A delicious take on Chinese cuisine
Malay-dubbed documentary set to show the best Muslim food in China
KUALA LUMPUR: Bilateral ties between Malaysia and China received a “delicious” boost with Hidangan Laluan Sutera – touted as the first ever halal Chinese food documentary in Bahasa Malaysia.
Originally titled Cuisine on the Silk Road, the production has been translated from Mandarin into Malay. It provides insights into the culture, tradition and recipes of Muslim cuisine in China and other countries along the Silk Road.
The five-episode series will be aired on Astro Channels in four countries simultaneously.
At the launch of the documentary yesterday, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Fuziah Salleh espoused the goodness of food in bringing people together.
“Food unites people, food unites families. At the end of a long day, families get together and converge over dinner.
“This is what we want to see, how we can create better working relationships and harmony between two nations.
“China ren, Malaysia ren, wo men dou shi yi jia ren (Chinese people, Malaysian people, we are one family),” said Fuziah.
Saying that Muslims need not worry about finding halal cuisine while visiting China, she said: “The halal industry in China has been expanding rapidly, and is worth US$17bil (RM70.7bil).”
She added that there were 40,000 halal restaurants in China, with half of them being in Beijing, so “it is very easy to find halal food there”.
In his speech, China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian said the docu- mentary provided a window of understanding to the Chinese Muslim culture and halal food in China, which has more than 22 million Muslims comprising 10 ethnic groups.
Bai, who was born and bred in Xian, told the guests that his hometown was an eastern departure point of the Silk Road.
“There is a population of up to 50,000 Muslims in Xian, where Islamic civilisation and Chinese culture converge.
“Every time I am back in my home city, I like to enjoy the food, so I will end up with an additional few kilos.”
Sponsored by the Chinese embassy, the Malay-dubbed version of the documentary is the first collaborative project between Malaysia’s MIG Metrowealth and China’s Shen Lan Times International Film & Culture (Beijing).
Local artistes involved in the dubbing include Fadzly Fuad, Azrul Zaidi, Aizat Hassan, Puteri Ayumi, Manis Azman and Lia Asmizza.
Malaysians can catch Hidangan Laluan Sutera on Astro Naura (Channel 125) every Wednesday at 11pm starting today.
Also at the launch were Metrowealth CEO David Teo, Astro content group vice-president and head of Malay and Nusantara Division Datuk Khairul Anwar Salleh and Communications and Multimedia Ministry deputy secretary-general Shakib Ahmad Shakir.