Rasa Malaysia author Bee Yinn Low is a professional recipe developer specializing in Asian recipes. As a professional recipe developer, Bee works with brands such as Mizkan America, WorldFoods, Betty Crocker, INSING.com, and many Asian-themed restaurants.Bee’s first cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes” will be released worldwide in June 2011.

Apart from that, Bee is also a talented food stylist and photographer specializing in Asian cuisine. Her mouthwatering food photography has attracted clients from magazine and cookbook publishers, restaurateurs, and food manufacturers. When she is not cooking, Bee acts as a leisure and culinary consultant, offering customized tour packages to her affluent clients who seek the ultimate luxury in travel, food, culture, and entertainment.

Currently, Rasa Malaysia receives 1.5 Million page views, with over 500,000 visitors per month. It’s the biggest independent Asian recipe site on the Internet.

True to foodie form, Bee is also behind the award-winning Rasa Malaysia Penang Culinary Tour, which offers a taste of the best hawker food available on the island.

L&S: Rasa Malaysia is a great representation of Malaysian cuisine. With your huge following, cookbook and popular Penang food tours, how do you manage it all?
BYL: I am a very productive and efficient person. I keep track of my to-do lists in my notepad and it helps me to manage my time and priorities. For Rasa Malaysia, I continue to introduce new recipes and cooking ideas to my readers. I develop the recipes and shoot the pictures by day, and write the articles at night. For the “Easy Chinese Recipes” cookbook, I worked on it last year. Now, I am focusing on the marketing and promotion of the cookbook as it’s going to hit the shelves soon. Penang Food Tours is a family business that I started with my elder brother CK Low, who now operates the day-to-day operations, but we work as a team on many tour-related ideas and marketing.

L&S: Could you share some of your earliest food memories?
BYL: Absolutely. Some of my earliest food memories are from the many festivities that my family celebrates, but my favorite has got to be Chinese New Year. It was the happiest time of my childhood as it was the only time my parents and aunt would buy me new clothes and new shoes. And let’s not forget about the ang pow (red packets), family reunion dinner where we had traditional charcoal steamboat, the many varieties of Chinese New Year kuih, cookies, sodas (Sarsi and Orange F&N), and firecrackers. I have a huge family and all my cousins from out-of-state would come back to Penang to celebrate. It was the biggest “party” of the year!

L&S: What are Penang's must-try dishes for first time visitors?
BYL: Penang laksa, char kuey teow, Hokkien prawn mee, and curry mee (otherwise known as curry laksa or laksa outside of Penang). I am very lucky that I travel well, and have been to many places in Asia. I have to say that these four dishes are truly unique and iconic to Penang. Plus, you just can’t beat the taste.

L&S: How did you come up with the idea of a food tour?
BYL: I often receive emails from my readers and fans who plan a trip to Penang. They would always ask me for advice: what to eat, where to go, how to get around and so on. I always replied with my long list of suggestions. In early 2009, a few months after Penang’s UNESCO inscription, I spoke to my elder brother CK Low about running private tour and culinary tour. Being a huge foodie and armed with a passion to promote Penang, he immediately jumped on the opportunity. We booked a couple from Russia not long after that and our business has grown since. We pioneered the concept of a private tour and culinary tour in Penang. We have guests from all over the world, including renowned food writers from the US, Europe, and Asia; TV chefs from New York; corporate bigwigs at consulting firms; culinary professionals, trendsetters, and tourists who simply want to experience the “real” Penang with a friendly and knowledgeable local guide.

Our itinerary is completely customised to suit our guests, there is no cookie-cutter tour program. We fiercely embrace the legendary Penang food culture and heritage, and shun away from the tourist traps. The official website is http://penangculinarytour.com. You can also refer to http://rasamalaysia.com/penang-private-tour-and-culinary-tour.

L&S: Tell us a little more about your cookbook.
BYL: My first cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes” is a Chinese cookery book with over 80 delicious and easy recipes for home cooks. Many recipes I featured in the cookbook are recipes that you don’t find in other Chinese cookbooks. It’s available in Malaysia and Singapore this month and immediately after that, in Asia Pacific. The US release date is Sept 10, 2011. The cookbook is in full color with 200 pictures, meaning, every recipe has a color photograph of the finished dish. Many recipes also come with a step-by-step picture guide, which makes cooking from the book a lot easier, and fun.

I worked on the cookbook - including recipe testing, cooking, food styling & photography, plus writing - while I was pregnant with my son. I had no food stylist and photographer. I did everything myself. It was very challenging but I am very proud of my achievement. The cookbook looks great; the cover even has a glossy finish!

L&S: How would you describe Malaysian cuisine to those who might be unsure of what it actually is?
BYL: Many people don’t get Malaysian cuisine, especially if they have never been to Malaysia. When it comes to Asian cuisines, there is always a “distinct” taste structure to each cuisine. For example: if you taste a Thai dish, you will know immediately that it’s distinctly Thai. Malaysia has at least three taste structures: Malay, Chinese, Indian. Then there is Nyonya cuisine and the indigenous cuisines of Malaysian Borneo. Malaysian cuisine is one of the most colorful, interesting, delicious, and complex cuisines in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also one that many people don’t get.

Simply put, Malaysian food is the fusion of the techniques, ingredients, flavors, and aromas of the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia: the Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Hence, Malaysian cuisine is the only cuisine in the world that incorporates the best essence of Malay, Chinese, and Indian flavors. Eating Malaysian food is practically like putting the Malay peninsula, China, and southern India on the dining table. If you are still confused, make a trip to Malaysia and try the goods yourself. And then the only question you'd  have would be “Why didn’t I come to Malaysia earlier?”

L&S: What do you have planned for Rasa Malaysia and your readers in the near future?
BYL: I will continue to share delicious recipes on Rasa Malaysia. I have expanded beyond Malaysian cuisine to cover Asian recipes. I also plan to write about baby food recipes, now that I prepare meals for my son every day. I hope to start producing video clips on Rasa Malaysia to further engage my readers with useful cooking tips.

I hope that my first cookbook will be a huge success as I intend to work on a Malaysian cookbook next and hopefully I will be able to explain Malaysian food to the world. I want to explore TV if there is an opportunity to do so. I am hopeful, and excited about all the possibilities ahead.

Visit Bee at www.rasamalaysia.com

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