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going into the dishes. As such she was the only operator to launch serving food on plates, although others would follow her lead. She says: “We were cooking things London hadn’t seen before because they’ve only been familiar with dishes like roti and laksa, but those dishes hadn’t showcased just how punchy these flavours can be. “With the open kitchen I had to gain expe-


rience explaining dishes. It was good for me to have that chance to learn how to explain it in the right language. Even when I wrote it on the menu at first, it was all in Malay or Chi- nese words, and then I realised we just weren’t there yet and I needed to explain. “It started flowing out much more easily


around six months in and it was such a great way to connect with people. We were changing the menu every two months and it was really fun discovering the unknown dishes we could put out. Malaysian people were coming and saying they couldn’t believe this was here.” Success in Peckham saw Lee approached


Deep fried yam basket filled with kung pao chicken


Kuih dadar with kopi-O ice cream


“Taking those traditional recipes and core flavours I could create


with offers of sites and, when she visited Clapton, it seemed the perfect next step, with 20 seats inside, a further 15 to 20 covers out- side and a pre-existing kitchen. The décor will combine Lee’s European upbringing with Malaysian nostalgia, including lots of primary colours as well as heritage Malaysian tiles from which she’s creating an installation artwork. Many favourites from Peckham will remain


something that may not look exactly like the original, but that people would love”


ier, with more coconut milk, Malay spices and Indonesian influences.


and really beautiful grilled fish – so by the end it was almost like a platter. From that exper- iment I realised what Mambow really could be. Taking those traditional recipes and core flavours I could create something that may not look exactly like the original, but that people would love. I realised that could be my voice.” Mambow has since championed the Nyonya


dishes Lee’s aunt taught her to prepare and which she has since researched extensively. Nyonya is a fusion cuisine that emerged fol- lowing intermarriages between Malays and early Chinese settlers. This hybrid of Chinese and Malay cuisines


differs vastly across the regions of Malaysia with Nyonya cuisine in Penang also combin- ing influences of neighbouring Thailand lead- ing to dishes that are tangier, spicier and more savoury than those found in Melaka to the south, where flavours are sweeter and cream-


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Finding her flow Lee returned to London, her suitcase bulging with recipe books, bottles of soy sauce and dried chilies and began cooking her dishes for the capital’s diners, starting with supper clubs held at Mortimer House in Fitzrovia. She says: “It was quite nerve-wracking as


I was so used to cooking European food for others, and it was a whole other experience to the first pop-up in Spitalfields. You can feel it in you when you’re doing something you’re passionate about. I was working with these ingredients that were a daily reminder of home, those smells and the memories of my aunt teaching me. I carried that with me when I was cooking and it gave me a huge sense of purpose.” Lee’s next step was to Market Peckham, a


new food hall with a communal dining space. Despite the surroundings Lee did not set out her offering as street food, feeling it would not acknowledge the labour and intricacies


on the menu, including a sour pineapple curry, to which Lee has added Chinese-style chive dumplings in a move she describes as “untraditional” but “a match made in heaven”. Lor bak (pork and prawn laced with five spice, wrapped in bean curd skin and deep fried) could not be left off, having gained something of a cult following, including being described by then food critic of The Sunday Times Marina O’Louglin as like “a greedy and mildly debauched deity decided to reinvent the sausage roll”. But, moving to a larger kitchen will allow


the chef to expand what she can offer with the addition of grilled items. She is working on pork and prawn laced with five spice, wrapped in bean curd skin and deep fried and a grilled squid stuffed with flavoured rice, which will be served alongside a squid ink curry, with a base of lemongrass and dried chillies. The expanded space will also allow for more


kerabus or salads to be offered, a key addition for Lee, who explains their necessity in bal- ancing the strong flavours found elsewhere on the menu. Accompaniments will be found in an expanded list of natural wines and a new cocktail offering being developed to incorpo- rate nostalgic flavours from her childhood. The development of Mambow has been


a journey for Lee, both literally and figura- tively, and she continues to make trips to her aunt’s kitchen while also delving into old cook- ery books in a quest to continue bringing the flavours of her home to the capital’s diners. She adds: “I’m just really happy we’re the ones doing this first and hopefully more people will pop up after us to cook from other regions [of Malaysia] that I’m not familiar with.”


10 November 2023 | The Caterer | 33


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