Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen – Homemade with Love
A mother’s love for cooking.
Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen is a tribute to my late mother. We specialize in authentic Malay dishes cooked with love — from our farm to your table.
My late mother Hawa was a talented home cook. She cooked with so much love and her utter joy took shape when we asked for seconds or thirds. “You did justice to the food!!!!” she would say with a huge smile each time we finished her dishes. A wonderful lady, she multitasked between her 9–5 job at the Malaysian Ministry of Defence, taking care of our home, caring for her parents, and of course taking care of her little family that consisted of my brother Ishar, my dad and I.
We usually dined out on a Friday or Saturday night, but most of the time we ate at home. An expert with Malay cuisines, my mother’s sensitive taste palate allowed her to quickly replicate recipes from other kitchens successfully. Her style of cooking and ideology towards meal presentation was simple: “The most important ingredient is love. If you don’t feel like cooking, then don’t cook and make excuses. Next, you need to enjoy your own cooking before expecting others to appreciate your food.”
Learning to Cook, Far from Home
I only started cooking at the age of 26 when I was living on my own in Australia. Being raised all these years pampered with my mom’s food, my homesick moments included missing her Laksa Johor, Nasi Ulam, Nasi Lemak, Beef Assam Pedas, Beggars Chicken, fish head curry and many more.
Our cooking lessons between my mom and I were through phone sessions. I had moments where I ranted about not being able to cook certain dishes because I couldn’t find specific ingredients in Toowoomba or Adelaide (where I was living during my student and working days). She would nonchalantly respond, "Cook with love and not to make excuses. Improvise! Improvise on the ingredients, improvise with the usage of the cooking tools or methods to what is available on hand."
Our First Shared Dish: Laksa Johor
The first meal that we would like to share with you is my mother’s version of Laksa Johor. Laksa Johor brings back nostalgic memories of my childhood as it was our family bonding time to prepare this dish. Just removing the thousands of bones from the ikan parang (wolf-herring fish) took forever. It was usually a two-day affair between preparation, cooking and finally savoring the meal!
At our family home we usually had our Laksa Johor with additional ingredients — either poached shrimps or squid (depending on what’s freshly available at the market). So, you will see this replicated in our version of Laksa Johor. Ikan Parang or the wolf herring fish is not always available here in Lahad Datu. I use a combo of ikan tenggiri (mackerel), dried fish, anchovies and shrimps for the gravy. I hope I live up to my mother’s culinary legacy and I hope you enjoy the dishes we present from Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen to your dining table.
The Background Story
Turning Our Passion into Business during the Covid-19 Pandemic
My name is Itisha. When I completed my secondary school at the age of 17 in 1995, I was not entirely clear on what areas of studies I wished to pursue. I remember the day I needed to enroll for university and told my dad to fill in the forms on my behalf, “Just choose anything except for accounting, finance and economics,” I told him. That was how clueless I was with my life.
Fast forward, the years of studies have earned me a BBA (Hons) in Marketing with Multimedia from Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia and an MBA with Specialization in International Business from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.
If only I knew then that there was such a study as Gastronomy — the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, cooking styles of particular regions and the science of good eating. That would have been the studies I should have taken. I only got to know about this field a few years back when I came across one of my favorite food entrepreneurs, Marion Grasby, who studied a Master of Arts in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide.
Anyways, I am not here to write my resume. I simply express myself better in writing and life of recent has been extremely challenging.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic our conservation tourism business — then known as Bike and Tours (today HAK’s Travel & Tours) — was badly hit, to say the least. The tourism business that Simon and I built over the years not only gave us a comfortable source of income and lifestyle but also gave our team the means of income to support themselves and their families.
Today, we live on minimal savings that we built from our HAK’s Travel & Tours business (formerly Bike and Tours). Soon, these savings will be dry. This dark tunnel ahead of us seems long and uncertain. So this is our way to punch Covid in its face!
