This completely threw me for a loop because my first introduction to Perak food was many years ago when the then-baby Noah and I stayed several nights at Sukasuka Lake Retreat in Lenggong, and we were treated to unforgettable Malay kampung food by Kak Asiah. I will contend to this day that our Sukasuka stay marked the beginning of “Kampung Boy” Noah’s love affair with spicy dishes.

Nonetheless, this Malay friend’s remark—I’m keeping his identity a secret to keep the pitchfork crowd at bay—gave me food for thought (no pun intended) and I came to realise that in subsequent trips to Perak, our focus has been primarily on Ipoh.

Ipoh is so famous for Chinese-Malaysian food that other Malaysian cuisines tend to get sidelined whenever the topic of food comes up.

That was until our most recent visit in January 2026, for our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) project with Tourism Perak. This time, we had the opportunity to eat a decent amount of Malay food, through the combined efforts of the following:

• Tourism Perak (via Perak Tourist Guide Association president Roselyn Lim)

• MOMC’s MasterChef Malaysia judge Chef Jo

• Ben Yap of IpohTreats.com

Thanks to this project, we uncovered the following four places that exclusively serve Malay food, which I have no doubt would get the seal of approval even among the most hardcore Malay food critics.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1) Rendang Tok Mak Nik (Royale Rendang)

You haven’t tasted rendang until you taste Rendang Tok, a uniquely-Perak version of the dish that’s cooked until very dry and rich. And you haven’t tasted Rendang Tok until you try Rendang Tok Mak Nik, also known as Royale Rendang – which is based on a recipe that’s over 100 years old. Founded by Mak Nik in 1959, the business is now run by her son, Sharifuddin Mohamed.

The reason for the Royale Rendang branding is because they count Perak’s royal household among their clientele, and they even have a special dining room for royalty who visit.

Rendang Tok Mak Nik can be served with ketupat palas (glutinous rice parcels wrapped in palm leaves) or different varieties of lemang (glutinous rice rolls cooked in bamboo).

The rendang is also available in retort-packed form, with a shelf life of up to 2 years at room temperature, so if you’re visiting from out of town, it’s best to grab some to stock up (though unfortunately you won’t be able to bring them back with you to Australia due to our strict customs rules).

Galeri Rendang Tok Mak Nik
15, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, 31650 Ipoh, Perak
Phone: 012-343 5039

2) Mama Sheerah Nasi Minyak

Mama Sheerah (translated – “Sheerah’s mom”) operates out of the Wisma TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad ie. Malaysia’s national electricity utility company) building, primarily feeding civil servants but open to the public.

It runs on weekdays, from morning through to high tea. Mama Sheerah is not a “restaurant” setup, but a working canteen.

The star offering is Nasi Minyak, which is on the menu here every Friday (call to confirm). Traditionally a wedding banquet spread, it consists of rice cooked with ghee, aromatics, spices and evaporated milk, served with accompaniments such as Ayam Masak Merah (sweet and spicy chicken), Jelatah (picked vegetables), Pajeri Nenas (pineapple curry), and Daging Masak Hitam (beef in a dark sauce).

Mama Sheerah (Call to confirm re: Nasi Minyak availability)
Basement of Wisma TNB,
30100 Ipoh, Perak
Phone: 60 13-448 7080

3) Ayam Gepuk Ganteng

I was invited to this eatery courtesy of Chef Johari Edrus, our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine senior chef, and I was embarassed that I only understood one out of the three words in the restaurant name – ie. “Ayam”.

That was until I found out that “Gepuk” and “Ganteng” are in fact Javanese words, at which point I didn’t feel like such a Malay language failure. Ayam Gepuk (ie. smashed chicken) is, as the name suggests, a dish that originated in Java, but it’s become very popular in recent years in Malaysia. It is typically served with a cashew-based sambal, but at Ayam Gepuk Ganteng, it comes with three different types of sambal, each with  its own flavour and heat profile.

“Ganteng” means “handsome” in Javanese, which seems a bit random until you meet the owner and founder, Azril, who has a sense of humour to match his outsized food entrepreneurship talent and ambition (his tagline – eat our Ayam Gepuk and you’ll become handsome!).

