Their business, Makan Malaysia UK, has since expanded from catering events to delivering chilled, ready-to-heat local delicacies to homes throughout the country.
The women also operate a pop-up stall in Berkshire, Oxfordshire and London, where they serve Malaysian cuisine fresh from the stove.
Makan Malaysia UK, they say, is their way of sharing the culture and flavours of their home country with others.
“We felt Malaysian food was very under-represented here and not given the appreciation it deserves,” Perry tells FMT from Reading, about an hour’s drive from London.
They also wanted to put Malaysian cuisine on the map. “We just love Malaysian food; it is our connection to home,” she adds.
Their menu features favourites such as nasi lemak, nasi goreng, beef rendang, char kuey teow, rojak, and Hainanese chicken rice, as well as popular desserts and teatime treats like onde-onde, cekodok, banana fritters, pulut tai tai, and sago gula Melaka.
Also available on their delivery menu are sambal belacan and green sambal, pineapple tarts, kaya spread, and acar consisting of pineapple, cabbage, cucumber, green beans, carrots and sambal.
In addition, they sell aprons, headbands and scrunchies made from batik fabric via their website.
Perry, 31, and Jolly, 30, have been best friends since they met at school in Kuala Lumpur. They moved to the UK in 2009 to pursue their tertiary studies and have been living there ever since.
“We were not able to truly satisfy our Malaysian food cravings while being on a student budget, so we decided to learn to cook the dishes we missed from home ourselves,” Perry recalls.
Armed with self-taught culinary knowhow, they started their business by making and selling sambal belacan. It wasn’t long before they were catering for private events and hosting intimate dinner parties.
Perry says many people in the UK were excited to try something new and explore different flavours while learning about Malaysia.
“Some people don’t enjoy spicy food but Malaysian cuisine offers so much more, so we are able to satisfy all our customers,” she says, adding that they constantly update their menu to cater to all tastes.
When the pandemic struck in March 2020, Perry and Jolly had to cease in-person events and focus solely on their online store, using a logistics service to deliver chilled pre-cooked meals.
But since restrictions have begun to ease, “we are back out meeting people, popping up with our gazebo, cooking hot and delicious food for our customers”, Perry says.
“Things are challenging and constantly changing, but we are continually adapting to survive in this world just like everyone else.”
For more information or to satisfy your cravings for homecooked Malaysian food, check out Makan Malaysia UK’s website and Facebook page.