Simon and I have decided to make full use of our surroundings and to use our experiences differently. While we wait for the tourism industry to recover, we decided to venture into the food business. We have a number of moringa trees in our garden. So, when life gives you moringa — you make tea or moringa powder! Further information on our Moringa Range here.
The other branch of our food business is named in honor of my late mother, Hawa — Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen, a local food delivery service within Lahad Datu. This venture is very close and dear to my heart. It has always been something I dreamed of doing. In some ways, we did it before when Simon, myself, and our team served home-cooked Malay meals to guests of our travel company (now HAK’s Travel & Tours). We hosted numerous gatherings and accepted catering orders from friends and relatives.
Today, I find utter joy and peace in my retro-styled, simple four-stove-burner kitchen in the rustic town of Lahad Datu. So why not turn this passion for cooking into a humble business and share home-cooked Malay food from my mother’s recipes with you? I do, after all, have a professional chef husband to guide me on techniques and timing. I am also blessed to have a buyer expert father. Armed with Robinson Crusoe's spirit, I trust him to travel from one market to another. He takes shopping seriously and will be appointed as the main person to source sustainable ingredients from local farmers, fishmongers and butchers (he just doesn’t know about his latest role — not just yet).
Give Back
Eat Well · Do Good · Support the Forest
Why is there an orangutan on our packaging?
No, we are not selling orangutans — but we do care deeply about them.
The wise orangutan symbol represents our Give Back initiative, connecting every meal you enjoy with the protection of Sabah’s rainforests.
For every product purchased from Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen, RM1.00 is donated to SynBorneo (formerly Brothers Cycling), our NGO partner restoring orangutan habitat in Bukit Piton, Lahad Datu – Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Together, we plant trees, rebuild ecosystems, and support local communities that protect wildlife.
Each meal helps us bring the forest back to life — one bite at a time.
Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen Sustainability
Locally Sourced Ingredients
The fresh ingredients we use to produce meals at Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen are locally sourced from Lahad Datu–based farmers, fishmongers and butchers. Supporting small local producers ensures freshness, strengthens the community and reduces our carbon footprint. Each dish tells a story of our region’s food culture and of the people who share our values of honesty, care and sustainability.
Farm to Table
Many of our ingredients come directly from our own syntropic farm in Lahad Datu — a thriving ecosystem where fruit trees, herbs, spices and vegetables grow together in natural harmony. From lemongrass, torch ginger and Vietnamese coriander to moringa, roselle, pumpkin and coffee, every harvest reflects the rhythm of nature. This diversity allows us to cook with truly fresh, seasonal ingredients — grown without chemicals and full of life.
Learn more about our regenerative approach at HAK’s Farm.
Reduce Plastic Use
Sustainability goes beyond ingredients. At Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen, we avoid single-use plastics wherever possible. Our meals are packed using eco-friendly paper boxes, bamboo cutlery, banana leaves and coconut shells. Inspired by our clean-up work at Sungai Kapur, we’re committed to reducing waste and rethinking packaging — proving that good food can also be good for the planet.
Reduce, Reuse & Rethink – In Action
After our community clean-up at Kampung Meruap in Sungai Kapur, we became more aware of the impact caused by single-use plastics. At Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen, we are committed to using eco-friendly packaging boxes, paper bags and natural materials such as bamboo cutlery, banana leaves and coconut shells to pack and deliver our meals sustainably.
Coconut Shell Bowls – Environmental & Community Responsibility
The use of coconut shell bowls was Simon’s idea to eliminate plastic and move towards zero waste. It takes more effort, time and money to go down this road compared to the conventional use of single-use plastic packaging. However, this approach benefits:
- Local coconut sellers – discarded coconut shells, byproducts in coconut milk and oil production, are now purchased by us as natural packaging materials.
- Environmental responsibility – refined coconut bowls can be safely discarded, reused as decoration, or even as BBQ starters.
- Job opportunities for the local community – homemakers in Lahad Datu earn extra income by preparing and refining these coconut shells for reuse.
Each bowl is cleaned, boiled and sanitized to ensure safety and hygiene before being used at Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen.
Selamat Menjamu Selera!