Azril started his business as a one-man hawker stall in 2019, right before Covid-19 hit, while he was still a teenager. In spite of this, the business grew in popularity and it now has two outlets and a staff of about 30. The menu is drawn from his Javanese heritage from his grandmother’s side, but adapted for Malaysian taste preferences.

A few years ago, Ayam Gepuk Ganteng went viral when Azril posted a video of their entire team bowing  on camera to apologise to their customers when they had to raise their prices due to the rising cost of raw materials. Their humble and heartfelt message touched thousands online and their business grew even more from it.

Apart from fried smashed chicken, the menu also includes fish, catfish, beef, noodles, fried rice, and desserts like sago-based sweets.

Ayam Gepuk Ganteng
70, Jln Meru Bestari A8, Bandar Meru Raya, 31200 Ipoh, Perak
Phone: +60 18-243 4403

4) Restoran Terapung Lorat Fish Farm Lenggong

About an hour out of Ipoh is Lenggong, which is famous for its UNESCO listing as a World Heritage Site for its prehistoric archeological excavations. Less well-known is the fact that there are fish farms on the man-made lake, Tasik Raban, in Lenggong.

Our MOMC team spent half a day at one of these fish farms, which has a restaurant attached to it called Restoran Terapung Lorat. It is a reservations-only restaurant, and your best bet is to contact Roselyn Lim, the Perak Tourist Guide Association president, for her help to organise a visit with your group.

We were picked up in boats and taken to the fish farm in the middle of the lake, with an adjoining floating platform where the food would be served. We were invited to catch the fish for our lunch, after which they were cooked onsite by the restaurant along with other dishes including pekasam (salted fish), and stir-fried local ferns. All the dishes are cooked Malay kampung-style and enjoyed under cover.

We didn’t have time to check out Lenggong Valley’s archeological attractions but spending a relaxing afternoon eating kampung food would be a perfect way to round up a trip to this prehistoric region.

Restoran Terapung Lorat
*Pre-Bookings Only (contact Roselyn Lim, Perak Tourist Guide Association)
Tasik Raban, 33030 Lenggong, Perak
Phone: +60 11-1902 4283

Note: These places were chosen not just for the food, but because our dining experiences are often shaped by the atmosphere as much as the quality of the offerings.

The hosts at each of these four eateries are among the warmest and most welcoming you are likely to encounter, which I’ve no doubt will add to your enjoyment as it did ours.

Next time you are in Perak and craving Malay food, check out these spots and let me know what you think.

Finally, more about these eateries along with Perak food stories and recipes can be found in our Truly Malaysian by MOMC digital magazine.

You can download the Perak issue by clicking on the links below (we published this issue with two different covers; long story) –

The post Malay Food in Perak – 4 Must-Try Places first appeared on Jackie M..

So when the World Gourmand Awards first reached out in 2023 about The Durian Cookbook, I was sceptical. I hadn’t submitted the book, and I wasn’t exactly expecting anyone else to. But the organisers insisted they wanted to recognise it, and that was how we ended up winning first prize in the Fruits category that year.

It was only after that win that I finally took the time to look into who the Gourmand Awards actually were. As it turned out, they weren’t the fly-by-night outfit I’d cynically expected. They’ve been around for three decades, have a proper standing in the industry, and aren’t simply in the business of selling shiny seals for book covers.

Earlier this year, I heard from the founder, Mr. Edouard Cointreau (yes, that Cointreau family), inviting us to the 30-year anniversary celebration in Riyadh. Since Riyadh isn’t exactly on my travel bucket list, I tried to pass on the invitation to our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) chef, Rene Johari, who’s based in Dubai. Rene couldn’t make it either, so we more or less forgot the whole thing.

What we didn’t expect was a message from Singaporean author and academic Khir Johari – who was at the event to receive his own well-deserved award for The Food of Singapore Malays. Out of the blue, he wrote to Rene:

Salam Rene! The Durian Cookbook just won the Best Fruit Book in the last 30 years of Gourmand Awards!!! Congratulations!!!! Please spread the word. There was no Malaysian representative, so I went on stage to receive on behalf of Malaysian Masterchefs. The cert is with me. Will pass when I’m next in KL.

