Malay cuisine by Malaysian chefs at Marriott Hotel

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It should come as no surprise that Indonesian cuisine is similar to that of neighboring Malaysian cuisine.

People in Malaysia and Indonesia use practically the same ingredients as both the cuisines share the same roots, which are from the Malay tradition. The main characteristics of their dishes are in the spices.

For flavor and aroma, both countries use different kinds of scented leaves, such as the kaffir lime leaf, curry leaf, pandanus leaf, and spices, such as coriander, turmeric, chili, ginger, as well as distinctive cooking pastes made of shrimp or fish, known as belacan or terasi.

Traditional food also uses banana leaves or sugar cane leaves -- often shaped into a small container or used as a wrap -- to add a distinctive aroma to the food.

The cooking techniques also have a lot in common with food usually being steamed, stir-fried or deep fried, charcoal-grilled or boiled.

Despite its prevailing Malay roots, Malaysia also accommodates strong influences from other countries, such as India, China and other Western cuisines.

"However, the strongest influences are from the Indian and Chinese cuisines. Indian dishes, such as lamb kurma, curry chicken, roti canai and vegetables are among our popular dishes. Its spices are widely available at local markets," said Sabariah Bte Sabtu, a chef from the Renaissance Melaka Hotel in Malaysia.

Sabariah and her two colleagues, Mastura Binti Musa from the Renaissance Palms Garden Hotel and Othman Bin Jaafar from the Royal Selangor Club are in town to prepare well-known Malaysian favorites during the Malaysian Food Promotion at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Jakarta.

The promotion, supported by the Malaysian Tourism Board and Aqua Danone, is being held in the hotel's Sailendra Restaurant from Aug. 23 to Aug. 31 for Rp 100,000++.

The Chinese influence in the Malay cooking tradition is very much alive not only in Malaysia but also neighboring Singapore, and it is known as Nonya cuisine, a culinary tradition preserved and made popular by those of Chinese descent. Among the popular Nonya dishes are Chinese fried noodles and Nonya chap chye (stir- fried mixed vegetables).

Sabariah explained that beef, lamb, chicken and fish are the main items, while pork dishes are made available only to its non- Muslim patrons.

The Western European influence has slowly evolved into Eurasian dishes, with the famous one being Portuguese baked fish, which is usually prepared by Malacca's mixed Eurasian community, and savory butter prawns, a dish that combines spices and seasonings from all of Malaysia's major ethnic groups.

For this event, the visiting chefs have also prepared the Malaysian version of Indonesian dishes, such as rendang Selangor (Selangor-style braised beef) and gado-gado (assorted boiled vegetables with peanut butter sauce).

But the delectable culinary experience starts with the soup, with choices of either the traditional chicken soup, mamak-style (homemade) lamb soup or coconut milk beef soup.

It is then followed by other well-known main dishes like nasi lemak (savory rice with boiled egg, anchovies, fried nuts and hot sambal bawang), laksa Melaka, which consists of cucumber, red chili, bean sprouts and sambal (chili), Indian curry puff and nasi beryani (spiced rice) among other things.

For dessert, traditional sweet delicacies, such as pisang kukus raja (steamed banana with coconut milk, brightly colored bubur chacha, sweet pulut sarikaya, banana fritter, es kacang, layered cake, mung bean porridge and sago puding gula Melaka (sago pudding with palm sugar and coconut milk) are available.

The dining experience can also be entertaining for hotel guests, who can watch the interesting process of making the teh tarik drink during the food promotion.