New Events Added to Penang, Singapore & Kuala Lumpur Line-Up

August 8, 2023, Malaysia:  Tickets for  Kita Food Festival  (KFF) events in Malaysia and Singapore will go on sale to the general public on August 11, 2023.  New events have also been added to the Festival’s Penang, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur calendar of culinary experiences. While prices for each event vary, there is something for everyone, from  four and six-hand fine dining dinners with some of the world’s best Michelin starred chefs and Asia’s  50 Best chefs, to communal cook-up Mezze events, and two Sunday Barbecues. Tickets can only be  purchased on the Festival website www.kitafoodfestival.com

The Kita Food Festival is a series of dining events and food celebrations which will be  held from September 27 (Kuching), October 13 – 15 (Penang), October 19 - 23 (Singapore) and  October 26 – 30 (Kuala Lumpur).  The festival will feature both Malaysian, Singaporean and renowned international chefs for a series of fine dining and casual dining events, along with two Big Sunday Barbecues and one The Great Mezze.  It will also include two symposiums titled Kita Conversations with TED-style talks from chefs, food producers,  historians, and anthropologists discussing topics pertinent to the industry, such as sustainability, food waste, and how to make a business profitable.  

KITA FOOD FESTIVAL  | MALAYSIA EVENTS CALENDAR

September 27  | Kuching  | Roots Bistronomy

Casual dining event at Roots Bistronomy with Chef Anthony Yeoh from Summer Hill in Singapore and Chef John Lim (Roots Bistronomy).

PENANG 

Friday October 13  | Au Jardin

New Zealand’s Vaughan Mabee, Masterchef judge and Chef of the Year, from Amisfield will collaborate with Malaysian Kim Hock Su at Michelin starred Au Jardin. The dinner will showcase the two chef’s culinary skills using  fresh artisanal produce.

Friday October 13 & Saturday October 14 |  Gēn

Chef Hans Christian, one of the co-founders of  Jakarta’s  August  (#95 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023), will bring his globally inspired  flavours for two dinners with Johnson Wong at Gēn 根i a restaurant known for its modern Malaysian cuisine.

Saturday October 14 | Communal Table by Gēn

Singapore’s Malcolm Lee from one-Michelin star Candlenut will take over the kitchen at Communal Table by GĒN   for a one-off dinner.

Sunday October 15 |  The Great Mezze | ChinaHouse

Join eight lauded chefs, four from Singapore and four from Penang, working two to a station over open flames with Malaysia’s finest produce in the courtyard of China-chic ChinaHouse with great cocktails, craft beers, natural wines and a DJ. Chefs include:

• Mohamed Al-Matin from Le Matin Patisserie and Mathijs Nanne from Suffolk House

• Eugene See from Birds of a Feather and Nurilkarim Razha from Jawi House

• MJ Teoh from Native and CC Lee from Juju Lounge

• Malcolm Lee from Candlenut and Wagyu Tan from Communal Table by Gēn 

KUALA LUMPUR

Thursday October 26 | Dinner at Entier

Two of Asia’s best French cuisine chefs  Julien Mercier from  Singapore’s Claudine and Japanese born Masashi Horiuchi from  Entier will  create fine bistro plates  and sharing style dishes, all set against the skyline backdrop of the 43rd floor of Entier at the Alila Hotel.

Friday October  27 |  Dinner at Mano

With an  upbeat party vibe, funky tunes, and feisty Spanish Mexican tapas, this dinner at Mano with Mexican born Sergio Meza and Spanish born Chele Gonzalez from Gallery by Chele  will be a fun event with an abundance of drinks and tapas style food.

Friday October 27 & Saturday October 28 | Dinner at Dewakan

This is one event not to be missed - dinner at one-Michelin star restaurant and #74 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 Dewakan with Chef Darren Teoh (and co-founder of KFF) along with Germany’s renowned chef René Stein from one-Michelin star restaurant Tisane.  The two chefs will create an atmosphere where diners can interact with the chefs and learn about the dishes they are creating.  This will be a truly gastronomic journey for guests.

