If you thought Malaysian cuisine was just about street food, then Malaysian High Commissioner Nur Izzah Wong Mee Choo wants you to think again.
Growing up in Malaysia, “one of the pinnacles” of food experiences is having a Malaysian-style high tea at a luxury hotel, Wong says.
The British made Malaysia a colony in 1867, then, after intervening in the fratricidal wars of the sultans, formed the Federated Malay States in 1895.
The high tea, which started as a British tradition in the 1840s, was introduced to Malaysians, who gave it a twist and made it their own.
A collaboration between the Malaysian High Commission, Auckland’s Stamford Plaza Hotel, events company Lincoln’s Table and a kitchen takeover by Malaysian chefs will see this Malaysian high tea culture offered in Auckland.
From a sampling of Malaysian high tea, to regional food offerings rarely found in New Zealand and Malaysian-inspired mocktails, the Malaysia 65 Food Fest (from August 31 to September 3 at the Stamford Plaza) is setting out to showcase them all.
“This is a celebration of Malaysia’s 65th independence day and, for Malaysians, celebration is always centre around food. What better way is there to celebrate than to share our ‘makan’ culture and showcase Malaysian cuisine with Kiwis?” Wong says.
The act of coming together for this celebration through food is at the very heart of the festival, she says. “The notion of community is very deeply entrenched within Malaysian culture. We have a phrase, ‘gotong-royong’, meaning working with members of the community to achieve a common goal, and this is how we are doing it with this festival, through collaborations.”
Wong hopes the festival will remind Kiwis of the gustatory delights of Malaysia and make them “hungry to visit Malaysia again”.
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Advertise with NZME.Kicking off on the evening of Malaysia’s Merdeka Day, on August 31, chef Sam Ng’s team will bring the best of Malaysian cuisine to Stamford Plaza for an all-you-can-eat dinner event. Highlights for the evening also include lion dancing and cultural performances. The dinner is $79 per person.
A Malaysian high tea set menu will be offered from September 1-3 at the hotel’s KOA restaurant, along with an a la carte menu showcasing Malaysian street food favourites. The high tea stand set menu for two is $65 and dishes are priced between $18 and $28.
Ng, originally from Johor Bahru, moved to New Zealand with his wife Jennie Tan in 2004. He will be leading the team taking over the kitchen at Stamford Plaza for the four-day festival.
The couple run Treasure Kitchen in Ōtāhuhu and have recently taken over the premises of the former Enjoy Inn Restaurant in Greenlane. They will be opening their new 180-seater restaurant in October and Ng sees being part of the festival as an opportunity to show what they can do.
“Malaysia is a food heaven, and this food festival is a chance for me and my team to showcase the best of Malaysian cuisine and also the best of what we can do,” Ng says.
Mee rebus, a dish made of yellow egg noodles with a spicy, slightly sweet curry-like gravy; otak otak, grilled ground fish mixed with spices and wrapped in leaf parcels; and rojak, a tangy and spicy fruit salad dish, are among the offerings on the a la carte menu.
Ng believes the prawn laksa, prepared with a rich, spicy coconut soup, will tantalise palates and be a crowd favourite.
“Most challenging for us is recreating the Malaysian high tea, so what we decided to do was offer a sample of what it is like back home,” he says.
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Advertise with NZME.“Don’t expect dainty pastries, scones and sandwiches, because high tea to Malaysians is very different.”
On the top tier of the stand are satay, curry puffs and spring rolls, with otak otak and nasi lemak bungkus filled with prawn sambal, achar pickles, anchovies, egg and peanuts filling the second stand.
The third layer has a selection of sweet and savoury kueh, which are bite-sized snacks or dessert food mostly drawn from the Peranakan culture of Malacca.
Sumeet Shetty, Stamford Plaza’s executive assistant manager, says this is the first time the hotel has had such a collaboration and sees this as a start to its next chapter.
“We have had a challenging time due to the pandemic, and we are not going to let it slow us down any more,” Shetty says. “The festival will show that Stamford Plaza is once again open for business, and we invite the public to come and enjoy the amazing food.”
The high tea, which must be pre-booked, will be accompanied by a selection of premium teas by Dilmah.
Lincoln Tan is the NZ Herald’s diversity editor and the creator of Lincoln’s Table. Tickets for the Malaysian 65 Food Fest are available at Lincolnstable.co.nz