A short while later, the organisers emailed me the official certificate along with a message from Mr Cointreau:

Thank you, Jackie, for your visionary leadership behind The Durian Cookbook, a unique celebration of Malaysia’s most iconic fruit, brought to life with passion, creativity, and global collaboration. This stunning collection of 70 recipes by eight chefs from the Masters of Malaysian Cuisine team showcases the true versatility of durian in both sweet and savoury creations. In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, you have elevated the King of Fruits to its rightful place in the culinary spotlight. Your work is a gift to Malaysian cuisine and a bold invitation to the world to discover durian like never before.

As you can imagine, a project of this size wasn’t something any one person could pull off.

My deepest thanks go to the Malaysian Agriculture Counsellor Office Sydney, led by Maheran Zahari; our MOMC chefs – Johari Edrus, Rene Johari, Bob Adnin, Zaleha Olpin, Debbie Teoh, Dave Murugaya, and Dato’ Ismail Ahmad; our MOMC@Heart chefs including Mazna Merten, Rosita Heilek, Farid Tawfik and Paul Gray, who provided all kinds of logistical support during the book’s development and beyond; our photographer, Siang; recipe editor, Poh Ling; and of course, my co-author, Karen Lateo.

Want a Copy of The Durian Cookbook?

If you’re keen to get your hands on a copy, you’ve got a couple of options:

1. The original collector’s edition (softcover, ex-Sydney only) – still my favourite.

2. The hardcover second print run, available ex-Sydney or ex-KL.
   (A quick note: Sydney copies are out of stock until I’m back from Malaysia in February 2026.)

Browse the listings here: shop.jackiem.com.au/collections/books-merch

If you’d like your book signed, just tell me. For KL orders, the books are shipped by our Malaysia-based chefs – often Debbie Teoh. Sydney orders are sent out by me.

A video by The Star Newspaper on the launch of the hardcover edition of our Durian Cookbook –

The post The Durian Cookbook Wins “Best Fruit Book” of the Last 30 Years first appeared on Jackie M..

So what I’ve done instead, is created something more casual and flexible – essentially an online Malaysian Cooking Club – run on the Skool platform.

You can join us here – JackieM.com.au/skool

Membership gets you access to me along with my Malaysian Hawker Pro students, who are already there sharing their cooking discoveries, results and tips.

The way it works is that twice a week (or more), we hop on a Zoom call and cook along or just tune in to watch and chat with our fellow participants.

The sessions are scheduled such that they cover different timezones, so that wherever you’re based around the world, you should find a slot that suits your schedule. Some people join occasionally, and others make time to do so every week.

A couple of days after each session, I publish key cooking tips from them, so that those who missed the sessions can go back and check them out.

For the record, we don’t all cook the same dish (though sometimes we do) – and you’re not restricted to cooking only Malaysian food – eg. in our most recent session, one of our members made pikelets using sourdough discards.

The idea is that we organically get feedback and support from each other (some of my Malaysian Hawker Pro students have culinary and nutrition training and bring a wealth of knowledge to the table).

Now’s a great time to join us, because you’ll be locked in to the founders’ membership price.

As a bonus, I’ll also give you access to my Malaysian Hawker Pro Masterclass on Homemade Rice Noodles once you sign up. Just message me after you’ve joined via Skool (I just need your email address to be able to set you up).

We’ve also built up a nice sub-community of Thermomix users, so if you own one, you’ll pick up plenty of tricks for adapting traditional Malaysian recipes for it.

Join Me for Live Malaysian Cooking Online

If you’d like to:

• Learn Malaysian food online in a relaxed, friendly environment,
• Take part in regular Zoom cooking classes, and
• Connect with others who share your passion for Malaysian flavours

then this is for you.

Join my Malaysian Cooking Club here

and start cooking with us online.

The post Join My Malaysian Cooking Club — Learn Malaysian Food Online first appeared on Jackie M..

