Aunty Aini and Maryam smoke their own meats, using firewood at the Garden cafe.
Restaurateur passing the baton to daughter in preserving food integrity.
IN A world where culinary and western-centric trends come and go, and sometimes leave disappointing influences on traditional Malaysian food, it’s a joy to find a cook who stays true to her roots and heritage.
I discovered Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe several years ago and find myself going back time and again, because Norzaini Abdul Hamid, or Aunty Aini as she’s fondly known, is a rare breed of restaurateurs who has successfully adapted Negri Sembilan cuisine for commercial consumption – with integrity, pride and a commitment to heritage. This is uncommon for traditional Malay cuisine, so it makes sense to share and highlight her achievements to encourage others along the same path.
Aunty Aini, 65, thrives in her garden which doubles as a home-based restaurant, tucked away at 16th Mile, Kampung Chelet in the small town of Nilai, Negri Sembilan.
Almost everything grown in her garden is edible, from hibiscus petals, young petai and chilli leaves to sawtooth coriander, among many other plants. When I’m there, I will happily munch on each glorious herb and flower petal with handfuls of hot rice soaked in Gulai Masak Lomak Cili Api (hot turmeric gravy) – so simple yet tastes divine!
The Garden Café has been around for almost two decades. Her business has flourished through the years as she has stayed true to her passion of gardening and cooking with local ingredients. Since she was young, cooking and eating at home with the family has been the norm, and dining out was rare for most Negri Sembilan households.
Aunty Aini and her daughter at the entrance of Garden Cafe in Nilai. ― Photos: Vivian Adelene Adram
“I rarely go out to eat as I love cooking at home. All my daughters can cook,” says Aunty Aini who has three daughters and two sons.
She recalls growing up in the kampung surrounded by lush jungle, picking fresh herbs for ulam or lalapan (local salad) and making daging salai (smoked beef) at home. It was a time when natural produce healed people’s mind, body and soul. At a young age, she would harvest coconuts, go fishing in the nearby river and pick fresh herbs to make authentic and nutritious meals for her family, she shares.
Aunty Aini continues her legacy by sharing traditional recipes from her ancestors, the Biduanda, one of 12 Minangkabau ethnic groups, and farming is considered an ancestral know-how. She has been using fresh produce in her cooking long before the concept of zero waste and farm-to-table became fashionable.
Have you heard of cooking chilli leaves in curry? Aunty Aini adds a bunch into her gulai (curry).
You may even catch a faint whiff of compost in the air, a gardening initiative her daughter Maryam, 25, takes very seriously. Her passion for permaculture is obvious as she picks fresh ulam like a pro, gently breaking each stem with respect and care. Under her breath, she thanks the tree from which we picked belimbing buluh (belimbi) from. This was later used by her mother to make an earthy, tangy sambal to complement our meal.
“I don’t know why people want to put so much sugar into their dishes today when they can make use of natural ingredients such as gulo anau (palm sugar),” says Aunty Aini. You do not want to mess with her at this point as she isn’t amused by the food industry replacing natural ingredients with unnecessary additives.
This is the same woman who taught Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay how to make rendang and introduced the notion of agak-agak (guestimate) on TV.
Fresh ingredients are picked from the garden and used for ulam at the Garden Cafe.
“You must be ikhlas (sincere) about food and hospitality when you open a restaurant; don’t play around for the sake of franchising. You shouldn’t sell out,” she adds.
Maryam says: “Mama does gulai very well and I’m mastering the art of rendang. Memory is key to perfecting heritage dishes like rendang.” She is now the Master Rendang cook at the cafe.
Aunty Aini’s story is one of family and tradition with a deep-rooted connection to the land. Her legacy does not end here.
As she ponders over the upgrading of the café, the business will eventually be passed down to the daughter and her family. Maryam is aware that she has big shoes to fill.
“Negri women pivot, adapt and come back stronger,” she quips.
This feisty girl with the gentle demeanour of a Minang princess, is determined to keep traditions alive.
Maryam, who has grown up at the restaurant, has fallen in love with kampung life.
For her, cooking is more than just a job, it’s a way of preserving her Negri Sembilan heritage and bringing the community together in peaceful co-existence.
