SEOUL, June 5 — Nasi lemak, 3,000 miles from Kuala Lumpur.
Don't pinch yourself, it's real! Thanks to Basira Yeusuff who is bringing an authentic taste of Malaysia to Seoul with the opening of Agak Agak.
If the name sounds familiar, it is. The first iteration of Agak Agak was at APW Bangsar.
Many of us know Basira via her food projects. The heady days of the Fancy Breakfast Club in Bangsar, that tangy Limau Nipis Bundt cake from her catering enterprise Root Cellar KL? Or the "atas" pan mee (with foie gras) she served up at Agak Agak.
There's also her big heart: Offering apprenticeships to kids from underprivileged backgrounds at Agak Agak which she set up with celebrity chef Ili Sulaiman.
Even though Agak Agak in Bangsar has since shuttered, Basira is still running Root Cellar KL.
So how did Seoul come about?
Her adventures in Korea started with a stagiare position at one-Michelin star restaurant, Soigné. She then had the idea to do a pop-up.
"I found a cute roof top kitchen but the owners had other things in mind," she said. The enterprising owners had Googled Basira and found out about her past work.
Pumped up by the possibilities, they showed her another space in Yeonnam-dong and made her an offer she could not refuse: A chance to open her own restaurant in the heart of Seoul!
"My current partners made a strong case convincing me to partner up with them for this exciting project."
Agak Agak was a natural choice for the name of Basira's new eatery. "The name Agak Agak is a nod to my previous venture back in KL, which is also coincidentally a play on one of the words 아작아작 (pronounced ajhak ajhak) which means 'crunch or crisp' in the Korean language."
Currently in the soft opening stage, the menu highlights classics like nasi lemak, roti canai, Nyonya laksa and teh susu. "I'm trying to ease the locals into basic Malaysian flavours and our play with ingredients.
"In a country that is very homogeneous, the concept of having (at least!) three different cultures, heavily influencing our food is a very foreign one."
And so far, the Koreans are loving the food even though the thought of Malaysian cuisine is incredibly foreign to the Seoul-lites.
What Basira noticed is, there's a lot of similarities between the two cuisines. She added, "We both love our spicy, sweet and strong savoury flavours!"
For more details on Agak Agak Seoul, follow their Instagram @agakagakseoul
