Malaysia Nyonya (87 Picton Street) is a stalwart in Howick and has served Nyonya cuisine for over 6 years. It is one of the more formal Malaysian restaurants where you can relax and take your time over your meal. There is a fantastic selection of dishes on the menu, which spans not only the Nyonya cuisine but also Malaysian favourites. There are also several special dishes which have to be ordered 24 hours in advance; the golden pillow (see below), Hainanese steamed chicken and herbal duck.

Nyonya food, for the uninitiated, is the aromatic fusion of Chinese and Malay ingredients, spices and cooking techniques. From the 15^th century, Chinese migrants who were mainly young bachelors, settled and married Malay women, creating a whole new culture with its own pathos, food, customs and colourful sartorial style. Nyonya culture is an important part of Malaysian life, and the well-known dishes such as kuih lapis, Kapitan chicken curry, assam laksa and otak-otak, are a part of the Malaysian food scene.

We made a lunch visit. Unfortunately neither the rojak (Malaysian salad with shrimp paste sauce) or the kerabu mango salad were available, but one of my favourites, kuih pie tee ($5.50 for 3) made for a great starter. Kuih pie tee, or top hats, are crispy cases encasing savoury sautéed vegetables. These are a well-known Nyonya snack, and a good introduction to the cuisine. Another traditional Malaysian delicacy is ngoh hiang ($7), its crispy deep-fried bean curd ‘skin’ giving way to 5-spice flavoured pork.

I had preordered the golden pillow ($28, with rendang instead of the usual chicken curry).  This was the highlight; I loved breaking into the bread shell, and tearing pieces of warm bread to dip into the rich gravy.

The wat tan hor ($15) came in a huge serving, with generous pieces of squid, prawn and chicken nestled among the egg-y gravy, and there was plenty to share. It could have done with more seasoning, but the kids really enjoyed it.

Crispy eggplant in spicy sauce ($18) had a good contrast between the crisp slices of eggplant and the savoury mince. I found the deep-fried dishes a touch too oily, so it may pay to make a special request if it bothers you.

There is complimentary fruit for dessert, which is a great way to end the meal. Malaysia Nyonya is a worthwhile visit if you are in the Eastern Suburbs and you are sure to find many great dishes to delight your taste buds.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

The longer I reside in New Zealand, the more I yearn for traditional food from my childhood. Yes, we can get Malaysian food here, but with the lack of certain ingredients and the still somewhat conservative palate of the general populous, we don’t get the truly authentic range of foods I used to take for granted back home.

I get excited when chances arise to learn how to recreate some of these authentic dishes. Sure, I probably won’t be whipping these up on a weekly basis; but these are perfect when you want to impress family with your culinary prowess.

A couple of weekends ago, Zaida, with her special guest, Chef Liza, held a cooking demonstration. It is clear that a culinary gene runs in Zaida (AMS Food Programme Co-ordinator)’s family. Liza Zainol, Zaida’s aunt, is celebrity Chef Liza. On top of running her own Culinary Academy, Chef Liza also manages her own television production company, producing her cookery series.

Chef Liza showed us three kuih recipes – Bingka Ubi Kayu (cassava cake),  Talam Keladi Berlauk (yam cake) and Puding Nyonya Manis (layered sweet pudding). I was surprised how easy it was to make these spectacular looking kuihs.

Zaida demonstrated her fantastic otak-otak recipe. The Malay word ‘otak’ translates to ‘brain’, the imagery this dish supposedly evokes. I can’t say I agree with the supposition, but obviously the moniker stuck. Traditionally, otak-otak is a fish paste, but I much prefer Zaida’s version which has a more chunky texture while retaining all the wonderful aromatic herbs and spices. Absolutely delicious.

Otak-otak  

Ingredients:

(A)

Banana leaves, – thawed and cut into 20 x 18cm pieces

Baby spinach or daun kadok

Skewers

(B)

1kg fish fillet  (red snapper, tarakihi)

2 eggs, beaten

½  cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp  rice flour or corn flour

3-5  kaffir lime leaves (finely sliced)

Vietnamese mint (finely sliced)

1 tsp lemon juice

(C)

2 red onions

3 cloves garlic

5 fresh green chillies

5 dried red chillies

3 stalks lemongrass

2cm galangal

2cm fresh/frozen turmeric or 1 tsp turmeric powder

5 candlenuts

2cm ginger

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup coconut milk

Soak the dried red chillies in some hot water. Blend the soaked red chillies and ingredients (C) with ½ cup coconut milk until smooth.

Chop the fish into small pieces, or if you have a food processor, pulse until the meat consists of small chunks. Marinade the fish with salt and sugar. Mix in the 2 light beaten eggs, lemon juice and cornflour. Then, pour over the spice blend, and fold until well blended.