Friday October 27 & Saturday October 28 |  Dinner at Hide

Sharing a penchant for French inspired omakase but drawing ingredients from their homelands, chefs Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama from La Maison de la Nature Goh and GohGan  and Malaysia’s Shaun Ng from Hide will create an exceptional once-in-a-lifetime dining experience with fine wines and exceptional skyline views. 

Saturday October 28 | Dinner at Ignis

As one of the top female Japanese chefs,  Keiko Kuwakino from Michelin starred  Sanaburi     in Niigata, Japan will create an exceptional menu using local ingredients and nature as her inspiration for a one-off dinner with Lroy Lim at  Ignis.

Sunday October 29 | Big Sunday Barbecue | Tiffin at the Yard

The Big Sunday Barbecue is always a crowd favourite with easy-going vibes, and a vast menu from some of the region’s hottest chefs, working together  over open flame grills  with a zero-waste approach. This casual BBQ dinner will throw the best of Southeast Asia onto the grill  including local seafood and heirloom ingredients peppered with lots of spices and ugly delicious offcuts of meat  made beautiful. Chefs include:

• Jovan Goh, Kotuwa, Singapore and Mohammed Eliyaz, Nadodi

• Oliver Truesdale-Justra, Lo&Behold, Singapore and Michael Yee, Chipta11a

• Carlos Montobbio, Esquina, Singapore  and  Leong Chee Mun,  Raw Kitchen Hall

• David Tang, Humpback, Singapore and  Mandy Goh, ATAS, Kuala Lumpur

Monday October 30  |Kita Conversations: 

Kita Conversations is an on-going dialogue on all thing’s food including its production, history and consumption in SE Asia. The goal is to build an open platform for everyone working in the food and beverage industry.  Speakers  include:

• Author of ‘The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago’ Khir Johari  specialises in Malay history  and how food has played a part in shaping Singapore Malay culture.

• Nithiya Laila, the presenter of  'Edible Wild' on Channel News Asia which shows  how netizens in Asia's megacities grow, forage and cook with indigenous ingredients. 

• Australia’s David Thompson is owner/chef of  numerous restaurants including Long Chim Perth, Long Chim Sydney, Aaharn Hong Kong and Aksorn Bangkok.

• Egyptian born chef Moustafa Elrefaey from Zooba  restaurant group

• Dr. Eric Olmedo specialises in the anthropology of food

• Sustainability expert, founder of Light Blue and  food waste hacker Benjamin Lephilibert

• Chef Chele Gonzalez from Gallery by Chele, Philippines

• Canadian chef Oliver Trusdale-Jutras from Lo&Behold in Singapor

• Malaysian born, Australian resident  chef and Masterchef winner -  Diana Chan 

•  

Singapore Weekender Events  |  October  19 -23

Thursday October 19, Friday October 20 | Four-hand dinner at Marguerite, Singapore

India’s  Prateek Sadhu will join forces with Michael Wilson from Marguerite in Singapore for a four-hand dinner. The two chefs will create a thoughtful tasting menu based on Prateek’s quest to discover the lost ingredients of India, with Michael’s worldly cuisine.

Friday October 20 |  Four-hand lunch and dinner at Fico Masseria, Singapore

Italian born Mirko Febbrile from Fico Masseria  and   food author  Anissa Helou  will host a lively  lunch and dinner at this charming Italian seaside destination.  

Friday October 20, Saturday October 21  |  Four-hand dinner at Underdog Inn

Australian chefs  Matt Stone  from Mosey on Inn  (@ciaomate & @youbeauty2479) and author of The Natural Cook, along with Pete Smit from  Underdog Inn  will combine their  unique Aussie  talents to  create lunch and dinner feasting menus across two days.

Friday October 20, Saturday October 21 | Six-hand dinner at Fiz

Join Michelin star chef Ivan Brehm from Nouri along with Deepanker Khosla  from Haoma in Bangkok and Chef-owner of Singapore’s Fiz Hafizzul Hashim as they celebrate crossroads cooking and the influences of India’s culinary heritage on the Malaysian Peninsula. 

