A true taste of Malaysia

If you want to have a true taste of Malaysian delicacies without leaving Taiwan, you can join this year's Malaysia Food Festival held at the Grand Hotel in cooperation with the Malaysia Bureau of Tourism until Nov. 11.

For the occasion, organizers invited renowned five-star restaurant chef Zamri Bin Haji Ariffin from Malaysia to present several local delicacies, including unique Nyonya cuisines, Chilli Crabs, Taro Rice, Curry Rice Noodle, various seasonings of Satay, and Pulled Tea — a traditional beverage that brings you an authentic taste of Malay.

With at least 30 years of cooking experience, the top chef remarked from the outset that behind every dish, there is a long history of integrated food cultures that stems from China, Southeast Asia and even Western styles.

In 15th century China, for instance, the country suffered from economic hardships and many male migrants came to settle in Malaysia. They married local women and later had children called “Ba-Ba” for boys and “Nyonya” for girls, which led to the birth of the famous “Nyonya” cuisine.

Traditional Nyonya cuisine assimilates not only Chinese flavors but also blends in more sweet, sour and spicy flavors such as coconut milk and lemon grass chilies, star anise, curry powder, and cinnamon.

“They also blend the spices with Chinese herbs. It's quite interesting and very different,” said Zamri.

“The descendants obeyed a strict tradition for their food. If a Nyonya wanted to marry into a Chinese family, they had to follow the tradition of the family and make sure the taste of the food included particular spices and seasoning, which they passed from generations on,” said the chef, “The flavors were mixed as they married each other and then the dish became very different.”

People visiting Malaysia cannot miss the Sup Ekor, the Malay style ox-tail soup with various kinds of spices and onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, and kurma powder, he remarked.

When traveling through Malaysia's countryside, Zamri noted that you might be able to experience various local dishes such as roast meats.

Another local delicacy that the Malay cook would recommend is satay. The grilled dish consists of marinated chicken, beef and mutton skewers and is accompanied by pressed rice, cucumber, onion cubes, and peanut sauce; all available at the Grand Hotel during the sumptuous event.

To Zamri, however, there is a big difference between Chinese and Malaysian dishes. “I think Chinese food is lighter and cooked straight forward. Malaysian dishes have a stronger taste with lots of sauce, spices and oils.”

Slight differences exist even within the country. “In the northern and western parts of Malaysia, the food is spicier and has been more influenced from China, India and Thailand,” he said, “ while on the Eastern coast it is sweeter.”

For further information on Malaysian food in Taiwan, please log on to http://www.grand-hotel.org/ or call (02) 2886-8888

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