“Chicken Rendang is Never Crispy,” Says British High Commissioner of Malaysia

So, if you haven’t been living under a rock, you probably would have heard about the latest controversial topic gripping the nation – chicken rendang.

To catch you up to speed, here’s a quick run-down of what happened. 

A Malaysian named Zaleha Kadir Olpin, who competed on MasterChef UK, was recently booted off the show after British judges were not impressed with her nasi lemak served with chicken rendang.

The controversial bit? They pointed out that the chicken was not crispy and the meat did not fall off the bone — two characteristics that don’t make up the quintessential chicken rendang dish. 

"The chicken skin isn't crispy" 🤦‍♀️

Dei mangkuk, what do you know actually know about rendang pic.twitter.com/rIv6RjT8XV

— Typical Malaysian (@TypicalMsian) April 2, 2018

Naturally, all hell broke loose not long after Malaysians and others in the ASEAN region caught wind of this, with many of them taking to social media, slamming the judges for their poor understanding of chicken rendang.

As if that wasn’t enough, one of the reality show’s judges, John Torode, has since taken to Twitter and made things even worse, questioning the dish’s origins. Naturally, a number of netizens were quick to fire back.

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Now however, the drama has even reached the British High Commissioner of Malaysia, who decided to weigh in on the issue herself. She took to Twitter and tagged the MasterChef UK judges, saying that chicken rendang is never crispy and should not be confused with Indonesian styles.

Source: Twitter

In light of all the attention surrounding chicken rendang, our own Prime Minister has also weighed in, sharing a photo of some delicious-looking rendang on Twitter. Walao!

Source: Twitter

What do you think of the internet drama surrounding chicken rendang? Let us know in the comments below!

Also read: Kuantan Contestant Gets Eliminated From MasterChef UK Because Chicken Rendang Wasn’t ‘Crispy’