They wanted to show a different side to these foreigners – how they had feelings like everyone else, were homesick, and eager to form ties with the new community they found themselves living amongst.
But how could they tell compelling stories that would help unite society?
“I suggested the idea of using food to bring people together, that could help Malaysians see them in a different light,” Yee, 40, told FMT.
“It’s very different when you sit together and have a meal with someone,” added 39-year-old Puah.
It was an ideal solution as they could combine their expertise – Yee is an independent journalist while Puah is a photographer who has worked with marginalised communities for over 15 years.
And that was how ‘Dari Dapur’ came about, an initiative that saw the duo producing a series of videos and photos documenting migrant workers and refugees cooking dishes from their homeland.
The duo interviewed more than 20 of them – from Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, Palestine, and Bangladesh.
“Some of them are professional chefs, but others are just very passionate about cooking. We asked them to share one dish that gave them a special memory or something that spoke about their migration story,” Yee said.
The duo also created recipe cards, heartwarming photo stories and short videos.
They also produced seven documentary episodes featuring Malaysian personalities visiting these migrant workers and refugees and sharing a meal with them.
Among these personalities were Malaysian comedian Kavin Jay, culinary star Chef Wan, and politician Nurul Izzah Anwar.
The content, first released in December last year, is available on the ‘Dari Dapur’ YouTube channel and social media accounts.
What did they learn?
As Yee and Puah travelled from one kitchen to another, filming different cuisines being cooked such as Cambodian rice noodles “nom banh chok”, Sri Lankan puttu and Rohingya flatbread “Ludifida”, it was not only a delicious experience, but an eye-opening one.
“I always thought that they were individuals here, but when we filmed them cooking, we realised that there’s always community support. It’s never just one person on their own, it’s people coming together,” Puah said.
Yee, on the other hand, was amazed at the variety of unique foods that he had never heard of before.
“It’s something exciting that Malaysians can have all these foods pretty much in their neighbourhood. If we make friends with them, you open the door to this culinary heaven of diversity,” Yee mused.
“So many of them, they just want to be able to reach out to their neighbours and have a meal and conversation, just like any of us,” Yee shared.
The duo plan to release another series where Malaysians host migrant workers and refugees for a meal and share their recipes instead.
“Malaysians need to just treat them like any other human being. Yes, they’ve been through different experiences so maybe they appear different, but [that] doesn’t mean that they are not human,” Yee shared.
Soul food
Bangladeshi Sadia Farhana, 29, has been in Malaysia since December 2021. She is currently a doctoral research fellow at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan and pursuing a PhD in reconstructive science.
Speaking to FMT via a Zoom interview, she shared that her love for cooking started at a young age and these days, although far away from home, she still enjoys cooking for her friends.
One particularly special dish is “chaler ruti with beef bhuna”, a rice flour bread with beef curry. Her family’s recipe uses yoghurt to tenderise the beef and omits water from the dish so the gravy is thick.
Back home, her aunt would cook it during “Eid al-Adha” where her extended family would gather. “Once I prepared it here, but it was not the same. The love of [my] aunt was missing.”
Palestinian refugee Jawad HM Abujubba, 53, has been in Malaysia since 2015.
He recently hosted the FMT team in his Kajang home in Selangor for a meal of “musakhan”, a dish of roast chicken and flatbread.
In his kitchen, he cheerfully explained each step as he prepared the dish, saying that the chicken was marinated overnight with olive oil, onions, salt, and sumac, a spice made from dried berries.
The meal was simply delicious. The meat was fall-of-the-bone tender and bursting with flavour with the sumac adding a tanginess to the dish.
Yet, beyond its scrumptious taste, what made the dish memorable was what it represented to Jawad, who first made it for his mother in 1995.
“When I cook and prepare food like this, I feel like I’m in touch with my country, family and land. ‘Musakhan’ is not only food, it’s the soul of Palestine,” he shared.
Place your orders for Jawad’s “musakhan”, shish kebab and falafel by contacting him at 017-630 2050.
Learn more about ‘Dari Dapur’ on its website, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.