Hong Kong's 'Oscars of the Food Industry' Debuts in Malaysia with 20th Asian King of Catering Awards Malaysia Ceremony
The "Oscar of Hong Kong's Catering Industry" - KOC (King of Catering) Award Ceremony Scene
19 High-Quality Catering Brands Honored in the 2025 Asian King of Catering Awards (Malaysia Region) with FRA Presenting Two Special Awards
On-site Scene of the KOC Award & "Top 100 Food & Catering Excellence Records" Launch
2026 FRA F&B Resource Alliance 25.0 Promotion Materials & Activity Collage
The 20th Asian King of Catering Awards ends in Malaysia: honoring heritage food ambassadors & launching TOP100 Food Records for Jom Makan 2026.
KUALA LUMPUR, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The "Oscar of Hong Kong's Catering Industry" Makes Its Debut in Malaysia – The 20th Asian Food King Malaysia Gala Concludes Successfully
The Food King Is Conferred the Title of "World Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Ambassador · Gourmet God" / The "TOP100 Food & Restaurant Excellence Records" Kicks Off a New Chapter in Culture and Tourism
On January 8, 2026, the Asian Food King Awards, hailed as the "Oscar of Hong Kong's catering industry", made its first regional gala debut in Malaysia – the 2025 20th Asian Food King Awards - Food Guide Like Leaderboard Malaysia Regional Award Ceremony was brilliantly held at Pik Wah Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. Co-hosted by the FRA Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association and the King of Catering Holdings Asian Food King Team, the gala centered on the core theme of "Asian Catering, Decided by Asians". It brought together government and enterprise representatives, catering elites, cultural and tourism experts, and media forces to celebrate the grand event. The ceremony not only announced a list of appointments and a selected list of 19 high-quality restaurant brands, but also solemnly conferred the honorary title of "World Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Ambassador · Gourmet God" on the Food King. It also launched the annual "TOP100 Food & Restaurant Excellence Records" series of activities and completed two major cooperation signings, injecting strong food culture momentum into the "Jom Makan Visit Malaysia 2026" Tourism Year.
High-Quality Lists and Special Awards Announced: 19 Brands Selected for the Like List; Intangible Cultural Heritage Food and Star Chefs Honored
After strict evaluation, 19 high-quality catering brands were selected into the Malaysia Regional List of the "2025 20th Asian Food King Awards - Food Guide Like List", namely: ALEXANDRA DINING, ANTONG CAFE / LIVING COFFEE MUSEUM, RICE TO MEET YOU, CHA YANG KOPITIAM, DEZHUANG BARBECUE, CHANGMAN DIM SUM, CHAO YANG CAFÉ, TAKEEN OMAKASE, LE PONT BOULANGERIE, HAINAN VILLAGE, PENANG ROAD FAMOUS LAKSA, MING QIN CHARCOAL-DUCK EGG CHAR KOAY TEOW, KIN RYU TEI, CHAKRI PALACE ROYAL THAI CUISINE, MEAT FEDS, ROCK SALT RESTAURANT, SKT PJ BANQUET & RESTAURANT, LOON SING GROUP, AND PIK WAH RESTAURANT. Meanwhile, the FRA Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association specially presented two special awards: CHA YANG KOPITIAM won the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Food ~ Famous Gourmet Award", and DR. THIAN BOON SIN was awarded the "2025 TOP100 Star Chef Award".
Guest of Honour Speeches Map Out the Blueprint; Government-Enterprise Linkage Promotes Industrial Upgrading
Dato' Yeoh Soon Hin, Vice Chairman of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, stated that the China-Malaysia mutual visa exemption policy has achieved remarkable results. As of December 2024, the estimated number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia has exceeded 4 million, representing a 40% increase compared with 2019.
At the 20th Asian Food King Food Guide Like List Malaysia Regional Award Ceremony, he mentioned that since the implementation of the visa exemption policy, the number of China tourists visiting Malaysia has surged significantly. By October last year, the number of Chinese tourists to Malaysia had reached over 3.98 million, and he firmly believed that more Chinese tourists would be attracted this year.
He highly affirmed the benchmark value of this award ceremony and praised initiatives such as the Jom Makan Visit Malaysia 2026 National Food Exploration and the "Food God Arrives" series jointly promoted by FRA and KOC. He believed that the innovative model of "deep cultivation domestically + international linkage" could effectively enhance the international visibility of Malaysian cuisine with the international influence of the Asian Food King Like List, and attract more overseas tourists. He stated that the government would continue to support key activities through global promotion channels such as the official Tourism Year platform, promoting the two-way prosperity of the catering and tourism industries.
Speech by the Founder of KOC: 20 Years of Persistence; On January 27, Selected Representatives from Multiple Countries Will Compete for the Highest Honor of "Food King" in Beijing
Edmund Leong, founder of the Asian Food King Awards Ceremony, mentioned in his speech that this grand event, which has persisted for 20 years, has been held in Hong Kong for the previous 19 sessions. The event has cooperated with more than 500 celebrities and catering giants, been broadcast by top media such as TVB and Asia Television, and achieved a total media exposure of over 100 million times. Adhering to the core belief of "Asian Catering, Decided by Asians", the event is committed to building an international platform for Asian caterers to showcase their talents and promote cooperation. This first landing in Malaysia is precisely due to the recognition of the local diverse and inclusive food culture heritage. We hope that through this platform, characteristic delicacies such as Nyonya cuisine, halal food, and intangible cultural heritage food will be explored, allowing Malaysian catering brands to enter the broader Asian market and injecting more vivid taste vitality into the "Jom Makan - Visit Malaysia 2026" Tourism Year.
