Recipes and stories from a kitchen where Kuala Lumpur meets Australia.
Explore the recipesI'm not a professional — just a city girl learning to cook and enjoying good food.Diana · Vanilla Palate
Every dish from the Vanilla Palate kitchen, gathered in one place.
Welcome to Vanilla Palate — a page that captures my food, cooking and travel adventures. Born and raised in South East Asia and now residing in Australia, good food is a must. Growing up in Kuala Lumpur, food is easily accessible — in fact, it's accessible 24/7. There's never the need to learn to cook, because you're always spoilt for choice. That isn't the case in Australia. So what do you do when you miss local food? You're forced to learn how to cook it — or fork out a ridiculous price for it.
I've never been the cooking kind, and when I did cook it was a simple stir-fry or steamed food. Today I'm a different person, thanks to my partner. Needless to say, he's an amazing cook. His versatility across cuisines is an advantage, because I can now enjoy my local food. In fact, thanks to him I've learned to cook local delicacies like satay and peanut sauce, and my own version of ayam percik — turmeric coconut chicken.
I hope this page inspires those who have a passion for food and cooking. I'm not a professional, just a city girl learning to cook and enjoying good food. Enjoy the recipes I'll be sharing — and send me pictures of your cooking!