The Masters’ Table: Jackie M’s Slow Food Pilgrimage to Hidden Malaysia

9 Days / 8 Nights – 11-19 January 2026

What You’ll Experience

• Join me, Jackie M, and selected Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) chefs on a one-of-a-kind food journey through Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Melaka.
• Discover the dishes, stories and people that make Malaysian cuisine so distinctive.
• Take part in cooking workshops and community-based exchanges with local chefs.
• Enjoy unhurried travel that leaves time to wander, taste and chat with locals.
• Step behind or in front of the camera – guests are welcome to observe or feature informally in MOMC’s Street Food Journeys: Perak filming days.
  

Tour Overview

This tour (maximum 8 full-time guests) is designed for travellers who value depth over speed, and it brings together the best elements of my previous culinary tour while removing the less compelling parts. 

We’re going with a small, intimate group and fewer tick-the-box tourist attractions so you have time to relax, wander off on your own, or just hang out with us. (Our late night hotel lounge chats and meetups were the highlight of my last culinary tour.)

You’ll experience Malaysia through the eyes of its cooks and gain an in-depth understanding of Malaysia’s layered culinary landscape. You’ll get to participate in cooking workshops with our elite Masters of Malaysian Cuisine chefs, and you’ll get to dine at eateries you won’t find listed in travel guides.

Your stay in Perak coincides with MOMC’s collaboration with Tourism Perak, who are hosting our chefs as we document the region’s food culture for our Street Food Journeys video series and MOMC eMagazine. 

Rather than being a “media shoot,” it’s an open invitation for you to share in the encounters that bring these stories to life – sampling, chatting and learning alongside us.

4 to 5-star accommodation or equivalent, daily breakfast, lunch and dinner, and transfers between locations are included so you can focus on what matters: food, culture and connection.

Itinerary Snapshot

Cost:

Inclusions

• 8 nights’ accommodation at 4 to 5-star or equivalent properties
• Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner
• All intercity and local transfers (depending on group size, this may include travel by train/Grab)
• MOMC-led workshops and cultural activities
• Perak filming participation (optional)
• Local guides

Not Included 

• Airfares
• Travel insurance
• Airport transfers

Why Join This Tour

• Cook & connect: Share kitchens and tables with Jackie M. & selected MOMC chefs.
• See what others miss: From big-head prawns in Tanjung Tualang to chee cheong fun in Teluk Intan, explore true local favourites.
• Travel slowly: Each leg of the journey reveals another layer of Malaysia’s food story.
• Make a difference: Your presence helps showcase Perak’s & Malaysia’s culinary treasures for Visit Malaysia 2026.
  

Additional Notes:

Due to the unique nature of this small-group culinary pilgrimage – relying on the availability of specific local experts and optimal conditions at highly-sought, off-the-beaten-path eateries – the itinerary, precise timings, and specific vendors are subject to change. 

Any necessary modifications will be made to ensure the highest quality and most exclusive culinary experience for our guests.

Meals:

Breakfast is included and offers two options at each stay:

Option A (Hotel): You may take breakfast provided by the accommodation (where applicable).

Option B (Local Style): You may join me at a nearby hawker stall or kopitiam. This provides direct experience of local food culture.

All lunches and dinners are covered by the tour price. Menu selection for the group will be set by me.

Please note that I don’t consume pork, and menu choices will reflect this bias. You’re welcome to order additional dishes (with or without pork), supplementary items, or beverages at your own expense.

The post Jackie M’s Culinary Tour #2 – A Slow Food Pilgrimage to Hidden Malaysia first appeared on Jackie M..

1. Do you have a restaurant somewhere?
2. Do you do other markets?

If you’re one of those people who’ve asked me these questions and thought you caught a glimpse of an eyeroll from me in response, I want to reassure you that you’re not paranoid. I have been known, in my hubris, to assume everyone’s followed my lifestory intently over the past two decades.

Anyhow I’ve gradually come to the realisation that thirteen years is a long enough time that I should probably revisit this so that I can, if nothing else, just point to this blog post next time someone brings this up (and save him/her from copping one of my unwarranted eyerolls).

So, here we go –

Question 1 – Do I have a restaurant?

I used to – on Majors Bay Road, Concord. It was one of just two restaurants on that strip that were included in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Under $30 Guide back in its day.

