‘We’re doing such great things here’: festival highlights Malaysian food
The co-founders of Malaysia’s Kita Food Festival, food writer Leisa Tyler and chef Darren Teoh of Michelin-star Dewakan restaurant, talk about their aim of promoting Malaysian produce and chefs. Australian food writer Leisa Tyler, co-founder of the Kita Food Festival in Penang, Malaysia, has founded a farm that produces tomatoes and edible flowers. She moved to Penang 13 years ago and has since established a chocolate factory that produces single-origin chocolate from tree to chocolate bar in Kuala Lumpur, the country's capital. Tyler and Darren Teoh, head chef of Dewakan, have collaborated with Malaysian restaurant Dewakans, which is ranked 50th on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list. The festival highlights 100 chefs from across the country at 52 events this year, with one of only four Michelin-star restaurants in Malaysia. Tyler hopes to raise awareness of Malaysian food globally and encourage local farmers to grow better from sustainable methods.
Publié : il y a 2 ans par Lisa Cam dans Lifestyle
Thirteen years ago she moved to Penang, Malaysia, and has since founded a farm that grows tomatoes and edible flowers.
The seasoned food writer from Tasmania, Australia has written for publications including Time and National Geographic; sat on the board of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 10 years; and was part of the launch team for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
As co-founder of the Kita Food Festival (which ran from October 13 to 16 in Penang before heading to Singapore from October 19 to 23, and to Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 30), Tyler should know her stuff.
An example? “Chocolate Concierge makes single-origin chocolate from tree to chocolate bar and it’s amazingly good,” she says of a small-batch chocolate maker in Kuala Lumpur, the country’s capital.
Leisa Tyler wants people to know that Malaysia has produced some of the best produce she’s ever tasted.
Asked why she chose to live in Penang, Tyler revealed that it was the result of unforeseen events.
Before Penang, Tyler was living in Bangkok, Thailand, while her husband was in Berlin – the two would travel regularly between countries for four years, until he decided to move to Bangkok in 2010.
“We were en route to Bangkok when the red-shirt/yellow-shirt problems erupted, and our respective governments declared the city unsafe, meaning they wouldn’t bail us out if things went south,” Tyler says.
“I had a long-standing soft spot for Penang, so we ended up there instead, and basically never left. The island has it all – heritage, beaches, forest, culture, and primarily, incredible local food from all across the Nusantara region.”
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With her enthusiasm for Malaysian food, it’s no surprise that she ended up connecting with Darren Teoh, head chef of Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur, a modern one-Michelin-star Malaysian restaurant that earned a place – 50th – on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list.
One night, the two friends talked about how Malaysia was getting a bit neglected compared to its neighbours Singapore and Thailand when it came to global appreciation of its culinary offerings and ingredients.
“We’re doing such great things here and it’s not getting talked about enough. There are not only great chefs here using local ingredients, but farmers who are utilising sustainable farming methods that yield some amazing produce,” says Tyler.
Apart from Chocolate Concierge, Tyler also cites Natural Tropical Egg Farm, where free-range chickens roam around a durian farm, and Penang Oyster Farm, which uses the latest advances in aquaculture to produce high-quality bivalves for restaurants in Malaysia.
Teoh and Tyler hatched a plan in 2021 to start the Kita Food Festival to showcase Malaysian chefs and the local produce they are using.
This year they are highlighting 100 chefs at 52 events in Singapore, Penang, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur.
One of the chefs in the spotlight is Kim Hock Su, the chef-patron of Au Jardin, one of only four Michelin-star restaurants in Malaysia.
Affectionately known as Hock, the chef, with his portly frame and flowing hair, could be easily mistaken for the head of a street gang – that is, until he cracks one of the friendliest smiles imaginable and his aura changes to that of a laughing Buddha.
At least 85 per cent of the menu at Au Jardin consists of locally sourced ingredients, from shellfish and vegetables to vanilla and proteins such as local quail and meat from retired dairy cows.
To Hock, a Penang native, sourcing locally doesn’t necessarily mean sourcing cheaper produce, because some of it comes from small-batch production.
“I think it is important to choose locally grown ingredients,” he says. “Apart from our responsibility to be as sustainable as possible, it helps to encourage the local farmers to grow better.
“For the longest time in Malaysia, the agriculture initiative is to grow more so that we are self-sufficient; growing better quality in terms of flavour and character was always secondary.”
Hock works closely with Penang Oyster Farm, which harvests mussels, oysters, abalone and even sea grapes.
The farm understands the most important element of raising bivalves and shellfish is the algae they are fed. Native Malaysian oysters are quite small, but in this controlled environment it is growing these oysters to market size and larger.
There is a palm-sized variety called C. Belcheri, which have an almost clam-like texture when eaten raw, and an intense sweet burst of flavour.
Hock uses this on his menu whenever it is available, grilling the sweet oysters in betel leaves before serving them in a sauce similar to a turmeric curry.
He hopes that the passion of Malaysian chefs will bring the national cuisine more international recognition and thus encourage sustainable farming and green practices in Malaysia’s restaurants.
Hock believes in working with people with the same passion that he has. “It is important for us to identify these potential farmers that have the ability and passion to grow or farm these ingredients, and encourage them to grow even better. Not to mention, it will also help the local economy,” he says.
Kita Food Festival continues in Singapore until October 23, then in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 30.
Les sujets: Food & Drink