There are many vegetables and herbs that thrive in Malaysia. Bak choy, okra, long beans, eggplant and curry leaves are just a random selection of the delicious produce you’re likely to see on plates in Malaysian restaurants.

But once local platters are loaded with more exotic options – heirloom tomatoes, tamarillo, purple carrots, fennel – the automatic assumption is that air miles have been clocked and the word “imported” is intuitively attached, because these are vegetables and herbs typically associated with colder climates. I mean, whoever heard of Malaysian-grown kohlrabi?