MALAYSIA COMES TO THE EAT!
VANCOUVER FESTIVAL

VANCOUVER, BC -- Tourism Malaysia Canada and “Malaysia Truly Asia Kitchen” will take part in Food Network’s “EAT! Vancouver” festival from May 23 - 25, 2008.  This popular annual event, now in its sixth year, will host a Malaysian cooking booth as part of its delicious lineup.

EAT! Vancouver is Canada’s largest consumer food, beverage, and cooking festival taking place at the BC Place Stadium.  The show will feature hundreds of food, beverage, and kitchen goods exhibitors, along with wineries, breweries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese seminars, cookbook authors, chef competitions, and barbecue and chili cook-offs.

Guests at this show will enjoy savory Malaysian cuisine. Two celebrity chefs – Chef Matt and Chef Mior – are also traveling from Malaysia especially for the festival to demonstrate their award-winning teh tarik and roti canai skills.

	Chef Matt caught the cooking bug from his family.  He was a chef at a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant in Malaysia for 8 years before starting his own Malaysian food catering business.  His earliest memory of working in the kitchen was at age 10 -- helping his parents to peel and chop garlic and onions in the family roti canai business. His second brother inspired and taught him the art of making good roti canai. Roti canai is a type of flatbread in Malaysia -- made of ghee, fat, egg, flour and water, mixed together, kneaded, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. One of the secrets of making a good roti canai is the ability to skillfully toss the flattened dough in the air several times until a tissue thin piece of dough is formed -- and folding it to trap in the air bubbles. Chef Matt has been perfecting his tossing skills since 1990 and can toss his dough up to 7 feet high.  The Chef Association of Malaysia nicknamed him the “Flying Chef” for his toss juggling talents.  Other than roti canai, he also tosses pots, pans and knives.  He is also a  teh tarik (pulled tea) expert. Over the years, he has participated and won many roti canai, teh tarik and Malaysian food competitions -- hosted cooking demonstrations -- and invited to be a judge on cooking shows.  Chef Matt is also a food product endorser and has demonstrated at cooking shows organized by Malaysian government agencies and food companies internationally.
	Chef Mior, a self-taught teh tarik expert.  Teh tarik is Malaysian milk tea, and is “pulled”—poured from one canister to another—to cool the liquid down before serving.His passion for this flavourful tea inspired him to master the art of teh tarik making 14 years ago. Since 1994 he has competed and won many teh tarik as well as roti canai competitions in Malaysia and showcased his talents in several Asian countries, Australia, the Middle East and the UK.

In addition to the EAT! Vancouver festival, Chef Matt and Chef Mior will also be appearing on a number of TV and radio programs to promote Malaysia’s delectable cuisine and fascinating culture.  They can be seen and heard on City TV Vancouver, Sun Club Travel & Rewards, and CBC Radio’s “Flavour of the Week” program.

Malaysian food is a reflection of Malaysia's diverse and exotic culture - a vibrant mix of ethnic Malays, Chinese, and Indian, all together in one big melting pot.  Malaysians take enormous pride in their cuisine, reveling in its interesting potpourri of spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors. Inspired by its Chinese, Thai, and Indian neighbors, Malaysian food strikes a delectable balance between all three Southeast Asian influences.

“Malaysia Truly Asia Kitchen” is an initiative built to promote Malaysia’s cuisine. The initiative aims to help establish new Malaysian restaurants around the world, as well as to assist in the expansion of existing restaurants in selected countries. For more information on this initiative, please visit www.malaysiakitchen.com.my.

For more information on Malaysia’s participation in the EAT! Vancouver festival this year, or on the celebrity chefs’ appearances throughout the month, please visit Tourism Malaysia Canada’s website at www.tourismmalaysia.ca. 

MALAYSIA TRULY ASIA KITCHEN

TIME VENUE MENU     Friday, May 23     5:15 - 6:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Roti Canai & Teh Tarik 6:30 - 7:15 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Char Kway Teow     Saturday, May 24     12:15 - 1:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Roti Canai & Teh Tarik 1:45 - 2:30 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Char Kway Teow 2:45 - 3:15 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Roti Canai Tossing Contest 4:15 - 5:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Char Kway Teow 5:00 - 5:30 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Roti Canai Tossing Contest 6:15 - 7:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Roti Canai & Teh Tarik 7:30 - 8:15 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Char Kway Teow     Sunday, May 25     11:15 am - 12:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Roti Canai & Teh Tarik 12:45 - 1:15 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Char Kway Teow 2:45 - 3:15 pm Booth Kitchen Stage Roti Canai Tossing Contest 3:15 - 4:00 pm HomeSense Int'l Culinary Stage Roti Canai & Teh Tarik

Featuring Chef Matt a.k.a Flying Chef and Chef Mior