Malaysia Kitchen's Big Pasar Malam at Trafalgar Square

Okay, I am a victim of non-photography for this particular blog post. I was busy working on the night of the event so don't blame me.

Getting on with it... the Malaysia Kitchen's attempt or rather effort for putting up an event at Trafalgar Square on the 24th of September 2010 dubbed Malaysia Night was quite an eye opener. I learnt that due to council limitations on certain aspects, the organisers had to downplay the decorations and sound. Though that is quite an interesting observation as many other events at Trafalgar Square did make quite a ruckus.

I reserved my comments until now after having read many different kinds of reviews on the world wide web with many coming from Malaysians themselves either living abroad or invited journalists who had every comment to make.

Not to say that it was the best event, though it did successfully attract about 10,000 people or so I've heard from the organisers. The point at hand for such an event was to expose people to what Malaysia has to offer in terms of food. Yes, we Malaysians have expectations in terms of what a night market was to offer, the fishballs, the assam laksa, the fried bread with chicken floss, the many varying drink stalls, the vegetable sellers shouting at the top of their lungs 'Satu Longgok RM5!!!' (One bunch RM5), the many varying snack stalls that only Malaysians can actually cook and the list goes on. I agree that the food offered could have been more varied and considerably could have had more portions. Yes, the queue was terrible that many people went home hungry or stormed off to China Town for a proper meal. Yes, there was not enough seats and tables to sit down to eat properly (but which Malaysian night market had tables and chairs anyway??) The stalls were a bit scarce and small and vendors could have had the opportunity to rent from one to two stalls to create a better atmosphere. Encircling the square was not bad but seriously, there wasn't as much to offer as one could have.

I understand the frustrations of the many Malaysians as I am Malaysian myself. Yes, I agree that the food could have been more varied showcasing the different ethnic cuisines Malaysia had to offer. But look at it this way: it was the first event. The fact that it garnered attention in the news is good no? The fact that unbeknownst individuals and tourists who were oblivious to Malaysian cuisine have a slight inkling now should be suffice. Now people are looking forward to the second one, should there be a second event which I think should be done annually anyway with more festivities in place. One night is enough and that should play up already the popular demand for Malaysian food.

This event should also be viewed as a rating for Malaysian restaurants. Do you want to be known as a half pass six restaurant offering substandard fare or would you up your game and try to outrank the rest? Most of the restaurants offered almost similar food and therefore did not provide much difference in terms of food offering. Next time communicate with each other. Offer varying foods including curry chee cheong fun. So simple, yet so delicious.

I come away from the event knowing that we've made a slight impact in the UK. More people are interested in Malaysian cuisine and notably worthy as well is the effort of many Malaysians out there who blog constantly about their love for Malaysian cuisine. So why not instead of mocking the country, join hands and promote? I'd give it a go!

Being less judgemental,
The Innovative Baker