I closed it to look after Noah – who was born with Down Syndrome, duodenal atresia, AVSD, and hydrops fetalis – and who spent the first 217 days of his life in hospital, in both the NICU and the PICU. Three times in seven months, I got called in the middle of the night from the hospital to prepare for the worst.

I was told Noah’s condition was not survivable; I was encouraged/coerced to withhold treatment by the medical staff on the basis that –

• even if he did survive surgery he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life,
• I would have to give up everything to look after him, and
• he was never going to be a productive member of society anyway

Nobody believes me when I tell them this, or they brush it off as a non-systemic issue despite my evidence to the contrary.

Anyway, I chose to give up my restaurant to look after him full-time, though ironically, his need for ongoing therapy and medical follow-ups aside, all the doom and gloom from the so-called experts never came to fruition.

Miraculously one day after I posted publicly about my struggle as a single parent of a severely-disabled child, two guys, oblivious to my life drama, walked into my restaurant and asked if I wanted to sell it (the lease, not the business).

I played it cool, picked a figure off the top of my head, they negotiated it down but not by much, and thirteen years later they’re still going strong, operating as a cafe, and I couldn’t be more happy for them.

Question 2 – Do I do other markets?

Short answer, currently no, I only do Concord Hospital Market, and that’s only once a month, 11 months a year.

Long answer – my market life actually preceded my restaurant – and when I quit the latter, I confidently figured I’d just go back to doing a couple of markets a week instead of being tied down to a restaurant around the clock, and I could just bring Noah along with me in a portable cot.

Then the drama started – first, some anonymous campaigner at Orange Grove Farmers’ Market decided to go around collecting signatures for a petition to prevent me from bringing Noah along.

Rather than regurgitate the details, here’s a previous blog post I published – Why I’m Quitting 

That left me with one weekly market ie. Concord Hospital – and the drama carried on over there as well –

Not once –  Déjà Vu All Over Again (yes, it’s a deliberate tautology – eyeroll – I did French at uni)

But twice – Enough Is Enough

Just when you thought it was all sorted, Covid lockdowns hit, which meant I had ZERO markets for 3 years (being a hospital, they were extra careful to shut down everything even before the official mandates, and they didn’t reopen until way after the lockdowns were removed).

When Concord Hospital Market resumed, the organisers said they would start off with monthly events and gradually ease back into weekly ones.

It’s been three years and the markets are still running only once a month, and in fact when I checked a couple of  months ago, the new staff members had no idea there were any plans to go back to weekly markets.

Question 3 (Bonus Round) – Would I consider doing other markets?

If you know a good event that takes place on weekdays that can allow me to make it back to Kogarah before 4.00pm, let me know – reason being, among other things, that I got rid of my van during the lockdowns and I now have to hire a vehicle each market day, and it needs to be returned before 5pm.

So, what do I do now? Well, two main things – 

Handcrafted Dry Curry Pastes
I now produce small-batch dry curry paste kits — the same recipes I used in my restaurant — that ship worldwide. They let people cook real Malaysian food at home without the need for perishable fresh pastes or specialist ingredients.

Get yours here – Shop.JackieM.com.au

Malaysian Hawker Pro
I also run an online training programme called Malaysian Hawker Pro, designed to teach Malaysians and Singaporeans abroad how to recreate proper hawker dishes that are good enough to sell — not watered-down versions you find on TikTok and in lifestyle magazines.

Details here – MalaysianHawkerPro.com

Oh yeah, and I published an award-winning cookbook called The Durian Cookbook, and founded a group called Masters of Malaysian Cuisine where we partner with Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and I ran a culinary tour to Malaysia blah-blah-blah.

The post What Happened to Jackie M’s Restaurant? first appeared on Jackie M..

I also have an inbuilt disdain for anything that looks too pretty – I instinctively write them off as flaky, superficial, and shallow. Instagrammable food (or travel photos or “lifestyle” posts) conjure up phrases in my mind like “attention-seeking” and “style-over-substance”. 

That’s why I don’t hang out on Instagram – sorry for those of you whom I follow back out of courtesy – don’t be offended if you never see any engagement from me. I’m not there except for the couple of minutes it takes to upload my own content (social media being a necessary evil to keep people updated on what I’m doing etc.). 

