Mainland Chinese Influencer Eats Nasi Lemak Thinking It’s Bak Chang

One Chinese influencer’s viral boo-boo has recently become the source of laughter for many netizens in Malaysia.

Last week, influencer Niao Niao (鸟鸟) posted a Facebook clip of herself taste testing one of Malaysia’s popular dishes, nasi lemak bungkus — coconut rice wrapped into a pyramid shape with banana leaves.

However, as soon as the video started, it was clear she was unfamiliar with the dish.

“I bought a zong zi (sticky rice dumpling aka bak chang) in Malaysia. This doesn’t look like the rice dumplings I usually see,” she said.

Yes, she mistook nasi lemak for bak chang because of how they are both wrapped in similar shapes.

Upon unwrapping the nasi lemak, Niao Niao expressed her surprise, saying: “It looks like this inside? There’s even an egg and some chilli sauce.”

She then took a bite out of one pointy end before remarking that “it’s spicy”.

“This is Malaysia’s dumpling!” she concluded at the end of the video.

Netizens poked fun at her mistake, with some informing her that she had gotten the dish completely wrong.

“I think you need a Malaysian boyfriend,” joked one netizen, while another asked: “Are all triangular-shaped things dumplings?”

One commenter even posted a pic of a ketupat, asking Niao Niao what she would call it.

The influencer also received a number of harsh comments, with some labelling her as “ignorant”.

“Please do some research before posting videos on the internet, don’t insult our local food,” wrote one such netizen.

Before anyone else gets worked up here, Niao Niao is well aware of her blunder. She has since posted a new video acknowledging her mistake but has also taken the incident in her stride.

“Sorry for making everyone angry over a dumpling,” she said with mock seriousness, before repeating the word “zong zi” over and over, likely a response to those who said they were “going to have a stroke” hearing her mislabel the nasi lemak.

She, however, did declare that she’s now a “die-hard fan of nasi lemak” and goes on to dance around her room to say she loves the dish.

We’ll give her props for rolling with the negative publicity.