Saturday October 21 | Six-hand lunch and dinner at Kubo, Singapore 

Join avant garde Filipino chefs Ross Magnaye from Serai Kitchen in Melbourne, John Kevin Navoa from Hapag in Manila and  Kurt Sombero from Kubo in Singapore at Kubo for a six-hand Filipino feast lunch and dinner. The three chefs are in the vanguard of a New Filipino food movement emerging, one which takes the flavours of the archipelago and presents them in a new and more modern light.

Sunday October 22 | Big Sunday Barbecue

The Big Sunday Barbecue is an all-star lineup of Singapore’s best up-and-coming chefs and hottest barbecue restaurants.  There will be eight chefs, each paired into four teams.  Each team will rein command over a barbecue, flame grilling an array of dishes throughout the evening.  Rounding out the barbecue will be great tunes, craft beers, cocktails and more.  Chefs include:

• Marcus Tan, Fool Wine Bar Singapore

• David Tang,  Rosemead Singapore

• Matteo Ponti,  Braci, Singapore

• Al Goh,  RVLT, Singapore

• Son Pham, Sonny's Pizza, Singapore

• Ahmir Arshad, Wildcard, Singapore

Monday  October  23  | Kita Conversations

Kita Conversations is a series of TED-style talks with an on-going dialogue on all thing’s food including its production, history and consumption in South East Asia.  Speakers include:

• Matt Orlando, the American-born, Danish based chef and owner of restaurant Amass, and  leader in the sustainable food movement.  

• London-based chef, teacher and author Anissa Helou  who specialises in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines.

• Author of ‘The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago’ Khir Johari specialises in Malay history  and how food has played a part in shaping Singapore Malay culture.

• Indian chef  Prateek Sadhu 

• Nithiya Laila, the presenter of  'Edible Wild' on Channel News Asia which shows  how netizens in Asia's megacities grow, forage and cook with indigenous ingredients. 

• Dr. Farshad Shishehchian from Blue Aqua, a pioneer in inland aquaculture and  the inventor of MixotrophicTM system, a super-intensive but fully sustainable shrimp and fish farming system.

• Australian Matt Stone, arguably the leading sustainable chef in Australian dining and author of ‘The Natural Cook’.

• Chef, author and guest chef on Netflix’s Chef's Table and also known as the World’s Best Pastry Chef - Will Goldfarb from Ubud’s   Room4Dessert

• Australian Pete Smit from Underdog Inn is known for his ‘nose-to-tail’ approach to cooking using open fire grilling and smoked goods techniques.

“We have a bumper line-up and schedule of events being rolled out this year. None would be possible without the generosity and faith of our partners, including the Singapore Tourism Board, French porcelain company Legle, San Pellegrino,  The House of Suntory, the two wonderful boutique hotels- Else in Kuala Lumpur and The Edison George Town in Penang- plus the fine people from PJPAC”, said  Leisa Tyler, co-founder of KFF.

For more information about the Kita Food Festival and to stay up to date with news and events  visit Kita Food Festival or follow us on social media:  Facebook  Instagram and  Linkedin

To download the full  Kita Food Festival press kit with images and chef/ speaker bios visit  HERE   

For media enquiries or to arrange interviews please email  media@kitafoodfestival.com  or contact:

Donna Campbell  |  Campbell PR  |  Email:  donna@campbellpr.com

**Ends**

About Kita Food Festival

Kita Food Festival (KFF) is an annual food event bringing together leading chefs and culinary minds from around the world.  The event was created to put Southeast Asia on the gastro-tourism map while creating a community of  people who appreciate good food and where it comes from   The event also aims to give the Southeast Asian dining scene a yearly event to look forward to, while offering inspiration and skills for the younger generation of food producers – and a platform for discussing food consumption and the restaurant industry. Kita means “us” or “we” in Bahasa Malayu. This appreciates that in the act of eating, the production of food and caring for a sustainable future, the festival’s main themes, go beyond race, colour, creed and socio-economic status