KING Charles III shared his preferences for food at a reception he hosted for members of the British East and Southeast Asian communities in the United Kingdom recently and hot, spicy dishes from Southeast Asia were certainly not on the list.
The British monarch, who follows a strict plant-based diet for dinner and reduces his fish and meat intake, jokingly shared his thoughts about spicy, hot Malaysian food with proprietors of Gopal's Corner, Sugendran Gopal and Med Pang of MedSalleh Kopitiam.
The king drew laughter to guests around him when he responded to Med Pang, who said that he runs a Malaysian restaurant in Bayswater, by saying, "Your food will blow my hair up!"
When Sugendran told the British monarch that one of his five restaurants was located in Victoria, not far from Buckingham Palace, the king responded that he must be very busy but added in jest, "I can't take chillies!".
Sugendran, who also runs Roti King then offered to cook milder curries.
That was the mood throughout the evening of the reception to honour the contributions of the East and Southeast Asian communities in the UK at Buckingham Palace, as King Charles and his wife the Queen Consort Camilla, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward greeted and chatted with guests.
Many, who had gathered in their finest national costumes in the various rooms: White Drawing Room, Blue Drawing Room and Picture Gallery, were from the Malaysian community living and working in the UK in sectors such as business, media and healthcare.
When the king entered the White Drawing room where selected guests had gathered, he made a beeline for the Crown Prince of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is also the Royal Patron and Founder of the Selangor Youth Community.
The two royals have been working together for the past three years to support more than 100 youths at risk, getting employment and further education via a collaboration with the Prince's Trust International.
In this first ever reception to honour the communities from East and Southeast Asia for their contributions to the country, various organisations were requested to nominate names to be submitted to the palace.
The British Malaysian Society chairperson, Lai Mei Sim OBE, said: "I have been a representative of the monarch in Greater London since 2006.
"We support the monarch and royal family and work to build bridges across the communities in Greater London to enhance their sense of belonging and increase social inclusion in London.
"As the monarch's representative in Brent, I am his 'eyes and ears' in the borough. I think it is a wonderful initiative to recognise the existence and contributions of these communities in Britain."
Other guests were nominated by Edmund Yeo, chairman of the Chinese Information and Advice Centre (CIAC) based in London's Chinatown, where the king, then the Prince of Wales, and Camilla joined in the Chinese New Year celebration in 2022.
"The palace asked me to nominate 100 people and I nominated officials from Tourism Malaysia, Matrade and from a wide range of people from the Malaysian diaspora in the UK, including Datuk Seri Koe Peng Kang, the former CEO of the Battersea London Development Project," said Yeo.
One of the guests that Yeo nominated, Syahidi Amri, who has been working with the London Stock Exchange since 2020, said the king thanked him for his "hard work in keeping the economy stable".
As a journalist and a teacher who had been teaching the Malay language to diplomats going to work in Malaysia, I was among the few guests nominated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The list included Dr Amalina Che Bakri, a surgeon working with the National Health Service, and Dr Syabira Yusoff, the 2022 Great British Bake Off Champion.
Like other guests who received the invitation, I was delighted to be able to meet the king and tell him about my work in the UK for the past 43 years.
While the Princess Royal exclaimed that it must be tough as a journalist in the UK, the Queen Consort Camilla remarked to me that she had "an amazing" trip to Malaysia in 2017 and remembers her friendship with the Queen of Johor Tuanku Raja Zarith Sofiah when they both visited the International School Park City.
During what seemed a very relaxed occasion, guests were left mesmerised with the friendliness and warmth of the members of the British royal family that they had just only had the opportunity to read about and watch on the news.
More than 300 people attended and the guests included Lead Curator for the Southeast Asian Collection at the British Library, Datuk Dr Annabel Teh Gallop, fashion designers Alexa Chung and John Rocha.
