September 7, 2010

Malaysian Food with a More-ish ‘Tude



It is not often I would admit to having a truly divine moment with Asian food. It’s not that I am not a lover of Asian cuisine; it is just that when I think about going out for a meal, Asian food is not usually synonymous with a potentially life-changing culinary experience for me. That is until I went to Singapore and tried the delights of Perankan cooking also known as Nonya cuisine. I was 10 years old when my Dutch-Norwegian father took us all on a one month’s jaunt around South East Asia. He is a clever business guy and negotiated the trip instead of money as payment for a large business deal he had brought to a successful close. That was the first time I had ever been to Singapore.

This spectacular tasting food is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay community. The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal. The style of cooking has an interesting past. It was brought to Singapore by the Perankans - descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca and Singapore, inter-marrying with local Malays. Malay dishes that tickle the taste-buds to another level include satay- marinated meat like chicken or beef, which are skewered onto bamboo sticks and grilled over hot charcoals; Beef Rendang - hot, dry spiced coconut beef and of course the infamous Laksa - thick rice noodles served in a tangy fish soup. Fresh garnishing of shredded cucumber, lettuce, pineapple, onion and fragrant mint leaves finishes the dish.

Ria Authentic Malaysian Food is a recent entrant to the west end’s already hopping restaurant and bar scene. It holds a monopoly in the Leederville precinct with no noteworthy rivals anywhere for about 10kms. Perth is not known for its great Malaysian restaurants so it was with eager anticipation and slight trepidation that I booked myself a table and invited my good Brazilian buddy for a quick bite after work. Do you know any Brazilians? Believe it or not Malaysians and Brazilians have quite a lot in common -their love of family and their ‘tude towards food. The Brazilian and Malays’ attitudes toward food are an expression of a warm and open people to whom feeding and sharing food is the basis of hospitality. Like Malaysian cooking which blends together the best of Malaysia, India, China and even Portugal, Brazilian cuisine today is a seamless fusion of the three émigré cultures of Portugal, Africa and native Brazil that interweave in a unique and totally "Brazilian" style of cooking.

Wine at Ria is BYO but they are also fully licensed. The service could best be described as perfunctory and efficient. No effort was made to explain the menu and to find out the specials I had to walk over to the chalkboard and read them out to my Brazilian friend who had forgotten to bring his glasses. The décor at Ria is a bit of a schizophrenic experience. The interior is quite modern with flashes of steel, white and black designer chairs. This contrasts awkwardly against the waiting staff, garbed in traditional Malay outfits which has you asking yourself whether the meal is going to taste as confused as the ambiance feels. Ria is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. It is a bit hard to get a reservation and you can only call after 4pm on the days that it is open.

We decided against an entrée of “sticky pork nibbles” as my lovely Brazilian pal told me in his sultry South American accent that he wasn’t particularly “ungry”. Have you ever noticed how there are some accents that make even reading the phone book sound sexy? Well the Brazilian accent is one of those. His accent consoled my deflation at not being able to indulge but then I got real - did I really want to be sucking on bones in front of my latin friend and be trying to pick the meat out from my teeth? Probably not (however, I have made a secret pact with myself to go back another time to try them). For mains we decided to share a few signature dishes that the restaurant was known for – Malaccan Lamb Semur, Nonya Chicken Curry, Kangkong (also known as water spinach) with sambal and steamed jasmine rice. The food was addictive. The serving sizes were generous and despite our ambitious attempts to hoover everything on the table, my dear friend ended up accepting the waitress’ offer to take home the remnants of our feast in a “doggy bag”. He looked quite embarrassed, they must not have that custom in Brazil. I guess you can’t take the tackiness out of a cultural tradition no matter how good the food is! Truly an easy thing to overlook given that the food at Ria was so good it left us hanging for more.

Passion Rating★★★★★

Food:★★★★

Service:★★☆☆

Ambiance:★★

Overall:★★★


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