He revealed that the 20th Asian Food King "King Award" Awards Ceremony will take place in Beijing on January 27. At that time, representatives from Hong Kong, Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan Region of China, as well as cities and provinces such as Shenzhen, Guangdong, Henan, Chengdu in Sichuan, Shanghai, and Beijing, catering elites from countries including Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, and representatives from Asian star-rated hotels will gather together. Each country and region will dispatch 3 to 5 carefully selected representatives. Each "King Award" honor is limited to one recipient, such as "Duck Egg Fried Kway Teow King", "Penang Laksa King", "Curry Puffs King", etc. They will accept the award with the food characteristics of their respective countries and regions.
Speech by KOC Malaysia Chief Recommendation Officer: Gather Strength Through the Platform to Inject Cultural and Tourism Momentum into Malaysian Cuisine
Dato Nicholas, KOC Malaysia Chief Recommendation Officer and World Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Ambassador, stated that Malaysian food culture is both diverse and unique. With the concept of "Asian Catering, Decided by Asians", the Asian Food King Like List can provide a broader international display window for local cuisine. This year, we will continue to promote this Like List, recommend and nominate more catering brands to enter the Food Guide Like List, allowing more catering practitioners to gain display opportunities.
He mentioned that this time, the focus will be on promoting local high-quality catering brands to collectively settle in the Jom Makan Visit Malaysia 2026 online platform supported by the Ministry of Tourism. This platform not only connects local Malaysian catering resources, but also radiates multiple Asian markets with the endorsement of the Ministry of Tourism, enabling tourists to deeply experience the cultural and tourism charm of Malaysia through food. As the Chief Recommendation Officer, he will fully explore high-quality catering brands from all over Malaysia, and with the help of KOC's international resources and media matrix, connect local catering practitioners with core resources such as the Asian Catering Association and high-quality supply chains, while attracting capital attention to help brands achieve leapfrog development.
Speech by FRA President: Taking the " TOP100 Food & Restaurant Excellence Records" as the Core Engine to Build a Southeast Asian Food Industry Ecosystem
Dr. Dillon Yeap, President of the FRA Malaysia Food and Catering Association, deeply interpreted the construction idea of the Southeast Asian food industry ecosystem with the core logic of "Three Wins and Five Altogether". He clearly announced the core development goals for 2026: calling on 3,000 restaurants to join the Jom Makan platform and striving to create over 10 million traffic exposures; at the same time, grandly launching the annual "Top 100 Food and Catering Selection Record Grand Ceremony" series of activities.
This series of activities integrates resources throughout the year, including the creation of the Food King Like List, the Jom Makan Visit Malaysia 2026 National Food Exploration, the exploration of multiple categories such as healthy diet, seafood and aquatic products, and intangible cultural heritage traditional festival food, as well as cross-border linkage projects such as the "Food God Arrives" Hong Kong Food God Leung Man To's food exploration journey, the ASEAN Carnival, and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Festival. The results of the activities will eventually be presented in the form of an annual guide magazine, creating a practical and authoritative local consumer guide, a food-seeking bible for global tourists, and an industrial pass to help Malaysian catering brands expand overseas.
Appointments and Signings: Launch of FRA F&B Resources Alliance 25.0 to Build a Closed Loop of the Catering Industry Ecosystem
The list of appointments was announced on site:
• Honorary Chairman of Asian Food King: Dr. Dillon Yeap
• Malaysian Managing Director of Asian Food King: Eddie Tay
• Malaysian Marketing Director of Asian Food King: Visky Pang
• World Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Ambassador – Gourmet God: Dr. Edmund Leong
• World Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Ambassadors: Dato Nicholas, Visky Pang
• Gourmet Tourism Angels: Joyce Chao, Yong Ke Ling, Angelina Soh, Hui Shan, JunJun
• FRA Gourmet Directors: June Chua, Xandra Lam, Xavern Chaw
In the signing session, Asian Food King and FRA signed a cooperation memorandum to promote the internationalization of local brands; the signing ceremony of the "FRA F&B Resources Alliance 25.0" cooperation memorandum was held simultaneously. With the joint witness of the event's guest of honour Dato' Yeoh Soon Hin and Tan Sri M Kayveas, it gathered forces from the Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association, Asian Food King, Mamic Solution - Jom Makan Co-founder, MAQUA Malaysia Aquaculture Processor Association, Miss CosmoWorld, X Banker Club, etc., to build a closed-loop industrial ecosystem of "ingredients - catering - cultural tourism - capital".
The grand event concluded with a new chapter. In the future, all parties will take the annual " TOP100 Food & Restaurant Excellence Records" as the core, promoting Malaysian cuisine to gain popularity across Asia and the world, and continuing to write a wonderful taste chapter for the Jom Makan Visit Malaysia 2026 Tourism Year.
Dr Dillon Yeap
Malaysia Food and Restaurants Association
+60 18-792 4596
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Hong Kong's "Oscars of the Food Industry" Debuts in Malaysia with 20th Asian King of Catering Awards Malaysia Ceremony
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