To fold, place a piece of daun kadok or young spinach leaf in the middle of the banana leaf, then two tablespoonful of fish mixture and fold, and secure the ends with skewers.

Steam for 10 minutes, and serve. These parcels can also be baked at 180°C for 15 minutes.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

The Auckland Malaysian Society is fortunate to have among its members, a fantastic cook in the form of Zaida Ahmad. And better still, Zaida shares her classic Malaysian recipes by holding several cooking classes during the year. These are homey dishes you are unlikely to find at Malaysian restaurants.

The classes are held in an informal setting at Zaida’s lovely house in Orakei, with lots of warmth and humour. Zaida is generous with her knowledge and there is plenty of food and refreshments to keep you fuelled.

Recently, a group of 7 eager home cooks gathered at to learn how to make serunding ayam dengan pulut (chicken floss with coconut glutinous rice) and bingka labu kismis (pumpkin cake with raisins). I wasn’t familiar with these dishes, but some of other ladies recall serunding ayam being sold in grocery stores. It was an afternoon of sharing, fun and lots of laughter.

This dish is a labour of love as the list of ingredients can be somewhat intimidating and it takes ~ 4 hours to cook. The ingredients can be found in Asian stores (turmeric leaves can be difficult to find, omit if not available)

Serunding Ayam (courtesy of Zaida Ahmad)

Ingredients:

1 kg shredded cooked chicken meat (boil in 500mL water for ½ hour)

500mL chicken stock (from boiling chicken)

2 cans coconut cream

3 Tbsp kerisek (toasted and ground coconut paste)

1 piece tamarind peel (this is the dried skin)

1 piece turmeric leaves, finely sliced

3 kaffir lime leaves

3 Tbsp sugar

Salt

2 onions

5 cloves garlic

15 – 20 dried chillies (soaked in hot water until soft, then drain and cut into large pieces)

5 stalks lemongrass (use frozen if fresh is not available)

5cm galangal (use frozen if fresh is not available)

5cm ginger

3cm turmeric or 1 tbsp turmeric powder

2 Tbsp coriander powder

Blend the onion, garlic, chillies, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, turmeric and coriander with 1 can of coconut cream and chicken stock until smooth.

Cook the sauce over medium heat, adding the 2^nd can of coconut cream and tamarind peel. Add the chicken meat, sugar, salt, kerisek, lemongrass and kaffir and turmeric leaves.

Cook over medium heat for 4 hours, turning frequently, until dry. It must be very dry otherwise it will get mouldy. Store at room temperature in an airtight container. This can keep for many months.

Serve with pulut (coconut glutinous rice).

The serunding ayam is akin to a very dry curry, absolutely delicious with a great spicy note. The slow cooking infused the spices through the chicken strands and you also get a lovely crispiness.

I am looking forward to the next Malaysian cooking class in October by Zaida where she will reveal the secrets to a succulent otak otak, and more. Come and join us by signing up for the newsletter for updates.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

Chilled honeydew sago ‘soup’ is a popular Malaysian dessert. I don’t recall eating much honeydew fruit on its own, but I do remember eating this dessert at restaurants. Restaurants’ versions can be somewhat bland and watery; I prefer to make my own, where I can be (and am!) lavish with the amount of melon.

This truly is a simple recipe, I promise. Honeydew sago is best eaten chilled, so I make it about 4-6 hours before serving and leave it to cool in the fridge. I often double the recipe for dinner parties, as you can see from the pictures below.

Ingredients (serves 6):

1 large honeydew melon

½ cup sago

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

½ cup coconut milk

pinch of salt

Make a simple syrup by boiling water and sugar into a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Cool. (I sit the saucepan in the sink filled with shallow water to cool it down quickly)

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, boil 1.5L water. Add sago and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally. Cook for ~20 minutes, until most sago is translucent (some may still be white in the middle). Drain the sago into a sieve, then rinse under cold running water until sago is cool.

While sago is cooking, cut ⅔ of the melon into chunks and blend until smooth.

Dice the remainder into small cubes.

To assemble, add the melon puree and diced melons into a large bowl or pot. Add the cooled sago and salt, and mix well. Add the coconut milk, then pour in the simple syrup to taste. If you like it more watery, add cold water before adding the syrup.

Chill in fridge for 4-6 hours before serving. To chill in a hurry, add ice.

