♪ >> In the art of cooking, a classical dish is one that can withstand the test of time.

Around the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, there are many restaurants -- old and new, big and small -- offering classical dishes that have been everybody's favorite for generations.

Classics that define Malaysian cuisine next on "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

♪ ♪ ♪ >> "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo, offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ >> Welcome to the most interesting village in Malaysia.

This is Kampung Baru.

It means "New Village" although it is well over 100 years old.

It is an enclave of traditional Malay village life set in the middle of 21st-century Malaysia.

The hawker stall is a permanent fixture in every Malaysian village, even if that village is located in the very heart of Kuala Lumpur.

In the middle of KL's urban jungle, we have this oasis of tranquility.

It's absolutely remarkable.

This tract of land is valued at $1.4 billion U.S.

Thanks to the village elders, we can still afford to enjoy our morning nasi lemak for just a few ringgits.

"And what is nasi lemak?"

you ask.

Ah, now you are asking the right question.

It is a Malaysian classic.

Nice seeing you again.

So, what are you doing here today?

>> I'm fixing sambal.

>> Sambal, the most popular chili sauce all over Malaysia.

All you have to do actually is start it out with the dried chili, nice and soft like this.

And then let me give you a hand.

It smells so good.

Thank you, thank you.

So, how long you have been cooking as a chef?

>> 25 years.

>> 25 years, okay.

So you cook the chili with shallot and garlic, and then you add salt and sugar to balance the flavor.

And then chili sauce, additional chili sauce, wow.

Look at that.

Savory, spicy, and slightly sweet because of the sugar.

Look at that.

You cook until the oil floats on top, and that means it's ready.

Malaysia is one hot country.

Not only the weather is hot.

Hey, the sambal is also very hot.

This, the sambal sauce, you see?

You start your day with a very hot sauce.

And it goes well with chicken, with squid, with all kind of things.

This is the chicken.

Let me have one big bite.

Mm!

Absolutely delicious.

Hawkers' food is legendary all over Southeast Asia.

In Kuala Lumpur, it takes on a classic culinary twist.

Welcome to Lot 10 Hutong in the heart of this city.

With so many delicious choices here, I can have my breakfast, lunch, and dinner under the same roof.

Thanks to Lot 10 Hutong, the traditional hawkers' food lives on.

The developers of Lot 10 Hutong adopted the concept and brought it indoors.

They created a network of traditional food stores in the same way of Hutong, and they picked only the classic dishes.

Most of these places are still operated by the original families, and they are following the traditional winning recipes, dozens of classical tastes, all under one roof.

It is ingenious.

Everybody loves barbecue all over the world.

Asians love barbecue even more.

I order a barbecue trio.

Very unique.

Barbecued pork.

This is a chili sauce right here.

I'm going to dip it in.

Mm!

Adds a little punch to it.

Mm.

Spicy and sweet -- perfect.

A barbecued duck.

Mm.

Crispy skin.

The meat is moist, tender, and juicy.

Roast pork.

Dip it in.

Delicious!

I love every single one of these.

I'm learning from Chef James how to make one of the most popular Malaysian dishes, char kway teow.

We learn from the master.

Hey.

Prawn.

Don't overcook your shrimp.

That's the trick.

Garlic right here.

Kway teow -- fresh rice noodles.

Fresh rice noodles.

Soy sauce.

>> Yes.

Chili.

>> Chili.

Chili sauce.

>> And then [ Speaks indistinctly ] [ Speaks indistinctly ] Now, this is the secret.

It's a special clam.

Put it right here.

Hot temperature.

Short time.

Continued movement.

That's all.

[ Chuckles ] Hey.

>> Ah.

>> This is by far, one of the most popular dishes in Malaysia.

Thank you very much.

>> First you put oil and garlic.

>> Ah.

And -- >> [ Speaks indistinctly ] >> [ Speaks indistinctly ] ♪ ♪ >> Done!

Ah.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] Henry, thank you.

Henry just showed us another very, very popular, famous dish in Malaysia, Hokkien mee.

We're going to taste this and see how good it is, 80 years in the making.

Mm.

Delicious.