I know, people buy with their eyes and all that – so I do sometimes try to remember to snap photos – but it’s not my natural instinct to do so.

Anyway, that’s my preamble on the topic of the packaging of my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits.

In case you’ve never come across them, these packs are based on recipes from my Malaysian restaurant back in the day – but using dried ingredients so they’re shelf-stable.

You use them by emptying a pack into a saucepan/pot with your protein of choice, plus water, coconut cream and oil – then cooking until the protein is done.

Basically.

(My label instructions will tell you to mix the contents with water, then saute with oil before adding the protein & coconut cream, but if you’re slow-cooking lamb or beef you can honestly just throw them all in at the same time, and end up with the results in the photos below.)

Anyhow, we sent a couple of packs of my dry curry paste kits to South Africa a couple of months back, to Paul’s side of the family. They came back with unsolicited feedback on them (I never ask for feedback, as an fyi, but I am grateful for them – the good ones anyway). 

The good news – these products are amazing and on a totally different level to anything they’ve ever tried.

The bad news – you know, the packaging doesn’t do it justice – maybe Jackie might want to redesign it so it looks more upscale/elegant.

I’m not offended in the slightest, but no, I’m not going to redesign nuthin’.

Here are 7 reasons why – 

1. I want to keep my overheads to a minimum – this means that you’re getting the best bang for your buck when you buy my products – you’re not paying for branding consultants or graphic designers etc. The label design is by yours truly, using good ol’ Canva.
2. I don’t want my products to look too pretty to use – they’re meant to make your life easier in the kitchen, not sit on a shelf or in your pantry as decoration.
3. I kind of like the idea of keeping expectations low when people first come across my dry curry paste kits, so they’re blown away by the end results.
4. I vibe with Malaysian hawkers, not glamorous “celebrity” chefs.
5. I want to target people who look for substance over style in their life (including dining) choices. 
6. I want to inspire other would-be food business owners to a) similarly focus on perfecting their cooking and b) recognise they don’t need to remortgage their house just to get all their branding assets sorted.
7. Honestly, as a small business owner, I don’t have the time to revisit the labels I did a year ago (and stuff around with things like font choices), or spend months sourcing packaging suppliers etc. that in my mind, don’t matter.

So next time you get a shipment from me that’s packed in a re-used Amazon delivery (or similar) box, remember, your money’s not being spent on custom-designed and branded packaging; it’s going straight to the product. Bonus – you’re doing your bit to save the environment.

Buy my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits here – Shop.JackieM.com.au

Yes, I do ship internationally (except the USA because of logistical issues at the moment).

A handful of unsolicited feedback (most, if not all, from fellow Malaysians) –

The post 7 Reasons Why My Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits Look Ugly first appeared on Jackie M..

I’ve developed these kits to use dried ingredients so that  –

1. they can be shipped anywhere around the world, and

2. they don’t need refrigeration etc.

My recipes are constantly evolving, with the latest example being the one for my Dry Sambal Belacan – a condiment made using onion, shrimp paste, chilli, etc.

As a Thermomix owner, using my Dry Sambal Belacan kit is easy – I just throw the packet contents into the TM bowl, add water and oil (amounts are specified on the label), and cook it for 30–45 minutes (measuring cup off for some/all of that period – I’m very agak-agak).

However, I’ve come to realise that most people simply fry it on a stovetop after adding water and oil – which takes about the same amount of time (say, ~30 mins) – something their busy lives may not afford them.

So just before I left for Malaysia, I decided to replace the dried onions in these packs with fried shallots. Since the shallots are already (commercially) pre-fried, it reduces the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Either way, this is how it should look when done –

I don’t know about you, but I personally prefer the dried onion original, so after giving it some more thought, I’ve decided to make two separate versions –

1. One that says “ORIGINAL RECIPE” and “best for cooking in a Thermomix”. You can order it here – https://shop.jackiem.com.au/products/handcrafted-dry-sambal-belacan-kit-original
2. And one that says “5-MINUTE RECIPE”. You can order that here – https://shop.jackiem.com.au/products/handcrafted-sambal-belacan-kit-5-min

If you’ve bought/eaten my freshly-made sambal belacan at my Concord Hospital Market, that version uses fried shallots.

