This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 1, 2016.

At the heart of every Malaysian is our insatiable love of food. Ask any tourist who’s ever visited Malaysia, and the first thing that they’ll gush about is how delicious Malaysian food is. It’s no surprise that although Malaysians come from all walks of life, different cultures and religions, the one thing that we all have in common is that we are incredibly proud of, our local cuisine. To tap into this love of food, Citibank Malaysia Bhd and Starwood Hotels and Resorts teamed up to launch a creative food challenge to Citibank’s Facebook fans last December. 

This challenge drew over 400 food ideas within the span of six weeks — ideas that aimed to create a new national dish. The “Challenge the Chef” campaign had Facebook users leave comments of their combined two favourite food to create a new one, and executive chef Antoine Rodriguez from Le Meridian Kuala Lumpur selected the best entries to bring to life. His three choices were Durian Roti Canai, Roti Jala Surf & Turf, and Satay in Scotch Egg — all of which combine flavours from the Western cuisine and local delights. 

Contest winners Noor Zhafarini Noorizan from Alor Setar, suggested the idea of Roti Jala Surf & Turf, Lim Wui Zhuan from Seremban came up with Durian Roti Canai, while Muhammad Falihin from Johor suggested the Satay and Scotch Egg idea. 

Citibank Malaysia’s goal was to encourage innovative thinking and engage actively in social media spaces. The campaign saw its 290,000 fans on Facebook grow by 22,472 within several weeks. Elaine Fan, Citibank Malaysia’s consumer business manager promised that we can look forward to more of such engagement activities this year. 

“The ideas that came through were very creative and they represent Malaysia’s melting pot of cultures. I enjoyed the process of transforming these ideas into simple recipes that everyone can make at home,” said chef Rodriguez. 

Surf & turf, which symbolises middlebrow Continental cuisine of the 1960s and 1970s, is traditionally a main course which combines seafood and meat. The most popular variations make use of lobster or prawns with steak. Rodriguez “Malaysianised” this dish by getting inspiration from Noor Zhafarini’s idea, creating a roti jala filled with scallop, prawns, crabmeat and mussles with a side of filet mignon steak and garnished with a side of mushrooms. 

“My entry was inspired by my least favourite part of eating — deciding what to eat. So what better way than to have my favourite comfort food, roti jala and the renowned Le Meridien’s Prime Surf & Turf on one plate. I’ve read many reviews on Le Meridien’s Surf & Turf dish, but never had the chance to experience it, so having roti jala surf and turf is the best of both worlds,” said Noor Zhafarini. 

Lim, on the other hand, felt like challenging the chef with an ingredient that most foreigners hate — durian. 

“I thought that the chef would be afraid of durians, so I really wanted to give him a good challenge. I also wanted to taste and see a dish that was a perfect combination of sweet and salty. I still remember my younger days when I hated the taste of durian, but my mother tricked me into eating one during dinner. She stuffed it into some of my food and after that, I began to love durian. It is no surprise how I came up with this durian roti canai combo; it was an early inspiration from my mother,” said Lim. 

Rodriguez’s version of durian roti canai is exactly what you might expect — fresh durian flesh wrapped in roti canai. It’s like roti sardine, the only difference is that it’s filled with durian instead. The dish is served with a cut piece of kuih bahulu filled with gula Melaka syrup, and is meant to be eaten together with the roti durian. 

Finally, architect Muhammad Falihin’s idea of an infusion of satay in a Scotch egg is a quintessential blend of British and Malaysian flavours. 

“We eat with our eyes and I wanted to see a dish that was interesting to the eyes as well as the stomach. Satay is my favourite dish, and only recently, I made myself some scotch eggs at home. The taste of the egg alone can be dull, that was when I decided on the satay combination,” Muhammad Falihin explained. He even included a creative sketch of what he imagined a Scotch Egg satay would look like. 

The three winning dishes were such a hit that Le Meridien’s Gastro Sentral has now included them in its menu. Citibank credit card holders will be able to savour these unique dishes at a special price of RM138 (usual price RM150) for a three-course set or separately at RM38 (usual price RM42) for Satay in Scotch Egg, RM80 (usual price RM88) for Roti Jala Surf & Turf and RM25 (usual price RM30) for Durian Roti Canai. These dishes will be available from March 1 to April 30. 

Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur is located at Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral. For inquiries and reservations, call (03) 2263 7888.