KUALA LUMPUR — Close your eyes at a Sri Lankan Malay table and the aromas might feel strikingly familiar: pandan and lemongrass, coconut and chilli, and spices warming gently in a pot. Yet a closer look reveals the distinct footprint of another island—Sri Lankan curry leaves, deeply roasted spices, and the dark sweetness of kithul jaggery.
This November, fine dining establishment Aliyaa, in collaboration with culinary platform The Minority Taste, invites diners to discover a cuisine shaped by journeys across the Indian Ocean and preserved across generations around family tables.
Titled “Ja Minissu: The Malays of Ceylon,” the exclusive dining series brings Sri Lankan Malay chef and culinary storyteller Ruzaina Hadgie to Aliyaa for four evenings: Nov 25 and 26 in Kuala Lumpur, followed by Nov 29 and 30 in Penang. Dinner service begins at 6pm. For Malaysian diners, the showcase offers a reflection of shared history: while names and aromas remain familiar, the flavours have evolved into a distinct culinary tradition.
The story of Sri Lanka’s Malay community spans centuries and archipelagoes. Beginning in the seventeenth century under Dutch colonial rule, individuals from across the Indonesian archipelago—including soldiers, political exiles, servants, and convicts—arrived in Ceylon. Under subsequent British rule, others joined from the Malay Peninsula.
Over generations, their descendants established communities, preserved traditions, and developed a unique dialect. In their kitchens, recipes passed from one generation to the next, adapting to local ingredients and new surroundings.
The resulting cuisine carries clear echoes of Southeast Asia while remaining unmistakably Sri Lankan. Pandan, lemongrass, and coconut meet deeply roasted curry powders, curry leaves, and chilli. Palm sugar provides warmth to confections, while vinegar adds sharpness to slow-cooked beef. Dishes remain deeply personal, shaped by family lineage with techniques varying from household to household.
Sri Lankan Malay cuisine boasts a diverse repertoire far beyond what most visitors encounter on the island:
- Babath Puruth: A richly spiced tripe and offal curry traditionally paired with pittu.
- Daging Chuka: Beef slow-cooked with vinegar, spices, and onions.
- Sathay Daging: The community’s distinct interpretation of beef satay.
- Savouries and Staples: Fragrant rice dishes, savoury pastol pastries, and the sharp bite of Malay achcharu.
- Heritage Sweets: Serikaya—the steamed coconut-and-egg custard widely known across Sri Lanka as watalappam, perfumed with palm sugar and spices—alongside dark, glossy dodol, crafted by slow-stirring coconut milk, jaggery, and rice flour over open heat.
While many of these flavours have crossed into the wider Sri Lankan culinary landscape, their specific origins are rarely highlighted. It must be noted that the dishes listed above represent the broader Sri Lankan Malay culinary tradition and that the specific menu for the upcoming Aliyaa event series will be announced separately.
For Chef Ruzaina Hadgie, cooking is rooted in family history. Born to professional chefs who worked in Kuwait, where her father famously brought her into his commercial kitchen as an infant, it was alongside her grandmother and grand-aunt in Sri Lanka that she formed her connection to heritage Malay cooking.
As a child, her primary duty was tasting dishes for salt balance; years later, those memories inspired her wider mission to document Sri Lankan foodways.
Hadgie founded The Minority Taste, a platform dedicated to exploring Sri Lanka’s diverse food traditions and the people behind them. Through her work, she has introduced regional specialties and family recipes to global audiences, collaborating with prominent international food creators including Mark Wiens and Trevor James.
Her upcoming residency at Aliyaa presents a personal culinary tradition to a Malaysian audience that shares centuries of connected history across the water.
Ja Minissu: The Malays of Ceylon
Dates and Locations:
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 25 & 26
48 Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara
Reservations (contact number): +6017 883 3738
Penang: Nov 29 & 30
44 & 46 Lebuh Melayu, George Town
Reservations (contact number): +60 12 653 8603
Dinner begins at 6pm. Buffet price: RM128++ per pax. — Twenty Two 13, November 9, 2026