So if you like it (and many of you do – I keep selling out on market day) – then stick to Version 2 when you buy my Handcrafted Dry Sambal Belacan kits. It’ll taste like my Concord Hospital Market sambal, and it’ll only take you 5 minutes to whip up.

However, if you like these messages I received in the last couple of weeks referencing Version 1 (and you don’t mind cooking it longer, or you can do it in a Thermomix), I would suggest you get that instead –

(Customer 1) –
“Jackie, I have just made the samba belachan and it’s the best I have ever tasted. I will be coming up in September and may I order 6 pkts.”

(Customer 2) –
“I cooked up a packet of sambal belacan last night. Used some to fry with sotong and ate some with plain hot rice. So good! My son tried it for the first time yesterday and loved it so much that I had to bottle up the rest of the sambal belacan for him to take back with him to Canberra this morning.”

By the way, I use the Sambal Belacan almost exclusively as a dip to serve with my meals, but you could also use it to cook other dishes, like in this example here when I decided to add it to fried eggplant –

Finally, if you’ve never seen my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste kits before, here’s a photo of what they look like –

Hit me up if you have any questions.

The post About My Sambal Belacan Dry Curry Paste Kits first appeared on Jackie M..

On the week I did Nyonya cuisine, a food brand came forward to sponsor some of the ingredients we would be using in our cooking session. Never one to say no the freebies, I happily accepted their offer.

One of the dishes we were tackling in that session was Penang Asam Laksa, which I used to sell as an occasional special at my restaurant. And one of the ingredients in my asam laksa recipe was tamarind concentrate. I used to buy this in bulk for my restaurant – a specific version from Thailand.

The food brand offered their version of tamarind concentrate and the students in my class used it like-for-like in the recipe. As it turned out, their tamarind was much more concentrated than what I usually used, so everyone’s asam laksa ended up too sour. We tried to fix it with mixed success. And yes, I take full responsibility for the stuff-up.

The point of this story is not to say that any particular brand of an Asian ingredient is superior to another, but rather that if you’re going to be following my recipes, developed by me (unlike, ahem, in the case of some bestselling cookbook authors), you need to be on the same page as me when working out exactly what iteration of an ingredient I’m talking about.

This is why I created a really basic PDF called the Malaysian Pantry Decoder – I compiled it for participants of my Malaysian Hawker Pro coaching programme so they knew what to look for when shopping for ingredients for the six restaurant-level dishes they would be tackling in the programme.

Then I figured everyone else who follows my recipes (which I’ve been sharing online for 15+ years) could benefit from it as well, so if you want to grab your copy, you can do so here – Malaysian Pantry Decoder.

It’s meant to give you a visual guide to the types of ingredients I commonly use, along with the brands I prefer (in some, not all cases) – since if you’re Asian you’ll know that no two soya sauces or oyster sauces are identical.

So next time you attempt my recipes here on my website and on YouTube etc., you can use it as a point of reference, and not blame me if your asam laksa is too sour or not sour enough.

If nothing else, it might open your eyes to the possibilities next time you visit an Asian grocery store (esp. the freezer section) for ingredients you might not have considered using in Malaysian cooking.

I’m going to dive further into some of these ingredient/brand choices in follow-up emails I send to my list, so you can make sense of why I use them as opposed to other stuff that might be more “conventional”.

By the way, if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines re: Malaysian Hawker Pro, where you get to master 6 dishes from my restaurant menu with personal virtual coaching from me, I’m gearing up for my next intake. If you want to skip the queue (because the price will be going up), drop me a line I’ll send you the details along with the current pricing.

Jackie M.

Photo from our Grace Hotel cooking class – and by the way, I know it was twelve and a half years ago because Noah was seven months old and still in Westmead Hospital, getting ready to finally come home after multiple operations etc.

The post Malaysian Pantry Decoder first appeared on Jackie M..

I ended up closing my restaurant soon after that to look after my disabled child Noah.  (FYI anytime I mention Noah it is to give some context re: why I no longer own a restaurant, so people don’t mistakenly think I’m a failed business owner; I’m not fishing for sympathy about Noah’s situation.)

