Malaysian chefs much sought after in India’s leading hotels

[Kotaro Fuma]

Monday January 3, 2011

Malaysian chefs much sought after in India’s leading hotels

NEW DELHI: Malaysian wok masters are dishing out sumptuous Malaysian Chinese cuisine and stirring a food revolution in Indian cities.

Former cooks of modest Malaysian restaurants are now much sought-after chefs in Indian five-star hotels to spice up local menus.

“Malaysian Chinese dishes are becoming popular among Indians. They prefer it spicier, like the Sichuan style.

“So, we change our recipe slightly to suit their taste, and they enjoy it,” chef Tan Aik Liang said.

Culinary master: Tan cooking up a storm at the Leela Kempinski Hotel in Gurgaon, India. — Bernama

Chicken rice, roast chicken, fried koay teow, curry mee, dim sum and mee goreng are among the popular Malaysian dishes tickling Indian palates.

Tan, 36, started as a dishwasher at a Johor Baru seafood restaurant when he was a teenager.

He brings 20 years of experience to the luxury Leela Kempinski Hotel in Gurgaon, just outside Delhi.

At least 10 Malaysian chefs have joined Tan’s adventurous career path, working in leading hotels and upmarket restaurants across India.

And they are paid handsomely in US dollars, with additional perks.

Chee Soon Hong, 27, from Ipoh, who speaks a smattering of English and Malay, is considered the dim sum king of Delhi.

He is employed as the chief chef in the newly opened Dim Sum Brothers outlet.

“People here really like dim sum! Tapi mereka suka makan pedas (But they like it spicy),” he said.

Yip Wai Leong, 40, also from Ipoh, traversed international capitals and now works in Monk Restaurant in Galaxy Hotel.

“It is a challenging place to be. We need a lot of ingredients for our cuisine like chilli paste and ikan bilis, but it’s hard to get them. Now, it is winter, so we make a special spicy soup.

“Our customers love Chinese noodles,” said Yip, who used to work in Manila.

These men, who never went to cooking school, have quietly become Malaysian food ambassadors, serving lip-smacking Chinese dishes for the growing Indian middle class. — Bernama