In conversation with Mandy Yin

“…I started off in street food selling my unique Malaysian chicken satay burger and then spear-headed London’s obsession with curry laksa by opening my restaurant.”

 - Mandy Yin

Mandy Yin, celebrASIA Ambassador. Image credit Charlie Round-Turner.

Mandy Yin is Malaysian-born Chinese of Peranakan Nyonya heritage. She moved from Kuala Lumpur to London as a child and later became a corporate lawyer in the City. She eventually gave this up to begin a career in food, starting out in street food and eventually launching her award-winning Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar in Islington. One of her life goals is to showcase and make Malaysian food accessible to all, a goal she is continuing to pursue by being an official ambassador for the ‘celebrASIA’ festival at Battersea Power Station, London’s biggest celebration of South East Asian food, culture and community, taking place between 5 - 7 September 2025.

Who or what first inspired you to step into the kitchen and make cooking your passion?

I was working unsustainable hours in corporate law for several years and burnt out. At that time, I knew that I needed to do something in the food industry as growing up in Malaysia food has always been my one true passion in life. Malaysian food was also severely under-represented in the UK and the West generally. So, I started off in street food selling my unique Malaysian chicken satay burger and then spear-headed London’s obsession with curry laksa by opening my restaurant.

What’s the story behind your very first recipe that made you fall in love with cooking professionally?

It’s my chicken satay burger that launched my food career a decade ago. While doing research across London’s best street food markets, I realised that the burger stalls were always the busiest, so it gave me the idea to create a Malaysian-inspired burger, which to my knowledge was the first of its kind. My chicken satay burger collaboration with Chick’N’Sours available exclusively at the Battersea Power Station’s celebrASIA festival this September brings me full circle back to my roots. 

Mandy Yin - Chicken Satay Burger. Image credit Louise Hagger and Quadrille Publishing Limited.

Malaysian cuisine is celebrated for its complex layers of flavour, if you had to pick one ingredient that defines it for you, what would it be and why?

Shrimp paste. This is the key ingredient in my unique laksa paste which is the backbone for my bestselling signature laksa at Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar - we make at least 40kg a week to keep up with the demand! My laksa is a combination of Kuala Lumpur's milder curry laksa and Penang's spicy-sour, fish-forward assam laksa. It's based on a Nyonya Peranakan curry laksa that I first tried in Malacca, my dad's hometown. Shrimp paste adds an unmistakable and irresistible salinity to our cuisine.

Your cookbook Simply Malaysian is all about simplifying Malaysian recipes, what led you to focus on making these dishes more accessible for home cooks?

Malaysian cuisine is often regarded as complicated, but I wanted to show people that it really doesn’t have to be. There is a huge variety in our cuisine due to the multi-cultural society. Simply Malaysian is how I cook daily in my home kitchen - no-stress food to feed my small family as efficiently as possible. No snacks, no dessert. These are easy, quick, affordable and incredibly tasty recipes. Maximum impact, minimum fuss.

For celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station this September, you have created an exclusive chicken satay burger with Chick’N’Sours, how did you go about combining traditional Malaysian flavours with a contemporary twist?

The Satay Fried Chicken sandwich marries Chick 'N' Sours' incredible chicken with Sambal Shiok's unique tomato sambal and my famous peanut sauce that has been pulling in the crowds since 2014. It’s a more natural combination than you might expect. I can’t wait for celebrASIA festival goers to experience it.

celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station. Image credit Charlie Round-Turner.

At celebrASIA, you’re introducing audiences to Malaysian food and culture, what’s one experience you hope visitors walk away with?

I hope people visiting celebrASIA will leave feeling well-fed, entertained and inspired - it's the capital’s biggest South East Asian festival after all!

Personally, being a chef, I'm most excited about trying all the food, particularly sitting down at The Feasting Table, which is a brand new concept for this year's event – intimate, long-table dining experiences, offering exclusive menus cooked over fire by some of London’s best South East Asian chefs - Abby Lee (Mambow), Budgie Montoya (Sarap) and John & Desiree Chantarasak (AngloThai).

I look forward to browsing the Artisan Market inside the Power Station’s turbine halls, and watching the traditional music and dance performances, which will transport me back home. Last year I especially enjoyed the magical gamelan performances. I’d love to participate in some of the arts and crafts sessions too, including Royal Selangor’s School of Hard Knocks where visitors can craft their own personalised pewter dish, with master craftsmen travelling from Malaysia to London especially for the festival. The Grand Tour is something fun for families to do together too, and is a great way to learn about the different South East Asian countries through a fun quiz – I did this last year with my three-year-old son, and he loved it.

Over the past ten years, your career has evolved significantly, are there any new culinary directions or projects you’re excited to explore in the near future?

I’m really excited to return as an ambassador for celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station for a second year in a row this September. These types of events are really important because they bring people together to share and learn about the rich cultures that make up the world we live in. Many of the visitors to celebrASIA may not have visited South East Asia before and it will be a brilliant opportunity to learn about the region. Plus, for those who have been lucky enough to visit and for the South EastAsian diaspora living in London, it is an opportunity to enjoy what they love most about the region from its delicious food to its upbeat music and traditional dances.

I love talking to people about my life as a chef/restauranteur, and teaching them about Malaysian culture and food so am delighted to be working on consultancy projects such as being on OpenTable UK’s Restaurant Advisory Board and with large-scale contract catering companies to bring Malaysian food to even more people around the UK.

celebrASIA at Battersea Power Station. Image credit Charlie Round-Turner

The [Quick] #FLODown:

Best life advice?

If you’re starting a business, make sure you pay yourself from the start. If you can’t, it isn’t a viable business.

Sweet or savoury, what’s your ultimate guilty pleasure?

Savoury all the way – if I’m in Malaysia I can never resist a freshly-fried crispy curry puff.

What’s your favourite dish to eat in London right now?

Abby Lee of Mambow makes the most delicious Malaysian kuih (steamed cakes). I always ask for second helpings of her kuih bingka (tapioca cake) and seri muka (coconut rice and pandan cake).

Is there one kitchen gadget you simply can’t cook without?

A handheld stick blender. It makes Malaysian spice pastes so quick, easy and achievable at home rather than the more traditional pestle and mortar.

Do you enjoy cooking more for friends or for yourself?

I enjoy cooking for loved-ones, whether friends of family. Rest assured though, I will always cook things that I want to eat myself!

Website: batterseapowerstation.co.uk; sambalshiok.co.uk

Instagram: @batterseapwrstn; @sambalshiok 

celebrASIA, a three-day celebration of Southeast Asian food, culture, and community, will take place at Battersea Power Station from 5 - 7 September 2025. batterseapowerstation.co.uk