Anyway, not operating a restaurant meant I had the opportunity to travel back to Malaysia regularly and collaborate with local chefs and hawkers. I learned A LOT about how things are done there, but I also realised that what I had taught myself and implemented in Sydney re: Malaysian hawker cooking actually held up pretty well (with the usual caveats re: ingredient availability this side of the world, etc).

I’m now finally ready to dedicate 100% of my attention and effort into helping motivated cooks online to master Malaysian hawker cooking.

This is the kind of person I’m looking to work with:

1. You’re comfortable handling food and you know your way around the kitchen
2. You love Malaysian hawker food, but you feel stuck when it comes to cooking it
3. You’re willing to expand your comfort levels (in a supported way) in order to test and master Malaysian hawker cooking
4. You’re friendly and coachable and have ~4 hours per week for 12 weeks to devote to this (most of it in your own time)
5. You might have even attended culinary school and found there’s a frustrating knowledge gap there when it comes to Malaysian/Singaporean hawker cuisine

If this sounds like you, go ahead and check out the full details at Malaysian Hawker Pro.

Let me know if you’re IN and I’ll get you set up.

PS this has taken much longer to get going than I had anticipated because a bunch of projects ended up on my lap (Masters of Malaysian Cuisine, The Durian Cookbook etc.).

The post Mastering Malaysian Hawker Cooking with Jackie M. first appeared on Jackie M..

A Cookbook for the Durian-Curious

I get it: durian is divisive. Some people can’t get enough of its pungent aroma and creamy texture, while others run for the hills at the mere mention of it. But what if I told you there’s a middle ground? A way to enjoy the unique flavour of durian without being overwhelmed by its infamous smell?

That’s exactly why our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) created The Durian Cookbook.

From Crazy Idea to Award-Winning Innovation

We asked the question: How can we capture the essence of durian in a way that appeals to those who might be put off by its strong aroma?

The result? A cookbook that’s just won First Prize in its category at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2023.

What’s Inside? (Hint: It’s Not Just for Durian Diehards)

The Durian Cookbook isn’t for purists who only want to eat fresh durian. Instead, it’s a gateway for the durian-curious. We’ve packed it with:

• 70 innovative recipes that incorporate durian in subtle and surprising ways
• A blend of traditional Malaysian dishes and international favourites with a durian twist
• Stories and tips from our MOMC chefs on their durian journeys

Changing Perceptions, One Recipe at a Time

If you’re not a fan of durian’s smell, you might be skeptical. But that’s exactly why we created this book. We’re not trying to overwhelm you with durian – we’re inviting you to discover its potential in a whole new way.

Imagine biting into a creamy pasta dish with a subtle, nutty undertone. Or savouring a decadent chocolate dessert with an unexpected depth of flavour. That’s the magic of durian when it’s used thoughtfully and creatively.

The Launch Party: A Durian Adventure for All

We’re throwing a launch party on August 11, 2024, at DKing Bukit Bintang, and you’re invited – whether you’re a durian lover, a durian hater, or somewhere in between.

For RM185, you’ll get:

• Your own copy of The Durian Cookbook
• Access to an unlimited durian buffet
• The opportunity to meet our chefs and network with some of your favourite content creators

More Than Just a Cookbook

The Durian Cookbook is our attempt to bridge cultures and challenge preconceptions. It’s for anyone who’s ever been curious about durian but put off by its reputation. It’s for food lovers who want to expand their culinary horizons. And yes, it’s even for durian fans who are ready to experience their favourite fruit in new and exciting ways.

See you on August 11th. Come with an open mind and an adventurous palate.

Get your tickets here: https://dking.com.my/durian-cookbook

Stay tuned for more updates and behind-the-scenes content as we approach the big day. Follow us on social media for the latest news and sneak peeks.

Follow Us:

• Facebook: FB.com/malaysianchefs
• Instagram: Instagram.com/malaysianchefs

Thank you for being a part of this exciting journey with us. See you at the launch!

The post The Durian Cookbook: Bridging the Gap Between Love and Hate first appeared on Jackie M..