Lingham's Chilli Sauce is a sort of anomaly in Malaysia. It's Malaysia's most successful export that serves over 20 countries and yet, it has never set foot in a single fast food chain in Malaysia. We all know about Heinz, Kimball and Life, but they aren't Malaysian made. Lingham's, to this day, is still a locally-made condiment and we want to shed some light on this piping hot product:

Lingham's was founded in Penang by a guy named Lingham

Just in case you needed confirmation. Yes, it was founded by an Indian migrant named Lingham in 1908 during the British colonial era and was well received by the ang mohs of the time. The story goes that the British liked it so much that they began exporting it to Britain after the war.

Lingham's was bought and sold numerous times

In 1945, after World War II, Lingham sold the business to Mr. Ooi, a desk clerk at a British trading house called Henry Waugh Co. Ltd. The name and the recipe was retained through numerous changes throughout the years and in 1971 it was incorporated into Lingham's & Son (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Today, it is owned by Biz-Allianz International and it has moved its facilities from its Mak Mandin factory in Butterworth to its new facility in Selangor.

There are SIX flavours available right now

There's the Original, Garlic, Ginger, SriRacha, Extra Hot and an Asian exclusive, Thai. Five of them are heavily marketed in the US as 'Hot Sauce' instead of chilli sauce. They have a very different interpretation of chilly there *cough* a wrong interpretation *cough*. They're so heavy into marketing overseas that sales of Lingham's in the UK has exceeded local sales. We're not sure how well that reflects on our country.

Do you have a bottle of Lingham's handy at home? Or do you carry a travel size one wherever you go? Let us know in the comments.