Buzzing Down Under

In our effort to spread our wings to the southern tip of the world, we have taken some steps to trumpet our Malaysia Kitchen campaign in the land down under.

 

Australia is certainly a continent brimming with food lovers who are up for a different taste.This is a welcoming pull for us to start promoting Malaysian food there. It hasn’t been hard either for there are over a hundred Malaysian restaurants already in operation in Australia.

In line with that, we made appearances at two major Malaysian events in Sydney. The Malaysia Festival 2010 on the 26th of September and the Australian Malaysian Film Festival 2010 from the 2nd to the 6th of October. 

We sponsored the participation of 10 Malaysian restaurants during the Malaysia Fest which was organized by Malaysian students studying in Australia. It was a great platform for Malaysian youths to get together and promote our food and culture to Australians. Among the participating restaurants were Abang Sam, Jimmy Laksa, Aseana Village, Mamak and Chinta Ria offering an array of Malaysian favorites. A Clouet, the distributor of AYAM’s products, also had a booth selling its popular goods. Held in Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour, the day provided bright and sunny weather perfect for a spontaneous picnic on the spacious lawn and to watch cultural performances including the enactment of a traditional Malay wedding, the martial art demonstration of the Silat and the intricate Sumazau dance of the Kadazan tribe among many others. It was a joy to see Malaysian students keeping the patriotic spirit alive and spreading the uniqueness of their homeland especially its food and art to others. 

Meanwhile at the Australian Malaysian Film Festival, 4 of our restaurants, Chilli Padi, Old Town Kopitian Mamak, The Migrant Hub and Lim Nyonya Hut were sponsored by MATRADE to serve authentic Malaysian grub such as Roti Canai, Curry Mee and Nasi Lemak. The event was launched and officiated by YB Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry where he highlighted the nice Malaysian dishes and noted that Australia had the highest number of Malaysian restaurants outside of Malaysia. A goodie bag was given to all patrons consisting of useful promotional items such as postcards of Malaysian food and an informative booklet with the full listing of Malaysian restaurants around Australia and New Zealand.  

Not venturing too far off the grid we’ve also travelled into the land of the Kiwi. New Zealand may be smaller than its neighbour Australia but we’re not going to overlook it. With the 25 restaurants offering Malaysian delights scattered over this country, it is surely worth a visit by the locals and we feel that they need to know that these restaurants are open for the business of making their bellies bellow with gastronomic satisfaction – the Malaysian way! In light of this, we recently had 2 MKP meetings, one in Kayu Manis Malaysia Restaurant and the other in Istana Malaysian Restaurant, both in Wellington earlier in the month. A total of 156 participants attended the dinners and among them were business owners, business chambers, importers, distributors and officials from the Malaysian High Commission. MATRADE informed the attendees on the plans we have to promote the Malaysian restaurants in New Zealand through the Malaysia Kitchen campaign. More exciting food events are in the works so for those in New Zealand and Australia, do expect to hear from us soon.