen with the popularity of this dish. If you can't obtain stingray, try using any white fish fillets.

8. Nyonya and Malay Kuehs Both Nonya and Malay kuehs come from the same family. The Peranakans, especially those in Malacca and Singapore, took heavy influences from Malaysia and its Malay culinary and cultural heritage. This means that, when it comes to kueh, there are many that are identical to both cultures, with maybe only a change of name. With the passage of time, the lines of distinction between the two groups of kuehs have been fudged even more. Few Malaysians and Singaporeans will be able to tell you precisely which kuehs are exclusively Nonya and which are exclusively Malay or Indonesian. The term “Nonya kueh” is probably more commonly used in Singapore, and “Malay kueh” perhaps more common in Malaysia.

9. It has two layers. The top white layer is made from coconut milk and rice flour. It has no sugar and taste milky. The bottom layer is green in colour. Usually the green colour is derived from the juice of pandan leaves. (picture can be found on my Penang blog). The green part is sweet, made of rice flour and has a bouncy texture which comes from alkaline water. There are good kueh talam and bad kueh talam. The best comes from the Nyonya kueh maker.Penang

10. Kueh lapis (layer cake) is a rich kueh consisting of thin alternating layers made of butter, eggs and sugar, piled on top of each other. Each layer is laid down and baked separately, making the creation of a kueh lapis an extremely laborious and time- consuming process.

11. Serimuka also has two layers; a bottom layer of sweet glutinuous rice and a top layer of pandan- flavoured custard.