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On the scent of Asia

GO MALAYSIAN The festival at Ano-Tai is on till July 8

Malaysia may be in the neighbourhood, but not all of us manage to travel that far. But if a country's cuisine gives an insight into its culture, Malaysia is here in New Delhi with more than a passing glimpse. Ano-Tai, Jaypee Vasant Continental's Chinese restaurant, is hosting a Malaysian food festival till July 8. It is a joint venture of Jaypee Hotels, Malaysian Airlines and the Malaysian Tourism Board. Known as a fusion of Chinese, Indian, Thai and Portuguese Eurasian culinary traditions, Malaysian cuisine, seems at once familiar and foreign to Indian taste buds.

Two Malaysian chefs, Mohaiyoum Binti Mohamad and Sakya Bin Hamid, have cooked up a range of dishes. The prawn-based appetisers certainly live up to their name. There is cucur udang utara, a speciality from the north of the country, made of crispy fried prawn dumplings. Then there is rojak buah, an unusual combination of unripe fruits with a prawn-based sauce. Try the soup, kambing for its piquant fragrance. More prawns in the main course: there is the delectable udang masak sambal, or tiger prawns in a chilli tomato curry. Poultry is introduced in the ayam masak merah, chicken cooked in thick red sauce. To go with the main course, there is Bee hoon sayuran - rice noodles with vegetables - and nasi tomato. Sago gula melakha, a dish served with coconut milk and jaggery sauce is quite like our`sabudana pudding'.

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