Maybe a nasi lemak 2.0 is some hobo stew version of the food. But there’s also lots of Chinese and Indian influence in the culture, which means there are numerous palates to please and numerous cultural identities to consider. It’s considered the national dish of Malaysia. Nasi lemak is rice prepared in coconut milk and served with anchovies and sambal. You can tell a lot about a culture by its food, and food is the hub of Nasi Lemak 2.0. Nasi Lemak 2.0 felt like it lacked its own identity for a while (it finds it eventually), but in a film about the way three ethnic groups live together, maybe it makes sense that one sensibility would be so dominant. The film feels a lot like a Stephen Chow movie, with distinct notes of God of Cookery. What I do know is that the film portrays all three of the country’s main ethnic groups on relatively equal footing: native Malaysians, Chinese, and Indian. I’m not really familiar with the larger social context or political history of Malaysia, unfortunately, so any response I have to that material will be superficial at best. Nasi Lemak 2.0 is a zany comedy that touches on the idea of racial identity and cultural identity in Malaysia.
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