Starchild: Malaysian children love fusion flavours and exploring new tastes!

Asher Wang Qi Chuen, 6

These days, people love to mix different foods together, which is why fun food creations are becoming popular. Chefs and cooks enjoy trying new things and combining flavours from different cultures. For example, spaghetti with chicken curry might sound strange, but it can be super yummy!

Jayden Tan Li Sheng, 11

Fusion food is all about being creative and exploring new tastes. It helps us share our favourite dishes while trying something fresh and exciting. Cooking is like a big experiment, where you get to mix ingredients to make something new and delicious.

Have you tried items like ramen burger? It is a hamburger where the bun is made from ramen noodles, often topped with traditional burger ingredients and Asian-inspired sauces. How about Thailand’s pad thai pizza, which is a pizza topped with classic pad thai ingredients like noodles, shrimp or chicken, peanuts and bean sprouts?

Whether it’s sushi burrito (a large sushi roll wrapped like a burrito) or chilli cheese fries (fries, topped with cheese and chilli powder), the kitchen is a magical place where we can create amazing meals. Let’s have fun cooking and discovering how delicious food can be!

Recently Starchild asked readers to send in letters on the topic, My Food Creation. Here’s what they had to say.

Wong Cheng Yang, 10

Wong Cheng Yang, 10, wants to create Japanese character cookies that resemble the beautiful shapes of Japanese consonants and vowels. “These cookies would have a delicious Coke flavour, topped with smooth vanilla icing that adds a sweet finish. I think everyone would love them. To make these special cookies, I would mix Coke with flour, eggs, butter, cheese and sugar until everything is well combined. Then, I would shape the dough into the form of Japanese characters, giving each cookie a unique look.”

Wong Jie Ern, 8

“If I could create a dish, I would make a pizza topped with strawberries, papaya and cheese! First, mix the flour and water with the yeast until it forms a soft dough. Once the dough is ready, roll it out into a nice round shape. Then, spread a layer of tomato puree over the base and sprinkle on some cheese. Then, slice the fresh strawberries and papaya into bite-sized pieces, and arrange them on top of the cheese. Finally, pop the pizza in the oven and bake it until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Yummy,” says Wong Jie Ern, eight.

"I would like to name my food creation ‘King Burger’. It is the world’s largest and juiciest burger with many toppings and fillings. It has fresh tomatoes as well as tomato sauce. One burger can feed five people,” says Asher Wang Qi Chuen, six.

Bethany Wang Qi Syuen,9

“My first food creation is a dessert called ‘manisan gula’ – my version of shaved ice with taro balls, sweet potato rice balls and Nyonya kuih drizzled with honey and gula melaka syrup with healthy oat toppings. My second creation is the nasi lemang, a fusion of nasi lemak, sticky rice and sate with peanut sauce wrapped in banana leaves for a unique burst of texture and flavour in each bite,” writes Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, nine.

Jayden Tan Li Sheng, 11, writes, “A spicy nasi lemak cheese pizza is like putting yummy nasi lemak on a pizza! It has spicy sauce, cheese, crunchy fried anchovies and prawn sambal. It is a fun mix of two tasty foods that you can eat all at once!”

ITEM: Colours are everywhere around us. One question we often ask is, “What is your favorite colour?” Some people love bright colours like yellow and orange, while others prefer calm hues like blue and green. So, what about you? What is your favourite colour? Think about how it makes you feel and why you love it. Is it a bright and cheerful colour, or maybe a calm and soothing one?

Email your contributions to [e-mail] by Nov 1.

Please put “STARCHILD: My Favourite Colour” in the subject line of your email.

Scanned drawings should be in jpeg format, with a resolution of 200dpi. Your contributions must carry your full name, age (open to children aged 12 and below only), gender, phone contact, and address. Instead of handwritten letters, please type out your letters.