Hi everyone!
Apa khabar? It's me Zarina as always, your friend from Malaysia. I hope you are doing great!
Today we will learn how to order food. Yes!! We cannot live without them. If you are in Malaysia, one of the best breakfast is called as roti canai. It is a leavened flat bread made from wheat flour and slathered with a lot of margarine or oil. Hard core fatty there..but super delicious!
Here is a picture of mine, at a restaurant nearby my parents’ home. We always have roti canai with a glass Teh Tarik (frothy milk tea). It is a special black tea which is reddish in color with a few big dollops of condensed milk.
We know they are fattening but we cannot resist them. They are super delicious and addictive. I bet, you will be addicted too. Haha..
Okay, let’s learn how to order them, shall we?
Listen to a conversation below:
You are at a busy restaurant during breakfast. You decided to try the local food - Roti canai and teh tarik.
However, you have to call the waiter to your table since there are so many customers eating breakfast there in the morning.
You: Boleh ambil order?(Signaling the waiter by your hand to come to your table)
Waiter: Sori, bang / kak. Bizi sangat pagi ni. Ok, nak order apa?
You:Saya nak roti canai dan teh tarik.
Waiter:Satu je?
You:Saya nak dua keping roti canai.
Waiter:Teh tarik, biasa atau kurang manis?
You:Biasa.
Waiter:Tu je? / Lain? / Nak order lain?
You:A’ah. Tu je.(if asked - Tu je?) / Tak, tu je.(if asked - Lain? / Nak order lain?)
Let’s review the phrases in the conversation.
Phrase 1 -
You: Boleh ambil order?(Signaling the waiter by your hand to come to your table)
Order = pesanan (a noun) / pesan (a verb)
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Boleh = can (you)
ambil = take
order? = (the) order?
We use the English word ‘order’ instead of the Malay word ‘pesan’. The word ‘order’ has been so frequently used that we adopt it as our own in this kind of situation. At least colloquially.
You might hear that the English word ‘order’ being pronounced as ‘ode’ instead of its proper English pronunciation. This is what we call as ‘Rojak’. A mixture of Malay and English in a sentence.
Phrase 2 -
Waiter: Sori, bang / kak. Bizi sangat pagi ni. Ok, nak order apa?
Sori = I am sorry
bang = older brother (whole word is ‘abang’)
kak = older sister (whole word is ‘kakak’)
Bizi = busy
Sangat = very
pagi = morning
ni = this (whole word is ‘ini’)
Ok = ok / okay
nak = want (whole word is ‘hendak’, can be replaced with ‘mahu’)
Order = pesan (here it works as a verb)
apa= what
If you realized, there is no greeting said by the waiter. Here, waiter hardly greets you. Do not be offended though. This is normal.
There are waiters who greet you but that is rare case in local restaurants. Maybe in places like hotels, they do. But, we are talking about budget restaurants like Mamak stall or similar places. Mamak is a 24-hour Indian Muslim restaurant.
We hardly expect a waiter to greet us like at some other countries with higher customer service ethics. But..this is our culture. So each country has her own.
Generally those are the phrases that you will likely hear. If you don’t understand what he/she is talking about, just make sure that you heard the word ‘order’ being asked and based on body language that you observe, it is likely the waiter asks you for your order.
I will explain further some words from the conversation.
Bang = the waiter/waitress will call you with a familiar title ‘bang’ if you are a guy. ‘Bang’ means an older brother and the whole word is actually ‘abang’ . It is normal to greet someone like this even if you are not related to that person.
Kak = the waiter/waitress will call you with a familiar title ‘kak’ if you are a woman. ‘Kak’ means an older sister and the whole word is actually ‘kakak’ . It is normal to greet someone like this even if you are not related to that person.
Bang / kak - can also be replaced with other titles. For example;
Encik = Sir
Puan = Madam
Cik = Miss
But they are quite formal, unless the waiter really wants to be respectful.
Phrase 3 -
You:Saya nak roti canai dan teh tarik.
Saya = I
nak = want
roti canai = flat bread
dan = and
teh tarik = frothy milk tea
Phrase 4 -
Waiter:Satu je?
Satu = One
je? = Only (whole word is ‘saja’ or ‘sahaja’)
Phrase 5 -
You:Saya nak dua keping roti canai.
Saya = I
nak = want
dua = two
keping = pieces
roti canai = flat bread
For the word‘nak’ - the whole word is actually ‘hendak’. ‘nak’ can also be replaced with ‘mau’ which is actually‘mahu’ where the letter ‘h’ is silenced.
Both ‘hendak’ and ‘mahu’ appear more in the literature then colloquial speech.
Phrase 6 -
Waiter:Teh tarik, biasa atau kurang manis?
Teh tarik = frothy milk tea
biasa = regular / normal
atau = or
kurang = less
manis = sweet
Phrase 7 -
You:Biasa.
Biasa = regular / normal
Phrase 8 -
Waiter:Tu je? / Lain? / Nak order lain?
Tu je? = only that?
Tu = that (whole word is ‘itu’. More explanation at Lesson
je = only
Lain? = other / different
Nak = want
order = pesan (here it works as a verb)
lain? = other
Here the phrase should be
Nak order (makanan) lain?
Makanan = food
But the word ‘makanan’ is omitted because the context is understood.
Phrase 9 -
You:A’ah. Tu je. / Tak, tu je.
A’ah = Yes
Tu je = only that
Tak = No (The whole word is ‘Tidak’)
tu je = only that
Alright, we have reached the end of the lesson. Don’t forget to check out the blog at ilearnmalay.blogspot.com for complete transcription of this lesson.
You may download this lesson in pdf form and other previous episodes too by clicking Download PDF menu.
Don’t forget to leave comments, questions or you may comment at the YouTube video of this lesson as well.
Well, today's lesson ends here.
I hope that this lesson helps.
Sampai jumpa lagi! (Till we meet again)
