If there’s only one recipe book you’re adding to your kitchen this year, let it be Khir Johari’s The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels through the Archipelago. Published in 2021 after a whopping 11 years' worth of research, the book recently won the title of Best Of All in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, which is the highest honour in the award’s history of three decades.
This isn’t the first accolade bagged by the title. In 2023, it was named the Best in the World, and in early 2025, it was crowned the Best of the Best in Food Culture. This new achievement further solidifies the place that this food journal – and by extension, the cuisine that it represents – holds in the global gastronomic world.
“This is not a cookbook. It is the story of a people” – the premise of The Food of Singapore Malays is clear from the start. While the book does include over 30 recipes for traditional dishes that you can attempt to recreate, it’s also very much an extensive compilation of cultural snippets, illustrations, old photographs and more that will take you through the history and evolution of Singaporean Malay cuisine.
“To receive this latest honour is deeply meaningful. What matters most to me is knowing that the foodways of our region are being seen and understood in a deeper, more nuanced way. My hope is for this work to spark reflection and encourage more people to document their own histories,” Khir Johari says.
Find out more about The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels through the Archipelago by Khir Johari here. Purchase it for $87.20 via Books Kinokuniya, Wardah Books, and other local book retailers.
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