<P> In Malaysia and Singapore, there is a similar meatball soup called bebola daging, which actually a Malay translation of "meatball". Many recipe of bebola daging in Malaysia and Singapore are actually derived from either Western (Indian or European) and Eastern (Chinese) meatballs, such as bebola daging Masala which is derived from Indian cuisine influence . </P> <P> In the Philippines, meatballs are called almondigas or bola - bola, and are usually served in a misua noodle soup with toasted garlic, squash, and pork cracklings . Bola - bolas are also stewed or pan-fried until golden brown . </P> <P> In Indonesia, borax is often added into beef surimi mixture in order to preserve the produced bakso, also to make bakso more chewy (from borax induced myosin cross-linking) with less usage of meat . As a result, bakso is often listed by Indonesian Food and Drug Administration as an unhealthy foodstuff . The country's Directorate of Consumer Protection warns of the risk of liver cancer caused by high consumption over a period of 5--10 years . Therefore, frozen bakso being sold at supermarkets and also traditional markets in Indonesia are required to be borax free . </P>

What is the origin of the word baso