Mamak (or Indian-Muslim) cuisine can be classified as a regional cuisine of its own in Malaysia & Singapore. It blends South Indian (Tamil and Keralan) cooking style and ingredients with Chinese and Malay influences found in Malaysia/Singapore (e.g. the additional of tofu, use of yellow Hokkien noodles). In Penang, where the Indian-Muslim community only ranked behind the majority Chinese, and virtually outnumber the ethnic Malays, mamak cuisine is predominant among the Muslims - i.e. food like “nasi kandar” offered by Deen Maju (which is mamak) is much more common than “nasi campur” or “nasi Melayu” such as the one offered at Buckingham Street (which is Malay).
A close cousin to Malay food, and yet with distinct differences in terms of spicing, is the dangerously addictive and very piquant Padang food from Sumatera Indonesia. My fave Padang/Indonesian eatery in Penang is Nasi Padang Minang.
I think Paris is about 20 years behind London in terms of finding ethnic cuisine from South-east Asia. Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, on the other hand, are way ahead.
