Asian Music and Dance Festival

Where The Studio Foyer, Sydney Opera House, city

Chef Wanitha Tanasingham says her food "dances" while she's working in the kitchen: "I'm happiest when I'm cooking because of all this movement. I always hear music in my head when I cook and I see my food dance."

A television presenter and Asian food consultant, Tanasingham performs tomorrow during the Asian Music and Dance Festival at the Sydney Opera House. Her show, Rhythm in Cooking, showcases Malaysian food, which she will demonstrate and serve, complemented with live dance and drums. On offer will be chicken satay, tofu with sweet potato and peanut sauce, and a simple pineapple salad. When they're cooking, chefs have all five senses heightened, she says, in much the same way as a dancer does while performing.

"What better way to showcase this than by combining cooking and dance?" she says. Tanasingham's father was head chef to the Malay royal family, so she grew up in kitchens absorbing the smells, sights and sounds that inspire her work.

Other free festival events include a performance by jazz, world and indigenous music fusion group Waratah, tonight at 10. Using traditional instruments with a modern twist, Hevahl will combine Kurdish folk melodies with Hindustani performance styles for a show at 11 pm tomorrow.

Juan-Carlo Tomas