International Food & Conversation with Akbal Setia of Tourism Malaysia

In honor of International Women’s Day the AWCLA, ASEAN Women Circle of Los Angeles, held a demonstration of the foods of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Myanmar on March 9th, 2023.  It was a lunch time feast held at the Consulate General of Thailand’s residence in Los Angeles that tantalized my taste buds.  

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was established in 1967 and consists of the countries exhibiting their foods at the event, as well as the nations of Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam and Cambodia. Their goal is to foster people-to-people cross cultural connections with citizens from throughout the world.

I was excited about attending the event and supporting the organization’s efforts.  In addition to their purpose being the subject of my “Cultural Crossroads” talk I present around the country, their philosophy fit perfectly with my signature Mark Twain quote, “Travel is Fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.”   Not to mention the opportunity to revisit some the scrumptious cuisines of many of my favorite countries, most of which I have featured on my radio or television shows. 

In addition, I was also eager to reconnect with my longtime friends at Tourism Malaysia.  I’ve produced 12 seasons and 135 episodes of Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope and the first two shows of my first season were on Malaysia – The Colors of Malaysia and The Islands of Malaysia.  The AWCLA event revitalized my interest in featuring Malaysia in my next season of travel, culture and food television episodes. 

After comparing culinary notes and toping each other’s praise of the gastronomic efforts of the AWCLA women, Mr. Akbal Setia, vice president, the Americas, for Tourism Malaysia and I paused long enough to discuss the multi-cultural, multi-religious nature of his country and the many touristic pleasures that await a visitor.  Listen to my podcast below and for further information go to Malaysia.Travel.

If you’d like to get a copy of my PBS and CreateTV televisions shows on Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Viet Nam, Cambodia and Myanmar go to our episode archive page.  And stay tuned for my new shows coming your way from American Public Television, PBS and CreateTV this year.