Asian Food: Malaysia invites world's top chefs to discover its food at international gourmet awards Malaysians often boast their cuisine ranks as Asia's tastiest. Next month, they'll have the chance to prove it. Hundreds of acclaimed chefs and food lovers will be treated to lavish spreads of sweetmeats, curries and rice recipes when they assemble in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards on May 17-21. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is likely to host a banquet at his home for delegates, who will travel to the resort islands of Langkawi and Penang and parts of Borneo to try traditional dishes, said Fong Peng Kuan, an official at state-run agency Tourism Malaysia. ''This is a national effort to boost Malaysia by showing off our asian food,'' Fong said. It is the first time an Asian nation is hosting the annual event, where 6,000 cookbooks and wine publications from 65 countries are competing for various awards. Ten previous ceremonies took place in European locations such as Frankfurt, Paris, Versailles and Barcelona. ''The time is right to go to Asia, the driving force in world tourism and food,'' the Madrid, Spain-based organizer GourmandBooks said in a statement. ''A wide diversity of the best Asian food can be experienced in Kuala Lumpur, thanks to its multiethnic population'' of ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indians, the statement added. Malaysia's top celebrity chef, Redzuawan Ismail, better known as ''Chef Wan,'' is coordinating some of the menus and exhibitions, which will include Malaysian favorites such as Malay salads, skewers of meat called ''satay'' and spicy curries made with coconut milk. The Associated Press (apwire) Published on 2006-04-06 14:57 (KST)