I'm tasting tradition here.

Really good.

Good job.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ To appreciate Hindu culture in Malaysia, a perfect place to begin is at the famous and classic Batu Caves.

There are 272 steps that lead up to the famous Batu Caves located right outside of Kuala Lumpur.

♪ ♪ In this very holy Hindu shrine, a colorful Thaipusam Festival is held right here.

Over a million Tamil Indians in Malaysia would fast and cleanse themselves before trekking 15 kilometers to this very spot.

It is a journey of faith and total religious devotion.

Now some traditional Chinese dishes have been adapted as Malaysian classics.

Bah kut teh is 100% local, born in Malaysia.

Right here in Kung, this is specially called Kung bah kut teh.

Many early Chinese immigrants were Hokkiens who worked as coolies loading and unloading ships.

To supplement their diet, they added Chinese herbs into their meat soup or tonic, and bah kut teh was born.

Bah kut teh literally means "meat bone tea."

The meat is pork, and the tea is literally more of a soup or a tonic.

It is highly concentrated and flavored, and it tastes great when mixed with rice.

Right next to me is Chef Ng, owner of Ah Her Bah Kut Teh restaurant.

Look at the people who pack this place.

This is basically a lot of meat, mostly pork.

We got some chicken cooked in a variety of Chinese herbs.

Besides that, we have fennel, star anise, goji berries, Sichuan peppercorns, and white peppercorns.

Once it's done, cook for two hours.

Dip it into a tiny bit of chili soy sauce.

Mm.

The whole piece of meat is absolutely delicious.

The sauce rolled inside these herbs and seasonings permeates into deep inside.

Besides, they can also go with the pig's intestine, my favorite, chicken feet.

Mm.

Because the skin, a lot of wonderful good-quality protein, collagen right in here.

Serve tea.

Help digestion.

Get rid of grease at the same time.

It enhances the flavor of the bah kut teh.

If you cannot finish selling all of this, what are you going to do?

>> [ Speaks native language ] >> The owner, Chef Ng, said, "We don't have to worry about it.

Every day, we sold out every single piece of this."

That's why everything is fresh.

In Malaysia, the three major ethnic groups -- Malay, Chinese, and Indians -- all must adapt to each other's food habits and tastes.

Streetfood vendors are a strong tradition all over Malaysia.

Many of the street vendors are of Indian Muslim origin.

They are known as mamaks.

One of the best known and also one of my favorite dishes is the mee goreng.

The first time I saw a dish of mee goreng, I said, "Wow.

It looks like Chinese pan-fried noodles."

You know what?

It is, just with a little twist of Malaysian flavor and spices.

Shane and Stephanie, thank you so much for being my audience.

So, I'm going to show you how easy it is to make this mee goreng.

I'm going to cut up some vegetables first.

I have some onion.

Set aside.

You don't need too much.

And then also some cabbage.

So I cut this, slice like this, one, see this?

I'm also going to stir-fry this.

This is also very sweet.

This is very, very nice.

So I have this, and I also have green onion.

I butterfly this.

See?

I cut it in half.

And then I do it again.

One, two, and then all shredded.

And also I like to have some color contrast.

This one -- I cut it just in a ring like this.

And then I also slice it.

First I get rid of the seeds.

And then I will julienne this -- 1, 2, 3, 4.

And see this?

After you touch the inside of the chili, I would wash my hands.

And then I cut this up.

This is this bird-eye chili.

This is what makes it really hot.

Garlic -- chop up.

Done.

And now I want to deep fry the shallot.

Shallot, deep fry until golden brown, until nice and golden brown.

Look how beautiful.

Nice and golden brown.

Now, this...and done.

And we'll put it right over here.

Oh, this is golden brown.

And I'm going to deep fry the tofu.

When you put it in, don't dump it in.

Slide it in like this.

Okay?

Deep fry until they're golden brown.

While we're dipping this, I'm going to stir-fry this with a couple other ingredients.

One is beef.

One is potato.

Cook the potato.

Put a tiny bit of turmeric.

Look at how beautiful.

And then cut this up.

This is a piece of flank steak.

