Food Allergies Or Addictions? How to ask for sugar, nuts and shellfish or no sugar, no nuts, no shellfish in Malaysia

Problem
What are the words?

English - Malay / Indonesian
diabetic - diabetes
no sugar - tanpa gula

salt - garam

sugar - gula (Both words contain the letters u, g and a. Look at a packet of sugar and you will see the word gula which will remind you. Which is the packet of salt or the packet of sugar in meal or on the table. The word gula tells you it's sugar - so don't put it on your potatoes! If you don't see the word gula, before absent-mindedly adding it to your coffee, taste a couple of grains or check the label. Gula or sugar is good in coffee.

Annoyingly the Malay word for salt also has the letter g, the letters g, and - but no U.
No letter u - then it's not for you, especially not when drinking coffee or tea.
Sugar and syrup are gooey and delicious, gula, good.

Longer word with m at the end more likely to be salt which garam.
Garam is salt. I can garam or guaran-tee) the garam is salt and you will not want it in your coffee or tea.

Just imagine you are drinking coffee and tea with friends. Which would you choose, gula or garam. Keep it simple, gula.
Every time you see it on the table, remind yourself by telling others or asking which is which.

allergic to shellfish
allergic to nuts

I like salmon
I like nuts
I like shellfish

I like salmon
I can eat salmon

I can eat cashew nuts
I don't like peanuts


diabetes - diabetic
tanpa gula - no sugar

gula - sugar

alergi terhadap kerang - allergic to shellfish

alergi terhadap kacang - allergic to nuts

The words for shellfish and nuts look similar. The ang ending appears in lots of nouns - easy. Penang, kerang, kacang.
Both shellfish and nuts start with k. Easy.
E in shellfish. ER. Kerang looks and sound a bit like crab.

Saya suka salmon - I like salmon (I love it, like to suck on it - suka=like; it's super - suka - like it lots)
Saya suka kacang - I like nuts
Saya suka kerang - I like nuts
Saya suka salmon - I like salmon
Saya bisa makan salmon


NUTS!
English and English - Malay
I am not allergic to nuts. I am nuts about nuts.
Do you have / serve  them ? Apakah Anda memiliki / malayani mereka?
Almonds
Brazil nuts
hazel nuts
marzipan
mixed nuts
pine nuts
pistacio nuts
walnuts
pistacio ice cream
chocolate and nuts

If you are not allergic to nuts, but love nuts, easy to ask for them because the words are similar or exactly the same:

Malay - English
Saya bisa makan kacang mete
Saya tidak suka kacang
saya suka
kacang almond - almond nut
Kacang brazil - Brazil nut
kacang hazel - hazel nut
marzipan - mazipan
kacang campur
kacang pinus - pine nut
kacang pistacio - pitachio nut
walnut - walnut
es krim pistacio - pistacio ice cream
coklat dan kacang - chocolate and nut

Not peanuts (also known as ground nuts)

Saya bisa makan kacang mete
Saya tidak suka kacang

Finally, when you get what you want, smile and say:
English - Malay
thank you! - terimah kasih!

If you are visiting another country, copy these words into Google translate, then check with a local person on the plane or in a restaurant, so see that the translation is correct and colloquial and that your pronunciation is understood. Try it out in a busy place where everybody speaks English, before you are somewhere remote.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher, tutor and workshop leader of learning English and other languages for Toastmasters International clubs worldwide (especially London, England and Singapore).