Malaka spice celebrates 20 years with mamak and Nyonya cuisine

Malaysia has always fascinated me. As a country in South East Asia, but a predominantly Muslim nation, surrounded by Chinese Buddhist influences and even Indian Buddhist and Hindu influences, its safe to say , Malaysia is truly the melting pot of Asia.

To celebrate the unique cuisine of the region , Malaka spice, which owes its name to the Malaka straits of the region decided to celebrate 20 years of Malaka spice by presenting the inspired flavours of Nyonya and Mamak cuisine.

The Nyonya vuisine is a rich mix of Malay and chinese cultures, with marital unions between the chinese traders and local Malay women. we sampled some inspired Nyonya dishes like the Kanji Kedah soup, which I am guessing comes from the chinese inspired Congee. the Sambal steamed Okras were especially wonderful, since I love my bhindi, and this is whole bhindis, taken on a chinese Malay spin.

Mamak cuisine is influenced by Southern India who arrived to Malaysia as indentured labourers with the british. they brought cooking styles as well as spices from India. Ghee, and daals, and spices took center stage.

the Foodietrails, celebrates with Malaka spice 

loving my veggies, here is an okra dish, a pumpkin fritters dish aswell. 

My favourite from the tasting , the one dish which was not on the menu, but because it was so very loved by everyone who had tasted it, it finally made the cut, you wont find it printed on the menu, but then that's why you reaqd my blog right? to find out what worth ordering , beyond the basics. this is the Ayam Goreng Garam Kunyit, and has been hailed as the most memorable dish by most of  the bloggers as well. chicken legs marrinated in turmeric , and deep fried with mamak spices. Tangdi kebab has a malaysian cousin.

Yes I did share a few pics on my insta stories. follow me? @thefoodietrails

Another dish which I found interesting was the Dalca, which owes its name to the Dalcha, yes, the Parsi dish of dal cooked with mutton. Only here it is the dal which is cooked with water buffalo meat , and brinjals, potatoes, and spices reminiscent of the spice traders . some Nasi bokhari , or rice inspired by india and ghee, and you are sorted for lunch.

This rice is colloquially called the nyonya wedding rice, and the real name is sambal terong and Nasi Kemuli, with raisins and caramelised onions it is like  the Indian pulao , but this one has brinjals, and no indian wedding would serve Baingan rice for weddings. the brinjals ofcourse are a big favourite in south east asian cooking.But I removed the brinjals from mine, because; baingan.

The helicopter roti or the roti tissue, is like a  cross between the roomali roti in that it is made of maida, and a cross between the dosa, because it then is rolled and made to stand elegantly and to great visual effect on a plate. crispy and wafery, these can be shared between two people.

Tale of three desserts , the dodol, inspired by the portuguese travellers who went from India onwards to Malaysia, and the nyonya pancakes which were  coconut stuffed pandanu leaves flavoured crepes. and finally the pudding raja, caramelised bananas served with a jaggery syrup. all the desserts had an Indian familiarity. 

A lovely afternoon spent with fellow Goan food bloggers