You can use any steak.

I cut it...one...I put it here.

Two.

I slice it, and I put it right here.

Okay?

Then you marinate this beef with a tiny bit of soy, okay?

Dark soy or caramel, and a tiny bit of cornstarch to help to seal in the juice.

Okay?

Marinate this ahead of time.

When this is done, I'm going to show you how to stir-fry this, okay?

Garlic right here, and I'll even use some extra sliced shallot.

Waste nothing.

And you put the beef in.

Why I use cornstarch to marinate?

Seal in the juice.

Give that nice shiny glaze.

Very, very easy to do.

This is done.

And I remove this.

Why?

Because if you cook the meat and the vegetables together, it will be overcooked.

So I do it like this.

I put all of this in.

It doesn't take too long to cook.

I put all this in, okay?

Stir.

It's going to be so colorful.

And then while I'm doing that, look at this.

This is absolutely marvelous.

Okay?

Nice and golden brown like this.

Okay, and then in the meantime, I also put the cooked potato right here because it's already done.

And I put a tiny bit of chili sauce.

A tiny bit of black molasses.

A tiny bit of extra soy.

And I put the tofu inside and then put the beef back.

And then toss in the noodles, which has already cooked, and the bean sprouts.

You toss it.

They normally make it really dark.

So all you have to do is mix these -- look, you'll get a color change and also add some sweetness to it.

And this is done.

I put the noodles right in the middle first.

This is mee.

Everything is here.

If you want, sprinkle a tiny bit of these already deep-fried shallots right here right on the top, and then squeeze a tiny piece of this lime.

Ah, and that's it.

Very, very simple.

Everybody can do it at home.

This is mee goreng.

But the real story here is that rice and noodles, traditionally Chinese staples, have been adopted into the daily Malaysian diet.

Here, just like all their fellow immigrants, they find a new identity -- no longer Chinese or Indian or Malay, they are now all Malaysian.

It is hard to believe, but Kuala Lumpur began as a trading post at a muddy confluence of two rivers.

And now, hey, look at all of this.

It is a marvelous city with an impressive skyline and an even more impressive rush-hour traffic.

First-time visitors to Malaysia might get the impression that all Malay food is found at small, casual restaurants.

The truth is far from it.

Around KL there are plenty of five-star Malay dining serving all kinds of classical dishes.

We are now at The Restaurant 39.

With me, Chef Ashar.

How are you?

>> Good, good, good, good.

>> So, what are you going to show us today?

>> We have a chicken percik.

This is a one-dish of top-selling at our restaurant.

>> So, let's introduce the basic ingredient.

>> Yep.

>> You have chicken breast.

>> Yes.

>> Okay, your chicken breast, you have to marinate it with all of these ingredients, right?

>> Yeah.

>> This is shallot, ginger, lemongrass.

And chop them all up here.

In the old days, they used the mortar -- pound, pound, pound.

Takes too long.

You know, it's not even.

Here, simpler life.

Fun and simple because all you have to do is push a button.

[ Whirring ] You're ready.

So, you use these to marinate your chicken.

Okay.

So for a tiny bit of Malaysian palm oil, right?

>> Yeah.

>> Right here.

Perfect.

All this chopped-up lemongrass, ginger, and shallot.

And then you add in the chili, right?

>> Chili, yeah.

>> Shredded cucumber, right?

>> Ah, very expert.

>> In the meantime, while you're cooking the sauce, you can grill the chicken.

This is how amazing this is.

When the kitchen -- make it simple.

It's more fun.

That's right.

Simple and fun.

>> Yeah.

And then salt and pepper.

>> Salt and pepper.

We slice it up -- shallot... >> Wonderful.

>> And slice the chili.

>> Cut-cut-cut-cut-cut.

Okay.

>> This is for this.

>> You can smell that.

>> Mm, look at that.

You see?

Look how fast it grilled.

>> Some coconut milk.

>> Coconut milk.

>> Yeah.

>> So I'll put some vinegar.

>> Yes.

>> Black vinegar.

>> Black vinegar, okay, now.

And then salt and pepper.

>> Toss.

This is a wonderful salad.