Demo & Recipe – Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

(Graphics by Saya Design Studio)

Mamak Malaysian (50 Kitchener St, Ph: 09 – 948 6479) is conveniently located in the Chancery Precinct right in the centre of the CBD. Jeffery and Charlotte, the warm and congenial owners of Mamak make each visit a pleasure. Jeffery runs the front of house, while Charlotte commands a tight ship in the kitchen. Mamak refers to Tamil Muslims, who are known for their food stalls serving quick, tasty snacks.

The mark of all Mamak places is their roti canai (two pieces served with dhal, Indian cabbage, fish or chicken curry gravy, $9). The roti is homemade and is crunchy on the outside and chewy and soft inside just how you want it. The accompaniments were fantastic, – certainly hit all the right notes.

Chicken murtabak (chicken mince with onion omelette wrapped with roti and served with cabbage and dhal, $13.50 got raves.  Another favourite is the nasi lemak (coconut rice served with cucumber, ikan bilis (deep-fried anchovies), peanut, sambal, egg and a choice of chicken or beef rendang, $12.50). For the satay lovers, there is chicken (or beef) with peanut sauce, cucumber and red onions. 8 skewers for $14.50.

I always order a teh tarik (‘pulled’ tea – $3.50) or teh ais (iced tea – $5.00), depending on the weather. I love the jug presentation, and the iced tea is a refreshing foil to the savoury dishes.

The atmosphere seating is a refreshing change to some Malaysian places can be only indoors, noisy and cramped. Mamak Malaysian has tables in a sheltered courtyard shared with other eateries. You feel like you can take your time and ‘lepak’ (loiter/linger) over your roti canai and teh tarik, which is exactly what we did.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

Special cookies are up for a grab! To order, please contact our AMS Food Programme Co-ordinator Zaida Ahmad. 

* 8% of profit from sale will be donated to Auckland Malaysian Society, please support this great cause.

It is difficult to buy kuihs in Auckland, and often when you do find some, the taste isn’t right or they are horrendously expensive. The big secret is that kuihs are actually very easy and cheap to make. Most of them don’t need any special equipment.

Kuih lapis is a favourite of most children, who slowly peel off the layers one at a time, and nibble at them. It’s actually easier to make kuih lapis these days with pandan paste (rather than having to pound and squeeze pandan leaves for their fragrant, green juice), and using silicon bakeware (no dreaded sticking!).

Ingredients (modified from Old Fashioned Kuih-Muih by Wong Sip Moi):

Makes ~ 30 pieces

Pandan paste

Red food colouring

Equipment:

Steamer (I used a wok)

23cm diameter non-stick tin (not springform, – should not have gaps for the mixture to flow through)/ 23 x 23cm square tin. Silicon bakeware will ensure your kuih will not stick to the tin.

Mix A well and put through sieve into large bowl to ensure there are no lumps.

Put B in a saucepan, and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar.

Pour B into A and mix well. Divide into 3 equal parts (570g each). Add ½ tsp pandan paste to one, and ¼ tsp red food colouring (note, put in drop by drop until you get your desired colour) to another.

Weigh out 190g of each colour. Steam the layers for 5 minutes each, starting with red, green then white, and repeat. Layer should be firm to touch before pouring the next layer. For the final layer, steam for 20 minutes.

Cool for at least 2 hours, then slice with a plastic knife or a clingfilm-covered metal knife.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

It felt really odd going across the Harbour Bridge for a meal, until I realised it was only 20 minutes from where I live. And for a place like Chef Rasa Sayang (25 Mokoia Rd, Birkenhead), you’ll be glad to have made the trip. This place is run by a husband and wife team from Kelantan.

This very nondescript place serves authentic Malaysian food in a friendly, family environment. Chef Rasa Sayang has only been opened a few short months, but has already amassed a loyal following. Quite a phenomenon as most of this has happened through word of mouth, – they do not yet have a web presence or even a listing in the white pages.

My Mersing friend described the char kuey tiaw ($10) here as the best in Auckland, and there’s no easier way to get Malaysians rushing to an eatery than to proclaim a place as having the best of its type. The kuey tiaw was definitely smokey (perhaps just a touch too smokey?), and had a good balance of sprouts and egg to the noodles. There was no lap cheong (Chinese sausage), but overall, it was an excellent plate of kuey tiaw.

I liked the mee goreng ($10), though it wasn’t a favourite of some of my dining companions. I like the sticky sweetness and tangy sauce coating the egg noodles, and could have polished off the plate myself.

The nasi lemak with chicken curry ($12, or your choice of beef or lamb curry) was perfectly spicy. The sambal was flavoursome, without too much heat. I thought the coconut rice was a touch too salty, but this was minor

The massive plate of sambal kangkong ($18) was resplendent in the savoury and spicy hit of belacan and chilli. I wish these places would sell a half portion. As an aside, recently, a family member observed that it is getting very difficult finding kangkong at the Asian grocers, – it’s as if the Malaysian restaurants around the city has commandeered the entire kangkong supply.

