Page 18 - Fiji Traveller 2024 Issue 6

Local heroes

Malhana Cloud Kitchen

By Rajan Sami

Lot 1 Koronivia Road is not, as one might expect, where
Koronivia Road starts but rather, a good three kilometres
inland off the Kings Highway, past acres of farmland and
homes in nearly every shade of the rainbow.
It’s where you will find offices for Waste Recyclers Fiji
and Pacific Recycling Foundation, as well as Malhana
Cloud Kitchen, a delightful little restaurant in an unlikely
location, which speaks to where business, food trends and
our collective eating out habits are heading in a post-Covid
world.
Serial entrepreneurs Joseph Inoke Deo and Amitesh Deo
are the couple behind Malhana, the popular brand of suji
(semolina) laddoo found in Fijian supermarkets. Joseph, who
is Rotuman-Fijian, runs the laddoo business, having learned
how to make them from his late mother-in-law, Pushpa Wati
Deo. The line has recently expanded to include other Indian
sweets like lakdi mithai, barfi and sweet and savory puri.
Malhana Cloud Kitchen first started out as a canteen
to serve healthy meals to staff working in their recycling
business. “We saw what our staff would buy and bring back
from Nausori for lunch,” said Amitesh. “Things like noodles
and deep-fried food.”
When Covid-19 hit Fiji in early 2021, the couple decided to
expand the canteen to a food delivery service via a ghost or
cloud kitchen, but dissatisfied with the food delivery options
available to them, they decided to open a restaurant once
the pandemic restrictions eased.
Today, the health-conscious duo is trying to shift the
food culture in Fiji by offering healthier options such as tofu
curry, vegan kokoda where crispy fried baigan replaces fish,
gluten-free rotis made with local cassava, and fish kokoda
served in a papaya alongside curries, stir-fries and deep-
fried options. Drinks with non-dairy milk alternatives like
almond and soy milk are also available.
Their long-term ambition is to turn Malhana Cloud Kitchen
into a farm-to-table destination like Tukuni, which is run
by non government organisation Friend in Lautoka. That’s
where they took inspiration for the cassava roti. Since then,
Friend Founder and Assistant Minister for Women, Children
and Poverty Alleviation, Sashi Kiran, has eaten at the
Malhana Cloud Kitchen and given her seal of approval.
The couple has a six-acre farm nearby, which their
nephew Prithvi looks after. On the day I visited Malhana
Cloud Kitchen in mid November, the cucumbers, chillies,
cassava, coconuts and taro that were used in the meals had
been sourced from the farm. Over time, they hope to grow
more of the food that’s served at the restaurant.
Their “go local” philosophy extends to the restaurant’s staff

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