Malaysia

Malaysia is unapologetically obsessed with food. It is a country where the first question people ask isn’t ‘How are you?’ but ‘Have you eaten yet?’ (Sudah makan?). It is the intersection of Malay, Chinese, and Indian civilizations, resulting in a street food scene that rivals any on earth—think smoky Char Kway Teow woks in Penang and spicy Nasi Lemak on a banana leaf in KL. It is developed yet wild; you can shop in air-conditioned mega-malls in the morning and be surrounded by million-year-old rainforests in the afternoon. It offers the efficiency of Singapore without the sterility, and the chaos of Thailand without the tourist crush.