Cha Yang Kopitiam Crowned 'Durian Nasi Lemak King' at 2026 Asian King of Catering Awards

Cha Yang Kopitiam team on stage at the 2026 Asian King of Catering Awards, holding the 'Durian Nasi Lemak King' trophy.

Cha Yang Kopitiam at the 2026 Asian King of Catering Awards, proudly accepting the 'Durian Nasi Lemak King' title.

CHA YAN KOPITIAM is bustling with diners, offering a vibrant and lively atmosphere. It features a variety of delicacies including the signature Nasi Lemak infused with Musang King durian.From its branding to the menu,the establishment exudes a rich Southeast Asian flair

CHA YAN KOPITIAM was awarded "DURIAN NASI LEMAK KING". After receiving the award, founder Avelyns Goh accepted interviews with multiple international media to share her thoughts.

20th Asian King of Catering Awards held at Beijing Yuxiandu adjacent to China Royal Gastronomy Museum; guests experience Chinese performances, Tang suit photos and culinary exchanges in a dual ceremony and cultural experience setting.

The 20th Asian King of Catering Awards at Beijing Yuxiandu features a dual "ceremony + cultural experience" setting, blending Asian culinary charm with traditional Chinese culture.

Winning guests accept their honors on the stage at the 20th Asian King of Catering Awards, a prestigious event recognizing outstanding achievements in Asian gastronomy.

Winning guests accept their honors on the stage at the 20th Asian King of Catering Awards, celebrating culinary excellence across Asia.

Cha Yang Kopitiam Crowned 'Durian Nasi Lemak King' at 2026 Asian King of Catering Awards

Winning the 'Durian Nasi Lemak King' is a great honor. We’re proud to represent Malaysia, blending authentic Nanyang flavors with our national treasure ingredients.”

— Avelyns Goh, Founder of Cha Yang Kopitiam

JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR, MALAYSIA, February 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- "DURIAN NASI LEMAK KING" TOP RECOMMENDATION: CHA YAN KOPITIAM – DUAL NATIONAL TREASURE FLAVORS, IGNITING THE SOUL OF MALAYSIAN NANYANG CUISINE

Avelyns Goh, founder of CHA YAN KOPITIAM, shared in a media interview that being awarded the “Durian Nasi Lemak King”, a prestigious Asian honor, is the greatest recognition for the team’s commitment to local cuisine. It also strengthens the kopitiam’s mission to promote traditional Malaysian Nanyang island cuisine.

In Malaysia, Nasi Lemak is the beloved national food. Locally known as Nasi Lemak, it is not only an intangible cultural heritage food of Malaysia. Locals even use the catchy and memorable homophone “La Shi Ni Ma” to describe this classic dish that is addictive and full of aroma. It is more than just a meal; it is the representative of Malaysian food culture, a taste memory that every local grows up with, and a must-try “national-level delicacy” for foreign tourists visiting Malaysia.

Avelyns introduced that the kopitiam insists on traditional methods for its Nasi Lemak: the rice is steamed slowly with rich coconut milk and pandan leaves, making each grain soft and glutinous with strong coconut fragrance. The soul of the dish lies in the exclusive handmade sambal chili sauce, freshly made daily with no preservatives, spicy with a mellow and sweet aftertaste. Paired with freshly fried crispy fried chicken that is crispy outside, tender inside and juicy, the combination of “Nasi Lemak + Sambal Chili Sauce + Fried Chicken” is known as a top combo among diners.

On this basis, the kopitiam integrates Malaysia’s other national treasure, premium Musang King durian, to create “Durian Nasi Lemak”. The durian flesh is creamy, sweet and fragrant, blending perfectly with the milky aroma of Nasi Lemak and the spiciness of sambal chili sauce. The layers of sweet, fragrant, spicy and fresh flavors combine the two national treasures into one dish, earning the title of “Durian Nasi Lemak King”.

Avelyns added that besides the award-winning dish, the kopitiam’s Silky Omelette Q Noodles is also a popular must-order item. The noodles are specially made locally, chewy and springy, paired with freshly stir-fried silky omelette, cooked to perfection with rich egg flavor – simple yet full of the warm taste of Nanyang home cooking.

Since its establishment, CHA YAN KOPITIAM has always taken inheriting and promoting traditional Malaysian Nanyang cuisine as its core mission, focusing on presenting the most authentic island flavors, allowing every diner to experience Malaysia’s passion and cultural heritage through their taste buds.

FRA NOMINATES THREE BRANDS FOR "KING" TITLES, DISCOVERING INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE FOODS & SHOWCASING THEIR UNIQUE CHARM

Malaysia’s outstanding performance at the grand ceremony is attributed to the full support and rigorous selection by the Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association (FRA).
Dr. Dillon Yeap, President of FRA, shared at the event that as a multicultural ASEAN country, Malaysia has developed unique flavor preferences in the northern, central and southern regions due to cultural differences. FRA has long been committed to discovering intangible cultural heritage foods, and its evaluation focuses on in-depth experience of local tastes and textures to further highlight Malaysia’s charm as a “Gourmet Paradise”.

FRA takes “JOM Makan Visit Malaysia 2026” as its core promotion, integrating the “Food + Tourism” integrated advantage of the 2026 Visit Malaysia Year. In 2025, after a rigorous selection from hundreds of high-quality brands across the country, FRA nominated three outstanding representatives to compete in Beijing.

