โDis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.โ [Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are] - ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฝ๐ง๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฉ-๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ, ๐ช๐ฏ โ๐๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ถ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต, ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆโ (1826).
The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago, Khir Johariโs tome on Singapore-Malay cuisine, is the most comprehensive, and breathtakingly beautiful ode to Singaporeโs oldest culinary tradition. And for such a large book - all 10 pounds of it - I found it virtually unputdownable!
Khir Johariโs massive ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด shown here, relative to Mrs Leeโs Cookbook - my first cookbook bought back in 1982.
For the longest time, Singapore-Malay food was the ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ type of Malay food I knew. My first job was with the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation back in the late-80s, and the Malay stall at the staff canteen on Caldecott Hill served some really stupendous nasi rawon and mee soto at breakfast time.
My fave nasi lemak at the time was from a Malay stall inside Rocovo Cafe at Goldhill Plaza. When the stall closed down in 1995/96, I never ever could find another nasi lemak as good as the one they served.
Years later, I moved to Singapore Airlines and, lo and behold, the staff canteen inside Airline House served perhaps the ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ nasi rawon on the island.
Like Khir Johari, I really enjoyed Malay fine dining, first at Aziza Aliโs eponymously-named eatery on Emerald Hill (I once sneaked out of a colleagueโs Chinese wedding banquet when it was halfway through, just to eat at Azizaโs!), and then at the super-elegant Sukmaindra at Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.
But when I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2011, I discovered a whole new Malay food tradition there: spicier, less sweet, less coconut milk-rich - for KLโs Malay cuisine is heavily influenced by Minang food tradition.
Now, in Penang, Iโve come across Malay cuisine with strong Kedahan, Siamese, and Jawi-Peranakan influences.
But, for me, nothing beats Singapore-Malay cuisine - its rich history bore witness to the various cultures and traditions that made up what Singapore is today.
Reading Khir Johariโs book simply makes one hungry for Malay food so, yesterday evening, I peeled myself away from the book to go to Nasi Tomato Batu Lanchang. There, Mohamad Tajularus Wahap carries on the tradition started by his late parents over a decade ago - cooking with only the freshest ingredients available in the markets on that day. No additives, no artificial flavourings or colourings. From his stupendous tauhu telur, to his lamb kurmah, Encik Wahapโs cooking reflects the rich Acehnese, Jawi-Peranakan and Chinese-Nyonya influences of Penangโs own Malay cuisine.
