Taste of Malay at Shinju

As the 2019 Shinju Matsuri approaches, a new culinary event has been announced as the latest addition to the festival.

Continuing the tradition of celebrating the many Asian influences on Broome’s culture, the festival will introduce the inaugural Makan Dulu event.

Makan Dulu, which means “eat first” in Malay, is scheduled to take place on September 11 as one of Shinju Matsuri’s ticketed events.

The event will see Carnarvon Street transformed into a street-food market, featuring a curated selection of delicacies including dumplings, satay, nasi lemak and Chinatown-inspired cocktails.

Patrons will also be able to be entertained by live music and roaming performers throughout the event.

Shinju Matsuri president Chris Maher said naming the event Makan Dulu was inspired by the times when the word makan was a part of Broome’s vocabulary in its pearling heyday.

“It would be a common occurrence to hear someone say ‘I’m going to get some makan’,” he said. “We wanted to create a food event that pays tribute to Broome’s multicultural history and a lot of the older locals would know the term makan dulu.

“From there, we have created a Broome fusion-inspired eating event in the revitalised Chinatown.

“There will be twice as many food stalls as the Yum Cha we had last year, twice as much space for bars and we’ll have a lot more entertainment on the night. We’ve also got our Broome celebrity chef Ahmat Bin Fadal, who is one of the several hard-hat divers still alive today, and he’s well known for his satay sticks.”

Mr Maher said he hoped Makan Dulu would become a signature part of the festival.