Aziza Ali is a Singaporean former chef, food consultant, businessperson, artist, jeweller, and author. She is recognised with opening Singapore's first Malay restaurant, as well as bringing fine Malay dining to the Singaporean public.

Early life

The second of eight children, Aziza grew up in a

kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used t ...

situated in

Radin Mas Radin Mas is a neighbourhood within Telok Blangah Estate, located in Bukit Merah, Singapore. Etymology The area was named after '' Radin Mas Ayu'' ( Jawi: رادين مس ايو; jv, ꦫꦢꦶꦤ꧀ꦩꦱ꧀ꦲꦪꦸ ), a princess of the Javane ...

, Singapore. Her father, a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

, was a member of the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

. Her mother, a housewife, was well-skilled in cooking and Aziza was taught the trade in her childhood. Her sister, Faridah Ali Chang, is now a psychologist. Aziza was educated at

CHIJ Saint Theresa's Convent CHIJ Saint Theresa's Convent is a government-aided Catholic girls' secondary school in Bukit Merah, Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools in Singapore. History The school was founded in 1892, and was i ...

. After sitting for her

GCE Ordinary Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

examinations, she briefly worked as a relief teacher, a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

, and a

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

, before establishing Aziza's, a fine-dining restaurant serving Malay food, which was described as "unheard of" during the time. Aziza's "took Malay food to an international level", according to former ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

'' food writer Violet Oon.

Career

Cited to be the best known Malay restaurant in Singapore, Aziza's was originally an unfurnished

shophouse A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence", a ...

at 36 Emerald Hill Road before Aziza purchased it in 1978 for S$150,000. Aziza's opened in 1979, becoming Singapore's first Malay restaurant. The restaurant is notable for having been patronised by Dione Warwick and

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...

, as well as band Inner Circle, among others. Superstitious in nature, she would recite the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

before opening time, as well as invite an

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

to bless the restaurant regularly. Famous for its spicy beef rendang, it won the

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and wa ...

's Best Dining Experience Award in 1996. Aziza's moved to Albert Court after being chased away by authorities in July 1995, after three lawsuits, in which Aziza won during the first two but ultimately lost in the third. Despite business being successful, Aziza was forced to close her restaurant following the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

, in 1998. Aziza then set up a food catering stall at Shaw Tower; it folded less than a year into business. Owing to her age, Aziza has declined offers to re-open Aziza's. She has appeared on television programmes to promote Malay food and has written one

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

, titled ''Aziza's Creative Malay Cuisine'', which was published in 2001. A self-taught artist, Aziza's artworks are priced at several thousand dollars; she has held two solo art exhibitions (2008 and 2010). Aziza also designs jewellery, which is then sold by her Emirati acquaintance. Aziza's 2013

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

, titled ''Sambal Days, Kampong Cuisine'', was released in March. It mainly discusses her childhood. She resides in

Novena, Singapore Novena is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Novena is bounded by Toa Payoh to the north, Bukit Timah to the west, Tanglin to the south and Kallang to the east. While Novena is not classified as a "new town" by th ...

Early life

Career

References

Further reading