Trends & Industry Insights

5 Christmas Dishes For Restaurants to Try - But Make it Malaysian

need to do is tweak their existing dishes with some Christmas flavours and present them as part of the festivities.

Without further ado - here are five Christmas recipes you should try this month!

1. Beef Rendang Meat Pie

Meat pies with beef rendang filling, sourced from Fooderati.

To spice up your menu this Christmas, why not take a simple Christmas pastry and localise it? The trick is quite simple. All you have to do is replace the usual meat filling with rendang instead. 

After all, who doesn’t love a juicy rendang in Malaysia? Encased with the crumbly dough layer, you’d be surprised just how well this combo goes. For the full recipe, you can head over here.

2. Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken 

Mouth-watering lemon thyme roasted chicken.

This flavourful dish will impress your diners. With its tender meat and tangy juice rich in herbs, this recipe is a surefire way to attract diners that come with large parties. Make sure to get your chicken just right so that it’s neither undercooked nor overcooked. To get the full instruction, check out the recipe here.  

3. Christmas Fruit Cake

Tasty Christmas fruitcake.

In providing the complete Christmas feast, you should also think of ways to include a marvellous dessert. An easy yet iconic Christmas treat would be fruitcakes

Though fruit cakes can be quite common in celebrating the festivities, like many other Christmas dishes in Malaysia, you can add your own local twist to it. 

Try lacing said cake with rose essence for a sweeter aroma. If you’d like to substitute the alcohol in the traditional recipe with grape or orange juice instead, that would be great too! The longer you soak the dried fruits in preparation, the better it tastes. 

4. Roasted Kicap Chicken with Asian Stuffing

Delectable roasted chicken.

Though it may seem like a regular Malaysian dish, you can try out this recipe to sate your diners this Christmas. By adding a special touch to the classic stuffings, you can even transform a stuffed chicken into something that is localized. 

For one, this recipe is formulated by a worldly renowned Chef Ili Sulaiman. She came up with a special recipe that took the regular chicken stuffing (which usually consists of bread, onion, celery and fresh herbs) and altered it to suit Asian’ tastes. Now, the stuffing consists of jasmine rice and other local ingredients one can typically find in fried rice (ie. nasi goreng).

Though it may seem bizarre at first, believe us when we say that this recipe will captivate your Christmas diners. Simply give it a try by getting the full recipe here

5. Christmas curry puffs

Yummy Christmas curry puffs.

Malaysians love their curry puffs. Be it at food stalls, food courts and even shopping malls, these crescent-shaped snacks can be found everywhere and are not to be missed out on. 

So, why not add this local dish to your Christmas menu list? It may not be conventional, but we’ll alter the recipe to suit the occasion. For instance, you can try replacing the usual meat and potatoes filling into something more Christmas-y. 

Try using sausage and bread, or mushroom and chestnuts, instead - as they are the usual Christmas stuffings. There are many traditional combinations that you can select too. Whatever fillings you end up choosing, the snack is guaranteed to get your diners’ attention as it is the perfect fusion of Malaysian tastes and Christmas. 

Are you ready to spruce up your menu offerings this Christmas?

Don’t forget to add your own local twist to these recipes! Challenge your restaurant’s culinary versatility and experiment to your heart’s content. You may just be able to create the perfect local signature dish for the holiday season this year. 

If you are looking for Christmas-inspired decorations for restaurants, visit our latest blog article here for a thorough read. 

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