Age: 52

State: Melbourne

Occupation: Communications Strategist

Instagram: @thehousehusbandofsouthyarra

Growing up in Penang, Malaysia with two older brothers, Miin was raised in a Chinese Malaysian family, with close ties to his godparents who helped raise him from an early age. Miin credits a large part of who he is today to the values his godparents instilled in him, including his entrepreneurial spirit, street smarts, and his risk-taking side.

Travelling to the US for his undergraduate studies, it was here that Miin’s love of food ignited. With Malaysian food neither popular nor easy to find, he began cooking to ease his homesickness. His godparents would ship parcels filled with canned food, curry paste and instant noodles every few months, for a much-needed taste of home.

Years later, in 2012, Miin and his wife of 16 years, Melysa, migrated to Melbourne. At the time, the Melbourne food scene wasn’t what it is today, so when cravings hit, the self-taught cook relied on memories of flavours and visuals from hawker stall cooks to bring beloved dishes to life. Joking that curry courses through his veins, Miin would choose curry and rice over a 3-Michelin-star meal any day of the week.

Watching MasterChef Australia, Miin witnessed Adam Liaw and Alvin Quah showcasing their heritage, and it resonated hugely with him, inspiring him further in the kitchen.

For the past 20 years, Miin has successfully run his own creative and advertising agency based in Kuala Lumpur, which he now leads remotely. With hobbies outside the kitchen, including basketball, as well as eating (!), Miin is here to push himself out of his comfort zone to find out if his cooking is as good as his wife and friends say it is.

Describing his cooking style as traditional Malaysian, incorporating the Malaysian adoption of Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisine, he is also influenced by modern interpretations of Asian dining and modern Australian.

Beyond the MasterChef kitchen, his food dream is simple: to create his own Malaysian sauces and pastes, products that he could see millions of cooks across Australia creating delicious, home-style Malaysian dishes with confidence.