>> Our sauce is almost ready.

Now we want to prepare the rice we call ulam.

>> Ulam, okay.

>> These are local herbs.

>> So I will get the rice out of this -- beautifully cooked rice, nice and fluffy.

Look at this.

And then we'll mix all of this that we have chopped up -- cucumber, spice, herbs and chili and shallot, everything.

Put it right here.

Mix them all up.

This is how to assemble the dish.

>> And then we... >> Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.

[ Laughs ] Amazing.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

Beautiful.

>> I think chicken also ready.

>> Yeah, don't want to overcook them.

Beautiful.

>> And put the sauce.

All right, and then we put some garnish.

>> Oh, look at that.

Master stroke.

We put some beautiful salad.

This is the grilled chicken with a salad rice.

>> Yeah.

>> So we cook like this.

It makes life simpler -- makes cooking in the kitchen much more simple and much more fun.

>> Important is that your food, it's very good taste.

>> It tastes good.

If it doesn't taste good, no good.

>> Wonderful.

>> Blah.

Very good.

Thank you, Chef.

>> Thank you.

>> Not often you can be on top of the world.

Now I am -- The 39 Restaurant.

With me my good friend Mr. Zaid, director of communication.

And of course my good friend Chef Ashar taught me how to do this wonderful dish.

I'm excited.

Thank you so very much.

And of course I cannot miss introducing my dear friend, the legendary, the world-class shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo.

How are you?

>> Thank you, Martin.

Great.

>> So nice to see you.

Welcome to my country.

>> Chef, what do we have on the menu today?

>> So, first of all is [ Speaks indistinctly ] I have beef braised soup.

Chicken percik.

with local herb rice.

>> Oh.

That's the one we learned.

>> Sticky glutinous rice sweet mango.

>> Now, Datuk Jimmy, how did you start in the shoe business?

>> You know what I do?

I followed my father's footsteps.

My father is a shoe designer from Penang, born in Penang.

So when young, I watched my father how to designing shoe as well.

And after that, I went to the U.K.

I went to college to study shoe designing.

>> Oh, really?

First went to England, I'm quite sure you encountered a lot of challenges.

So, share with us some of those experiences.

>> Nothing very difficult.

So when I went to U.K., I finished my studies and tried to start my own business.

At the end, my father, my mum came over helping me as well, put all the money and helping me.

At the end, nobody turned up.

So I went to have a look at the market, see what we were doing.

So I start coming back, designing some, you know, shoes and sandals, but not Jimmy Choo name.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] I think we are lucky.

We have a very nice lady designer helping me.

So I design my shoes during London Fashion Week.

And immediately, the Vogue magazine saw my designs, immediately called me.

They said they wanted to feature my shoes.

So from then, my name's always, you know, always going up.

So we have Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, you know.

Once you have a good reputation, good name in the press, it's very important, the name.

>> Yeah, you have to build it.

Who are some of the world-famous celebrities or royalty that uses [ Speaks indistinctly ]?

>> The one I worked with for seven years, I worked with the late Princess Diana.

>> Yes.

>> Of course, the U.K., somebody like Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, you know.

We have a lot of the royal family, high-society people, TV persons like you, and many, many celebrities come to my place.

I mean, you make the reputation, make the name.

>> Well, let's eat.

Let's eat.

It's such a great story.

You started out with nothing.

We struggle.

We work hard.

>> Yes.

>> And it's about endurance.

It's about patience, about working very hard for the same reason -- passion.

Cheers to the success of 39 Restaurant and Chef Ashar and of course to Datuk Jimmy, sell more shoes, so I can afford to buy one one day.

And a privilege and a pleasure to be traveling all over Malaysia to introduce the very best of Malaysia.

That's why here is the taste of Malaysia.

Never confuse classics with being old.

A classic is not old.

It is timeless -- as a classic dish, may not cost a lot, but it is truly priceless.

Join me next time for another classic on "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

Bye-bye.

>> You can visit our website to learn more about Martin and his travels, get information about upcoming events, find and print selected recipes, provide email feedback, and more.

It's all at yancancook.com.

"Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo, offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ ♪