Poh Ling Yeow reveals why she likes to call Australia home after going through years of guilt

It wasn’t easy for MasterChef’s Poh Ling Yeow to migrate to Australia. Now, she reveals why she has no regrets.

I turned nine the day we hopped on a plane saying goodbye to Malaysia. The moment my parents told me we were migrating to Australia felt epiphanous even at that age. Life was about to make sense and as soon as we landed on Aussie soil I knew I belonged. It was a fact, not a feeling.

At Highgate Primary a little posse of girls took me under their wing and guarded me like freckle-faced watchdogs. They shared their BBQ Shapes, mini boxes of sultanas, fended off naughty boys and held back their reactions to my weird-arse lunches of fried rice and chicken giblets braised in dark soy and anise.

I have a cultural identity that is fluid from day to day – one where my Chinese Malaysian heritage flits in and out of the background by way of family, cultural celebrations and food while the Australian part of me informs a love for larrikinism, openness and honesty. For a long time I felt a heavy guilt about shedding so many of my Chinese Malaysian parts to fit in as a kid, but at 51 I’m more philosophical. I’m happy to yield to the outcome as just a way the cookie crumbled.

No matter how amazing the overseas experience, Poh is always thrilled to be back with easygoing, friendly Aussies, warbling magpies, blue skies, clean air and space. Picture: Toby Zerna

When you’re small, you never consider the courage it would require for young parents to pluck their little tribe from five generations of cultural and familial roots driven deep into a land and restart life as foreigners, but I’m awed my parents possessed the courage to do so. I no longer look at the loss of cultural traditions or values with regret but a natural part of assimilation, and I marvel on a daily level that we filled the brief. We found opportunity and worked like dogs to find our place under the Aussie sun.

Whenever I return from being overseas, I feel palpable relief. No matter how amazing the experience has been, I’m always thrilled to be back with easygoing, friendly Aussies, warbling magpies, blue skies, clean air and space. It heightens my gratitude for the variety of cuisines and ingredients we have access to in Australia. There’s a reason why MasterChef Australia is the most famous of its counterparts in the juggernaut franchise – because the food here is so multicultural and diverse.

Poh Ling Yeow has been announced as the Northern Territory ambassador. Picture Toby Zerna

I come from a religious family and when I parted ways with our church, nature became my god. As an artist and cook, I find a well of learning to be had in its colour, form, resilience, medicine, and the way it serves as a humbling reminder that not everything can be tamed and made convenient for modern living. So to have a chance at being immersed in the most untouched parts of Australia as the new Northern Territory ambassador has been a privilege.

The NT takes my breath away with its wild, unique beauty. Between the ancient traditions and stories of Aboriginal culture, the spiritual landmark of Uluru to freshwater swimming holes, and the food scene in Darwin, I always leave affected and inspired.

Poh is doubtful she could have “carved out a career across such a range of creative pursuits had we stayed in Malaysia”. Picture: Toby Zerna

This country is my home. I’m doubtful I could have carved out a career across such a range of creative pursuits had we stayed in Malaysia, for I was academically not gifted and this was one of the core reasons for our migration. Here, I’ve been able to paint, act, write, be a small business owner and host TV shows. The opportunities have been extraordinary and recently, my birthday, marks 41 years we’ve been in this glorious, sunburnt country. It’s crazy to remember driving away from the airport that first day in Adelaide so full of hope, wondering whether my dreams had a chance here …

Poh Ling Yeow is a cook, TV host and artist.