Meet Aunty Aini: The Malaysian chef who managed to wow Gordon Ramsay with her beef rendang

Ask any Malaysian right now who is the most recognisable chef out there in the world and there’s a high chance the name “ Chef Gordon Ramsay” will likely come up more than once. Why would anyone be surprised? The short-tempered, blond-haired chef was made infamous by his hit reality TV show “Hell’s Kitchen”, where he often yelled and scolded chefs for messing up their duties

Gordon Ramsay visited Malaysia?

Outside that one show, however, did you know Ramsay is quite an avid traveller? He has hosted quite a few travel shows, crisscrossing the globe and trying out local delicacies wherever he goes. More importantly, though, did you know he has previously made a pit stop in Malaysia? Not only that, he was amazed by one Malaysian chef, who also taught him to make a local delicacy! Beef rendang.

Meet Aunty Aini

Image credit: The Edge

Norzaini Abdul Hamid, also called Aunty Aini, played host to the famous chef when he dropped by her restaurant during the filming of Gordon’s Great Escape season two’s third episode which aired on television on 23 May 2011. In the episode, he visited Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe in Nilai, which serves a variety of traditional Negeri Sembilan delicacies. This was not even the first time Aunty had hosted an international chef, as the late Anthony Bourdain featured her and her restaurant twice in two different shows, No Reservations and Parts Unknown.

Teaching Mr. Ramsay

During Ramsay’s visit, he learnt two things. The first was how to make beef rendang. For this, he joined Aunty in her kitchen as she introduced to him all the classic Malay spices needed for the classic dish. It was also during this cooking session that Aunty taught him the principle of all Malaysian chefs: “agak-agak”, which roughly translates to “approximately” or “guess”. Ramsay had to learn that most Malaysian cooks don’t depend on accurate measurements of ingredients; we just go with the vibes, mostly. And given how much he enjoyed the food there, it’s evidence that you don’t need scales or measuring cups to make good food.

Where you can find Aunty Aini

Image credit: Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe on Instagram

Visiting the cafe requires an hour’s drive out of Kuala Lumpur to Nilai. For first-time visitors, it can be a little bit difficult to find the place. Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe is not flashy and it can be easy to drive past without noticing. The cafe is surrounded by a lush garden of plants and herbs, carefully grown by Aunty herself. See if you can find her bunga telang, whose English name of “clitoris bush” left Ramsay red-faced!

Customers say the friendly Aunty can sometimes be found welcoming guests to the cafe. Customers often sing praises of her gulai lemak ayam and daging salai masak lemak. The lemak ayam is creamy, with generous helpings of chicken to satisfy you. Meanwhile, the daging salai is cooked to tender perfection, almost melting in your mouth. The famous beef rendang is only available, so you find out for yourself just why it wowed Ramsay.

Closer to home

Image credit: Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe on Instagram

But what if you don’t want to travel to Nilai to see Aunty Aini? Don’t worry, as there’s a Klang Valley alternative you can dine at instead. There’s a pop-up stall in DC Mall run by Aunty Aini’s family which serves dishes made using Aunty’s recipes. It won’t be there forever, so best to get your fix while you still can. Otherwise, you are going to have to plan your hour-long trip. And given how delicious the food is, maybe that’s not such a bad thing!