Many first-generation immigrants understand the struggle of moving to a new country and suddenly craving all the food they grew up eating.
For Hisham Abdullah, who's from Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, it was dishes like and . When he moved to Melbourne to study, he would call his mum who'd walk him through her recipes.
He especially missed dishes from his mum's hometown on the Malaysian east coast, like ; fish curry served with coconut rice and pickled vegetables.
During his studies, and later on while working in the corporate world, he spent his spare time recreating the dishes of his childhood. "I was doing a lot of cooking for friends, and without even realising, cooking was very therapeutic to me and reminded me of home and my mum," he says.
When he left his corporate job to think about his next step, a friend talked to him about cook , and how she used to in her tiny Parisian apartment.
Hisham Abdullah, from Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, shares the dishes of his home country in Melbourne. Source: Supplied
Abdullah loved the idea and the next year he held his own supper club in his one-bedroom apartment in Carlton, cooking regional Malaysian dishes. "Malaysia is a small country, but different regions have very distinct cuisines. We use different spices, aromatics and ways of cooking. And there are different influences from the countries we're bordering," he explains.
The supper club was such a hit that it eventually turned into a catering service and a restaurant, .
Abdullah signed a lease on a space on Johnston Street in Fitzroy before the pandemic began. Thanks to understanding landlords (a family who lives above the restaurant and loves his food), he was able to delay Kantan's opening until September 2020.
He started off slowly; first offering coffee and curry puffs, then , and finally, a longer menu.
Just like when he started, Abdullah loves preparing lesser-known regional dishes alongside Malaysian classics. One of the latter is roti jala, whose lacy design is inspired by fishing nets. Abdullah uses a special tool with five holes to cook the batter (made with wheat flour, eggs, milk and turmeric).
"It's every Malaysian favourite childhood snack. Every time you go to a birthday party, there is roti jala and it's the first thing you go for," he explains. "It's one of the first things I asked my mum how to make."
Every time you go to a birthday party, there is roti jala and it's the first thing you go for.
Another customer favourite, the fried chicken, is drizzled in a sauce made with aromatics that are commonly used on the Malaysian east coast: lemongrass, kantan flower (which the restaurant is named after) and makrut lime leaves.
The ; deep-fried fish sausages served with a chilli sauce, are also typical of the east coast. "It's a staple in that region. People travel from all over Malaysia to eat it. You pound the fish into a paste and mix it with sago flour so it becomes a dough. You roll it into long sausages and traditionally, you boil it, but people have started frying it after. So if you eat it fresh, it's crunchy on the outside and it has a texture similar to on the inside," he describes.
Abdullah also offers a take on his mum's nasi dagang, with barramundi instead of tuna.
And while Malaysian cuisine is not usually known to be especially vegan-friendly, the chef has created vegan versions of classics like and to cater to the local community.
The broth he developed for the vegan laksa (which includes lots of aromatics, soy belacan and pounded deep-fried shallots) was so good that it's now the only laksa base he uses.
Tue–Fri: 5:30pm–9:30 pm
Sat 12pm–3:30 pm and 5:30-9:30 pm
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