Brothers bring a taste of Malaysia to town after opening new Kettering cafe

Three members of the same family are serving up an authentic taste of their home country after opening a Malaysian cafe in Kettering.

Brothers Suresh and Anbarasu Annamalay, and their cousin Panir who is helping them, welcomed their first customers through the doors at Malaya 57 in Silver Street on Friday (July 14).

About £30,000 has been invested so the cafe can trade from the former Subway unit – and it’s proving popular so far.

Panir said: "We've lived in Kettering for almost nine years and we have always been in the food industry.

"Back home we had restaurants and we thought it would be good to bring one to Kettering. We know many people from south Asia who live here but travel to London or Leicester.

"We want to provide people with good food and we've always had a passion for it."

The brothers, who used to live just south of Kuala Lumpur, source ingredients locally and make everything from scratch.

Their menu includes dosas, nasi goreng, rotis, noodles, nasi lemak, biryanis, spring rolls and more. Panir described the Malaysian cuisine as a ‘mixture of Indian and Chinese’.

Malaya 57 will be open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday and for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. Lunches cooked traditionally in banana leaf are also available on Sunday by pre-order.

Panir, who previously sold their popular dosas at a market in Cambridge, said: "The response from the community so far has been excellent.

"I think people have wanted somewhere like this and they've been very welcoming."