These three brands lived up to expectations and won the “King” titles, making Malaysian specialty foods such as Penang Laksa, Basque Cheesecake and Durian Nasi Lemak well-known among more Asian consumers. It conveys the diverse and inclusive cultural heritage and tropical charm of Malaysia, enhances local tourism appeal, and achieves multi-improvement in food promotion, tourism publicity and brand development.
This is also the core significance of FRA joining hands with Tourism Malaysia to promote local delicacies.
20TH ASIAN KING OF CATERING AWARDS CONCLUDES SUCCESSFULLY; THREE MALAYSIAN REPRESENTATIVES SECURE "KING" TITLES
The 20th Asian King of Catering Awards concluded successfully at Beijing Yuxiandu on January 27. As a milestone event marking 20 years of industry history, it gathered top culinary elites from across Asia and unveiled the highly anticipated Asian King of Catering Food Guide “Like Leaderboard”, opening a new chapter for the Asian F&B industry. With the core theme “Showcasing Asian Standards, Honoring Crafted Flavors”, the ceremony broke down national and culinary boundaries, focusing on taste, heritage and innovation to select industry benchmarks. Three outstanding Malaysian brands — PENANG ROAD FAMOUS LAKSA, LE PONT BOULANGERIE and CHA YANG KOPITIAM — won the prestigious “King” titles through their exceptional strength, promoting the unique charm of Malaysian cuisine to the Asian market.
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As an authoritative event in the Asian catering industry, the Asian King of Catering Awards was launched in Hong Kong in 2006. After 20 years of development, it has grown from an initial industry exchange platform into a heavyweight culinary award covering multiple Asian countries and regions. In his speech, founder Edmund Leung reviewed the 20-year journey and put forward the philosophy “Asian cuisine is decided by Asians”, emphasizing that the standards of Asian catering should be defined by Asians themselves. This philosophy ran through the entire ceremony. On site, talent performances integrating Asian food culture showed profound heritage and openness, building a bridge of regional emotions through art and making food a cultural link connecting people, tradition and the future.

The finally announced Asian King of Catering Food Guide “Like Leaderboard” is an “Asian flavor map” painted by hundreds of millions of diners’ word-of-mouth, demonstrating the confidence of Asian food culture. Each name on the list represents the peak level of Asian culinary skills and points to the future trend of the catering industry.

20TH ASIAN KING OF CATERING FOOD GUIDE "LIKE LEADERBOARD"
• PENANG ROAD FAMOUS LAKSA – Penang Laksa King
• LE PONT BOULANGERIE – Basque Cheesecake King
• CHA YANG KOPITIAM – Durian Nasi Lemak King
• ZHANG ZHEN JI – Seafood King
• XIN DOU JI – Cantonese Roasted Delicacies King
• TAO TAO JU – Cantonese Tea House King
• HUANG JI HUANG – Three-Sauce Braised Pot King
• SHI BA DAO – Artistic Fusion Cuisine King
• MA LIU JI – Sichuan Street Food King
• JU XING XING HAO – Traditional Noodles King
• DADONG ROAST DUCK – Artistic Cuisine King
• SHENG JI RESTAURANT – Authentic Cantonese Cuisine King
• REN YU PIN CAI GUAN – Exquisite Henan Cuisine King
• FU LIN XUAN – Classic Cantonese Cuisine King
• YUAN NIU DAO – Japanese Yakiniku King
• YA TANG SHENG YAN – Crispy Roast Duck King
• DONG MEN YIN YUAN – Modern Henan Cuisine King
• YU FENG YUAN – Nourishing Braised Noodles King
• QIAO LAO YE CHA CAN TING – Hong Kong Style Tea Restaurant King
• PING MIN CHI WANG – Roasted Wings King
• LAO MEN KOU BAO DU SHUAN ROU – Beijing Style Hot Pot King
• DA HAI WAN – Zhajiangmian King
• PARAMOUNT CATERING GROUP – Chaoshan Private Kitchen King
• YU LONG XUAN – Halal Henan Cuisine King
• REN YU PIN GE RESTAURANT – Premium Henan Cuisine King
• CHI FU SIGNATURE WAN ZAI CHI – Wan Zai Chi King
• XIN ZHONG ZHOU FU YUAN HOTEL – Modern Pioneer Chinese Cuisine King
• HONG KONG CHOI KEE SPICY CRAB PRIVATE KITCHEN – Spicy Crab King
• NIU DA REN – Taiwan Hot Pot King
• HENG YI FOOD CO., LTD. – Quality Ingredients King
• HUNDRED-YEAR QIANMEN COPPER POT HOT POT – Old Beijing Copper Pot Hot Pot King
• BEIJING KAIRI YUXIANDU CATERING GROUP – Royal Cuisine King
• TAIWAN HANA IWATE HANDCRAFTED COFFEE – Specialty Coffee King
• YUN XUAN, CONRAD GUANGZHOU – Cantonese Dim Sum King
• DONG GUO SEAFOOD HOT POT CITY – Seafood Hot Pot King
• CHAIRMAN HOUSE, GRAND HYATT SHENZHEN – Premium Chinese Cuisine King
• REGAL COURT, REGAL KOWLOON HOTEL HONG KONG – Cantonese Seafood King
• KOREA BBQ VILLAGE – Korean Fried Chicken King
• YUE YUET HIN, SHERATON HONG KONG TUNG CHUNG HOTEL – Creative Cantonese Cuisine King
• HONG KONG ELITE ENTREPRENEURS CLUB – Food Culture Promotion King
• YUE WANG TAI, THE LANDMARK CANTON HOTEL GUANGZHOU – Lingnan Artistic Cuisine King
• DIGITAL OPERATOR OF NATIONAL INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE SHAXIAN SNACKS – Intangible Cultural Heritage Snack Promotion King
• SKY GARDEN, GRAND HYATT GUANGZHOU – High-Altitude View Dining King

Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association
+60 18-792 4596
fragourmet@gmail.com
Dr Dillon Yeap
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