Looking down through the airplane window, Malaysia looked exactly as I remembered it the first time I visited in 2001. The rolling countryside was thick with endless rows of palm trees in deep shades of green. Back then I only stayed in historical Malacca where I traveled by bus from Singapore. It was my first attempt at solo travel where I did not know anyone in a foreign place. This quiet retreat was the beginning of a long journey in search of my life’s true meaning and purpose. I was about to take the leap from corporate hotel work to the call of writing.

I stayed at Hotel Equatorial where I first discovered Peranakan or Nyonyan cuisine, the intermarriage of Chinese and Malay flavors, cooking techniques and cultural influences. At a time when I hardly knew anything about a job called food writing, I appreciated how the Malaysian restaurant manager fussed over his lonesome guest, recommending his cuisine with so much enthusiasm and pride. I could not resist.

I recall there was a long buffet table; instead, I let him happily organize a light but satisfying a la carte meal for a then-90-pound version of me. I had some simple fried fish and spicy kangkong cooked with shrimp paste together with a few other things I now don’t remember. Surprised by the familiarity of flavors, my first taste of this Southeast Asian cuisine brought me the sense of comfort I needed in those days when I felt lost and so far away from home. Seeing that I was happy, the manager took a few native dessert samples from the buffet table and treated me to a free taste

Life’s landscape has been dotted with so much food, cuisine and delicious experiences since. Thanks to this particular class which piqued a renewed interest in Malaysian cookery, I vowed to make my way back to the source and see for myself. I had a mission: laksa and char kway teow (and shoes!).

This time I was lucky to have a taste of contemporary Malay life in Kuala Lumpur, thanks to my gracious hosts and longtime family friends, Datin Minda Hassan and family, Johan Johari and Frida “Baby” Santiago.

Mission accomplished (and more) in short installment posts.

PART 1:

Not exactly your typical Malay dinner but the food spread above represents their penchant for variety. Arriving from the airport, I went straight to the kitchen and cooked this ox tongue asado using my Indang Mareng’s recipe.

Aware of my mission list, my host helpfully ordered takeout from the neighborhood eatery to include at our home dinner. My first taste of asam laksa, this Peranakan noodle dish was recommended to be eaten like spaghetti — pour the sauce over the rice noodles, garnish with bean sprouts, onions and accompanying vegetables, then mix altogether.

Far from my favorite creamy curry laksa in taste, this version was heavy with salty fish/shrimp paste with a hint of sour. Compare ipoh and johor laksa here.

Malay chicken satay: Jesleigh, my host’s youngest son, bought these also from the neighborhood, for me taste. Dainty cubes of meat marinated in a savory spiced sauce (usually of cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, shallots) skewered on thin bamboo sticks and roasted over live charcoal, I liked them soaking wet with the peanut dipping sauce!

Posts to be continued …