Malaysia 's Amy Beh

For the past few years, there has been a flourish of celebrity chefs with their own cook books and TV shows and with one too many flamboyant fusion cooks, I do yearn for some good ole traditional receipes.

While in Malacca, I spotted a cook book that featured very authentic, traditional food receipes by Amy Beh . She started her cooking column in the Malaysian newspapers The Star in 1995 and since then, she has garnered quite a following, people who love her homely style of Malaysian cooking. Trained by her mum since she was a kid, she is now over 60 years old and her experience and passion have given her quite a reputation. I bought 2 of her cook books and can't wait to try some of her receipes including chicken rendang and kurma, grilled masala , century egg porridge, Penang Asam laksa and my favourite Nonya kuehs. Apparently, the book At Home has gone beyond it tenth reprint and that seems quite a feat in today's cookbook cluttered environment. Malaysia and Singapore have so many shared experiences and history which also extends to the cuisine of the two countries.