Blink and you will miss it – this really is a one-night stand. Or series of stands, to be precise, as Malaysia Night takes over Trafalgar Square for one night only – Friday, 23rd September 2011. Or one afternoon and a night only, to be precise, as the night starts at 3pm and ends at 10pm.
Over 20 Malaysian restaurants will take part in the event, now in its second year, serving Malaysian street food dishes (such as laksa, nasi goring, satay or beef rendang) to recreate a typical Malaysian Pasar Malam. Pasar Malam – night markets – are an integral part of Malaysian food culture. Typically, they include several stalls, each specialising in one freshly-prepared, inexpensive dish, where locals buy their evening meal. And so it will be for London locals in Trafalgar Square that night.
The event will include stalls where you can buy authentic Malaysian ingredients – sauces, pastes, noodles – to recreate your favourite dishes at home; traditional and contemporary performances; and stands selling Malaysian arts and crafts.
Malaysia Night is hosted by Malaysia Kitchen, which promotes Malaysian food around the world, specifically to introduce us to what is, they say, the original fusion food – combining Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking and taking the best of each to create new tastes.