Thought stinky tofu and durians are the pinnacle of โsmellinessโ? Well, think again.
Because an unlikely food has caused trouble.
Over in France, some neighbours were up and about in their apartment when they smelled this unfamiliar, funky smell seeping into their apartment.
Disturbed, they then called the authorities, stating that it smelled bad and resembled the scent of a rotting corpse.
But when the authorities showed up at the door, it was not a rotting corpse that greeted them.
It wasnโt even the trash.
Rather, it was sambal belacan.

Yes, ladies and gentlemenโฆ
The honorary title of โSmelliest Food Award 2019โ has an undisputed winner.
Sambal โRottingโ Belacan
On 11 April, one Twitter user with the handle @thezulfo responded to a seemingly straightforward question: โWhat was your worst kitchen failure?โ As it turns out, however, the Twitter userโs answer was way more entertaining than one wouldโve expected.
In his viral tweet, he described how his wife had tried grilling belacan in her France apartment, and how the French police supposedly knocked on her door after.
Pengalaman kawan wife aku yg tinggal kat France, dia excited dapat belacan, lepas tu grill belacan kat apartment sebab nak buat sambal belacan sekali polis ketuk pintu nak siasat sebab ada terima report dari kejiranan ada bau mayat ๐ https://t.co/b8srO3LKVu
โ z u l f oโข (@thezulfo) April 11, 2019
โThis is my wifeโs experience living in France. She was excited to receive belacan so she decided to grill the belacan in the apartment and grind her own sambal belacan. Suddenly, the police knocked on the door to investigate after receiving a report from her neighbours after they complained that they smelled the smell of a corpse from the apartment.โ
Pengalaman kawan wife aku yg tinggal kat France, dia excited dapat belacan, lepas tu grill belacan kat apartment sebab nak buat sambal belacan sekali polis ketuk pintu nak siasat sebab ada terima report dari kejiranan ada bau mayat ๐ https://t.co/b8srO3LKVu
โ z u l f oโข (@thezulfo) April 11, 2019
Translation:
โLet me clarify, actually the neighbourhood reported of a peculiar smell that theyโve never smelled before. So they reported to the police as โIt smells bad, could be the smell of a corpse that was left to rot for a whileโ a little bit like that.โ
Guffaws
Suffice it to say, netizens (maybe just the Singaporeans and Malaysians) found the entire incident impossibly amusing.
One, for example, stated the sad reality of having the smell of belacan compared to the smell of a rotting corpse.
Pengalaman kawan wife aku yg tinggal kat France, dia excited dapat belacan, lepas tu grill belacan kat apartment sebab nak buat sambal belacan sekali polis ketuk pintu nak siasat sebab ada terima report dari kejiranan ada bau mayat ๐ https://t.co/b8srO3LKVu
โ z u l f oโข (@thezulfo) April 11, 2019
โSmell of a corpse? So sad for the belacan to be compared to the smell of a rotting corpseโ
On the other hand, another said that itโs impossible for belacan to smell like dead bodies.
Pengalaman kawan wife aku yg tinggal kat France, dia excited dapat belacan, lepas tu grill belacan kat apartment sebab nak buat sambal belacan sekali polis ketuk pintu nak siasat sebab ada terima report dari kejiranan ada bau mayat ๐ https://t.co/b8srO3LKVu
โ z u l f oโข (@thezulfo) April 11, 2019
โLol, dead bodies canโt possibly smell like belacanโ
Incidentally, @thezulfo had a grand idea about the whole smell fiasco as well.
So as any visitor to Paris would surely attest to, the City of Lights famously, or infamously, smells of piss.
Which is why @thezulfo suggested that cooking bamboo shoots mightโve been more acceptable instead.
Pengalaman kawan wife aku yg tinggal kat France, dia excited dapat belacan, lepas tu grill belacan kat apartment sebab nak buat sambal belacan sekali polis ketuk pintu nak siasat sebab ada terima report dari kejiranan ada bau mayat ๐ https://t.co/b8srO3LKVu
โ z u l f oโข (@thezulfo) April 11, 2019
โCome to think of it, what if you lived in Paris and decided to cook bamboo shoots which smells like piss. Pee smell is normal in Paris, right?โ
Key story here?
Never take stinky tofu or durians overseas.
Because if grilled belacan could get neighbours panickingโฆ
Youโre gonna create a World War III if you bring stinky tofu or durians.
But anyways, the smell of sambal belacan is indeed strong. Just bring it into an office and the smell will linger for hours #truestory
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