The story of Madam Kwan
> The life of this restaurateur is told by her granddaughter in a book which also features some of her favourite recipes
It was over a family dinner that Ooi suggested to her niece, Foo, to try her hand at writing the book.
“Honestly speaking, the story writes itself,” said Foo who has always enjoyed writing when she was in school and was a natural choice to pen her grandmother’s story instead of engaging an outsider.
“She had so many high and low points in her life so it was quite an interesting story to recount.”
There are also 25 recipes that Kwan has selected to be featured in the book.
These recipes, said Kwan, were chosen because she felt they were outstanding and she wanted to share them with Malaysians.
Among these recipes are such favourites as Hainanese chicken chop, creamy curry fish head, rojak buah, bubur cha cha and nasi Bojari.
The recipes take up a large part of the book because they are also accompanied by beautiful pictures.
The rest of the book tells Kwan’s story from her birth to her many endeavours as well as her family.
When asked why not just write a memoir, Foo said that food has always been associated with her grandmother and, hence, it was a natural thing to combine her life story with some of her favourite recipes.
Foo said a recent health scare involving herself and then her grandmother made her want to wrap the book up as soon as they could.
Madam Kwan: Her Untold Story and Beloved Recipes is self published and retails at RM89. It will only be sold at Madam Kwan restaurants as they are meant more for her customers, loyal patrons and supporters.
Kwan also launched her specially-blended Madam Kwan’s curry paste at the same event which costs RM13.90 per pack.