Get to know the food vendors at Tatler Malaysia’s Sustainability Weekend 2024

Specialising in cultivating imported and rare species of microgreens, edible flowers, and vegetables, all of Babylon Vertical Farm’s produce are grown in the heart of the Klang Valley. The urban farm supplies dining venues across the city with pesticide-free locally grown produce within hours of harvesting, ensuring optimum freshness and richer nutrient content.

Expect do-it-yourself grow kits you’ll be able to take home and a vegan cupcake decorating workshop hosted, complete with edible flowers and colourful icing, at this year’s sustainability weekend. 

Rish Nutrition is a lifestyle supplement brand committed to supporting healthy lifestyles through natural wellness solutions. Sustainability is at the forefront of the wellness brand’s intentions, formulating products with locally sourced, plant based ingredients and natural plant extracts.

Slumber-Shot is the brand’s answer to sleepless nights and can help improve sleep quality and promote relaxation. Its Ri-Liv is designed to nurse hangovers and alcohol withdrawal, while its Air-Flow supports respiratory health and immunity. Don’t worry about packaging either, each supplement bottle comes in recyclable packaging, printed on with vegetable ink. 

PurelyB harnesses the potency of traditional remedies and medicinal foods. Tiger’s milk mushrooms, moringa, pegaga, and other provincial cure-alls feature in PurelyB’s herbal products, platforming and preserving time-honoured, natural panaceas. The holistic wellness brand fuses scientific research with Ayurveda and traditional Malay and Chinese herbalism to improve the bioavailability of superfoods used for generations.

Its sustainability efforts transcend the world of wellness, with the brand prioritising rainforest conservation by sourcing its ingredients ethically and from small-scale farmers across Asia. Driven by creating brighter, healthier futures for all, PurelyB aims to better the livelihoods of women and marginalised communities by providing training and job opportunities in all areas of the brand’s production process. 

Uncle Jeff Kombucha champions using seasonal and local ingredients to craft its gut-friendly refreshments. The kombucha-making process—which sees the fermentation of tea, sugar, and natural flavourings—remains environmentally friendly and sustainable even when produced on larger scales. At this year’s Sustainability Weekend, find organic kombucha infused with nutmeg, roselle, pineapple, seedless guava, and more. 

Sustainability meets sweets at TUG Gelato. An acronym for ‘The Unusual Greens’, the gelato makers craft one of Italy’s signature desserts with quirky-looking, imperfect produce. TUG Gelato aims to combat food waste and initiate much needed conversations about the value of food through a universally loved dessert—gelato!

Flavours you’ll be able to try at Sustainability Weekend include avocado pistachio, soursop calamansi, osmanthus oolong, and more. Order a scoop (or two) served in a cup, cone, or in daifuku. 

Focused on Malay-Indo fare with a plant-based twist, Hijau will be cooking up its innovative plates at the Sustainability Weekend. The Bukit Damansara-based restaurant sources local ingredients wherever possible and crafts non-GMO meals, free from preservatives. You’ll be able to try its chick’n burger, zen salad, and plant-based otak otak, complemented by a selection of beverages. 

See also: 9 plant-based restaurants in Malaysia

Entirely plant-based and inspired by Tex-Mex cuisine, Sala is one of the city’s most prolific vegan restaurants. On the menu at this year’s Sustainability Weekend will be a selection of burritos, high fibre chicken wraps, plant-based hot dogs, and nasi lemak. 

A traditional Javanese herbal medicine, jamu is hailed for its anti-inflammatory and immunity-boosting properties. Its most popular variation showcases the benefits of turmeric, combining the spice with an array of other antioxidants. Djamulife specialises in turmeric-based jamu, adding Bentong ginger, tamarind paste, and Sarawak black pepper into its concoctions.

The carefully crafted blend of ingredients in Djamulife's turmeric-based jamu offers a range of health benefits. It can aid digestion, promote heart health, and improve blood circulation. The versatility of the product is also a plus, as it can be consumed as a shot, mixed into warm milk, or used to make turmeric ginger tea, turmeric lattes, and chai lattes.

Sustainability goes far beyond local sourcing and plant-based ingredients, encompassing community wellbeing and social responsibility. PichaEats upholds these principles by empowering refugees in Malaysia with sustainable employment opportunities in the food and beverage industry.

Primarily a catering company, each meal from PichaEats is cooked by chefs from refugee backgrounds. The social enterprise develops the culinary talent of individuals from refugee backgrounds while encouraging Malaysians to opt for impactful meals that contribute to community-building and rebuilding the lives of refugees and asylum-seekers. 

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