Malaysian immigrant Koh Her Xin brings Peranakan cuisine to Taiwan

Malaysian immigrant Koh Her Xin brings Peranakan cuisine to Taiwan

2023-08-08

A Malaysian immigrant is bringing the distinctive “Nonya” cuisine to Taiwan. Koh Her Xin moved to Taiwan to study theater design. She started sharing her Chinese-Malay heritage with classmates through food. Taiwanese friends fell in love with the rich fusion of Chinese and Malay culture, called Peranakan or Nonya. After graduating, Koh opened a Nonya dessert business in Tamsui. But advertising online, her treats were a hidden secret known only to the well-connected. Now she’s opened a store to bring her culinary expertise, and her heritage, to a wider audience.

Peranakan culture stems from the 15th entury, the age of Chinese explorer Zheng He, when many Chinese immigrants settled in Malaysia’s Malacca. As they integrated with local culture, a fusion cuisine was born. Malaysian-born Koh Her Xin reinvents that tradition for Taiwan.

Koh Her Xin
Nonya cuisine entrepreneur
“Food is the god of the people,” right? So to promote Peranakan culture I have to start with food to lead people deeper in. We use Chinese cooking methods and incorporate Malay spices and ingredients, to produce this taste of the Nonya culture. So I think people get started with food, and if they like the food, then gradually they start to learn more about what Peranakan culture is.

Koh uses many different colorful ingredients to create these enticing desserts. The internet quickly picked up on her delectable Nonya cakes, and customers encouraged her to open a bricks-and-mortar store. The warm and cozy little store is full of the soul of Malaysia.

Koh insists on making everything fresh each day. She wants her friends in her adopted home of Taiwan to enjoy the Nonya taste so close to her heart.


This story was provided by the program "We Are Family"
Funded by New Immigrant Development Fund