Local is the New Lux, Modern Malaysian Cuisine in Kuala Lumpur

One thing that has struck me travelling around and trying to learn about different culinary cultures is the concept of food as identity. When you think of Nordic cuisine you think fresh, raw, natural ingredients that contrast in flavour – concepts that are very close to those societies.

When you think of Italian cuisine, you think tradition, simplicity, richness and a deep sense of local identity – the same concepts that drive the nation.

When you think of Serbian cuisine, you think hearty, strong-flavours, honest (what you see is what you get) kind of food – you could also describe the people in a similar way.

When you think of Malayan (food from the Malayan peninsula) food, you think diverse, rich, creative, lucious. And if there is one thing that the typical Malayan (Singaporean and Malaysian) diner is, its adventurous.

When you stop of think of cuisine across the peninsula, what you have is a deep story of fusion. Alot of famous dishes are local takes on Indian, Chinese, Thai, Javanese and other kinds of cuisine – think laksas, curries, stews etc. There is a whole culture, the peranakan culture, that is all about fusion cuisine.

If fusion cuisine comes in waves then modern Malaysian cuisine is undergoing a new brave wave of fusion. Where once the fusion was between local ingredients and regional cooking styles (e.g., fish head curry, hainanese curry rice), or local replacements for colonial favourites (roti john, pork chop & chicken cutlets) today’s fusion invovles local flavours with western techniques.

(This does of course come with some culinary disasters)

One new institution in Kuala Lumpur that does this fusion concept great justice is Malaya Garden.

Opened in the deep midst of COVID, Malaya Garden’s time to shine has finally begun. Its mantra of local is the new lux clearly becoming increasingly popular with locals.

The interiors of Malaya Garden are painted in a lush, bright green and designed to conjour a sense of nostalgia in its diners. Its menu reads like a newspaper from the 1950s and 60s during Malaysia’s early independence. You would be forgiven for thinking, when you first look at the menu, that this place is all about good local food. But read it again and you get excited for the meal to come.

The menus is perhaps the deepest example of fusion than you can imagine – otak siew mai, char siew ribeye, seafood curry laksa pasta, rendang chicken lagsana, fish and chips, smoked duck mac and cheese, nasi lemak.