Ipoh-born Ping Coombes shares what she misses most about home
You can take Ping Coombes out of Malaysia, but you can't take Malaysia out of her. Born in Ipoh and now based in Bath, UK, she has never lost her love for Malaysian food; in fact, living away from Malaysia has only compounded it.
Since moving to the UK in 2004, Coombes has been busy cooking Malaysian food and sharpening her skills. In 2014, she joined the MasterChef UK competition and emerged victorious. She would go on to also win MasterChef Champion of Champions in 2022.
The home cook published her first cookbook, MALAYSIA, in 2016; the book consists of easy-to-master Malaysian recipes. Coombes then took to educating others about Malaysian food via her cooking school, Ping's Masak Club, and her supper club, Ping's Makan Club. Her passion in spreading her love for Malaysian cuisine eventually earned her the title Malaysia Kitchen Ambassador in 2016.
Recently, Coombes collaborated with The Cookaway, a UK food subscription box service, on six Malaysian recipe boxes containing quintessential dishes like rendang and laksa with the aim to get more people to cook Malaysian food at home.
Tatler Dining chats with Coombes on what she misses eating in Malaysia.
See also: A Taste Of Home: Zoee Wong On Her Favourite Eats In Malaysia
What do you miss most about being away from Malaysia?
Undoubtedly my mum's cooking! I miss how effortlessly she cooked even with everything else that she was doing. No matter how busy, she always cooked with care and thought. She would always make Chinese sausages for my daughters and Chinese broths for me.
What are the foods you miss eating in Malaysia?
I miss Ipoh kai see hor fun (shredded chicken kuay teow) and white coffee. No one does them like they do in Ipoh. I know I am biased but the Ipoh hor fun is unrivalled.
Is this the first dish you eat when you return home?
It depends on what time we arrive home and whether it is the first meal in or out. Usually, my mum would have prepared my favourite Hakka noodles, the recipe of which is in my book. For breakfast, I normally request to go to Fai Kee for pork noodles. It's stall number 43 at Kompleks Sukan Ipoh.
See also: 7 Malaysian Chefs Share The Foods That Remind Them Of Home