About Azalina:
Azalina is from Penang, a historically rich island trading hub off the western coast of peninsular Malaysia. Descended from Indian people who came to Penang several hundred years ago. Azalina is a member of the Mamak tribe, a group of people who are mostly ethnically Indian but are considered native Malaysians. The Mamak are a people who are deeply tied to spices and were renowned cooks for Malaysian royalty. Major stages of Mamak life are built around spices, including a special ceremony in which young children get to pick out their own spice. Azalina's own family grows their own spices and are well known for their curries.

Initially, Azalina (who trained as a pastry chef) expressed no interest in making Malaysian food; it was something that she took for granted. After a successful career as a pastry chef, Azalina moved around, cooking in Singapore, Japan and several other countries before finally moving to the United States something she had always wanted to do. It was here in San Francisco that Azalina rediscovered her love of her Malaysian cuisine and culture, after being unable to locate any of her favorite foods locally and having a yearning for her home country cuisine.

Starting off cooking informally for friends at dinner parties she would call and to get some coaching from her mother on the more complex recipes and spice combinations and processes. She eventually debuted at a local farmers markets before finally joining the incubator program at La Cocina. She has just recently launched her own line of three traditional Malaysian simmer sauces, and has plans to expand her line in the future. Her current line of sauces can be found at Whole Foods in San Francisco Area. Azalina's current line of curry simmer sauces are vegetarian allowing people to add the meat of choice, if desired.

About Malaysian Cuisine:
Ideally situated in south-east Asia, Malaysia represents a melding of three distinct cultural groups; Chinese, Indian, and Polynesian/Malay. As a result, Malaysian food has adopted flavors and ingredients from all of these regions and more, sustaining more than one or two small European influences over the centuries. This culminates in a food culture that is distinctly different from its sum parts. Azalina brings this to consumers in a ready to use, healthy and tasty product line.