The star of the meal was the recommended slow cooked chilli prawns ($26), which came on a sizzling hotplate. The chilli taste was mellowed by the slow cooking, and hits all the right notes of heat, sweetness and sourness. Absolutely delectable.

There are the usual suspects of favourite noodles and rice dishes for a quick meal, or if you prefer, there is also a range of a la carte dishes for a proper shared meal. This place rightfully deserves its loyal patrons, and I look forward to trying the other dishes.

Chef Rasa Sayang
25 Mokoia Road, Birkenhead
Ph: 09 – 419 9788
Opening hours: 7 days, 11am – 9pm

Carmella Lee
AMS Food Review Editor

Kuih Salat is an odd balance of slightly salty, savoury glutinous rice and sweet pandan custard, but it works. The combination makes this a nice filing snack for when you are slightly peckish but not hungry enough to bother with a sandwich.

Ingredients

Makes ~ 30 pieces . Cooking time: 1 hour+

A:

400g glutinous rice (soaked overnight)

1 tsp salt

150ml coconut milk

100ml water

3 pandan leaves, knotted (optional)

B:

140 – 160g caster sugar

200ml coconut milk

150ml water

3 eggs

5 tbsp corn (or tapioca*) flour

3 tbsp plain flour

½ tsp pandan paste

* tapioca flour will give a more chewy texture to the custard, corn will give a softer custard

Yes, unfortunately, you have to plan a day in advance. The glutinous rice must soak for at least 4 hours. I typically soak it overnight.

Drain the rice, and spread evenly in a baking tin. Mix A well, then pour over the rice. Steam on high for 25 minutes.

While the rice is steaming, make the pandan custard.

Make a bain marie, by fitting a metal or glass mixing bowl over a saucepan. Mix everything together in a mixing bowl. Don’t worry if there are lumps, this will disappear. Whisk gently in the bain marie until lumps disappear and mixture starts to thicken. The mixture will start to coagulate on the side of the mixing bowl, – just scrape off and continue to stir. After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken more quickly. Take off the bain marie.

Once the rice has cooked through (taste some, and if still not totally cooked, put back into the steamer for another 10 minutes), take out of the steamer, and remove the pandan leaves. Lay clingfilm over the rice and use the base of a pan or a spoon to compact down. You want the rice to form a firm mass, so it doesn’t break apart when you cut the kuih.

Put the pan with the rice layer back in the steamer.Pour over the custard mixture, and steam for 30 minutes on medium/low. The custard should be firm to touch, if not, steam for another 10 minutes.

Cool for 2 hours, then cut with a plastic knife or clingfim-covered metal knife.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor

Calling Penang Café & Restaurant (6 Station Road, Otahuhu, Ph: 09 – 270 0668) a ‘café’ seems like an insider gag; there are certainly no lattes served here or schmancy sandwiches in sight. The faded signage and plastic tablecloths hark back to the 80’s, and its location just off the main street of Otahuhu makes this place an easy one to walk past without a second glance.

 
The gregarious waitress greets you like an extended member of the family. A pot of tea is quickly brought out, and the hot jasmine tea is a comforting brew on a chilly Spring day. There are both lunch (rice and noodle dishes) and dinner menus offered, and we ordered off the dinner menu.

 
Penang Café & Restaurant is well known for their chicken rice. If you want a half ($18) or whole steamed chicken, you have to order this a day in advance. We ordered a half chicken as we wanted to sample their other dishes. When you bite into the chicken, you understand why this gets raves, – the meat is velvety soft, and perfectly seasoned with just a touch of ginger and soy. The accompanying rice is flavoursome ($1 per person).

 
Their special tofu ($15) is four huge pieces (a knife is supplied for you to cut these into more manageable sizes) of custardy soft tofu, which has been deep-fried so the ‘skin’ is crispy, and is served with some soy and sesame oil. Penang Café’s version of roti ($2) is fluffy and delicate, but can be a bit too oily. It was still very good though and comes with thick curry gravy. The eggplant and pork in claypot ($22) is exactly that, – generous serving of eggplant, onion pieces and shredded pork in a thick, savoury gravy.

 
The waitress had recommended the butter coconut prawns ($25), and even though we had already ordered enough food for 4 people, I was glad we succumbed. The prawns had an addictive buttery crunchy coating and a luscious taste.

 
Penang Café is extraordinarily good value, – the servings are huge (3 mains for 4 people is plenty) and everything we ordered was superbly seasoned and cooked.

Written by Carmella Lee

AMS Food Review Editor