CHENNAI: To eat, or not to eat is the most important question…well rather, not to eat too much of one thing. Especially when one has so many mouth-watering dishes in front of them. The urge to gobble them is all-consuming. After all, we do need to leave space for all the dishes right? And what about dessert? Well we don’t need to worry about that… Desserts have a room of their own in my stomach.
Such are the thoughts that race through our minds as we stare at the beautiful dishes set in front of us at the Asian culinary melange with Masterchef Kuan Lai at Stix, Hyatt Regency. Chef Kuan transports us to a whole new world with his dishes from a cuisine from his heritage that is a mix of multiple cuisines like Chinese, Malay, Indian etc. — the Nyonya cuisine. “Where I come from, Malaysia, it’s very culturally diverse, a melting pot of cultures if you will. A historical trading port and a hub for spices, Malaysia’s oldest city Malacca’s traditional Nyonya cuisine has a history that is beautiful and diverse. Men from China who were traders and merchants would come to Malacca and the Malay peninsula and settle down with a local woman. These people were called Parenakans. And their multicultural cuisine is Nyonya cuisine,” he shares.
Learning about the cuisine is as important as tasting the cuisine, according to Chef Kuan. He then proceeded to talk about how different Nyonya cuisine was, compared to traditional Chinese cuisine, by pointing out the differences in ingredients, the way it’s cooked and the way it tastes.
Heritage on the plate
Chef Kuan loves his heritage and he wanted to showcase and share it with the world. “For a while, I was cooking pan-Asian food, and people loved it. In 2017, I came to India for the first time and cooked pan-Asian food in Hyderabad. But it was only after Covid that I decided to come back here, and instead of branching out as pan-Asian, I chose to revel in my own heritage and share my history with the people here,” he says.
As Chef Kuan excused himself to go back to the kitchen and attend to the other guests, our eyes and stomachs finally take notice of our first dish that’s laid out in front of us. The starter, Nyonyabo Somboh fruits and vegetable salad, is a well paired, yet unusual combination of fruits, vegetables and sprouts that gives you health in a wholesome package. Never did we think that strawberries could ever pair well with pickled cucumber, raw mangoes and sprouts! A perfect portrayal of fruits, vegetables and sprouts, tossed together with a flavourful sauce, it left us wanting for more.
After a healthy start, we make a deep dive into the deep fried world with the crispy crab spring roll and shrimp crackers with mustard dip. Following this, we were served the spicy fish cakes that came with two dipping sauces. Kimberly, the manager, instructs us with an indulgent smile to mix the two dipping sauces — chilli jam and achaar. We did so and began dipping the fish cakes away. The crispiness of the fish cake was accompanied by the tart and sweet taste of the dipping sauce. Coupled with the spice from the jam and the achaar, the fish cakes were easily one of our favourites from the menu. But do be careful to not dip your entire cake into the sauce; it can be very spicy.
The menu is not specifically non-vegetarian centric as there were some options for vegetarians to indulge too. The veg dumplings, stuffed with vegetables, steamed in banana leaf, and served with spicy and sweet sauce is distinctive and different from the rest we tasted so far. Just as we rest our tongue from the melange of flavours that was at play, the next dish is all set to take the game a notch higher. Crispy Red Snapper with three flavoured sauces — red snapper fried to a crispy texture, and topped with sweet, spicy and sour sauces — gives a variety of tastes in one serving.
Cravings satisfied
The main course of the cuisine has our staple too — rice. Rendang Curry with rice is sure to become every Indian’s favourite with the Indonesian tenderloin rendang curry. Beef tenderloin, cooked with rich spices, it is an instant palate pleaser. It has a mushy or sponge-like consistency, with a tinge of buttery flavour, and served with sticky rice cakes wrapped in banana leaf. Alongside this, the chef serves us Nyonya vegetable stew with glass noodles, a classic recipe of Peranakan people, bringing their rich heritage to Malaysian cuisine. Mushroom, lotus stem, pears, baby corn are the main vegetables added in the stew to make your plate more healthy. “I took the local influence and incorporated it into my menu which makes our dishes stand out,” says the chef.
Heaving heavily after a hearty meal, we settle down for our favourite part of the process — desserts! Much to our delight, we are served not one, but two special desserts by the chef. The first one was chilled almond milk curd snow fungus and longan that was inspired by Chinese tofu. Looking like snow and feeling like jelly, it is a guilt-free dessert that is not sugar-heavy. “As people are becoming more health conscious nowadays, our desserts satisfy their sugar cravings with little to no sugar,” he adds. The other dessert, also equally less sweet, is the eight treasure coconut jelly, goji berries, but one which lingers in your mouth long after you leave the restaurant. Jelly plus juicy consistency makes them the ultimate treats for the hot weather.With a happy stomach, we compliment the chef and he tells us, “We are more than just cooks, we are artists. Just like in a movie, we have the freedom to create new things, and the chefs are the orchestra.” We could not agree more.
The festival is on till June 25 at Stix, Hyatt Regency for lunch: 12.30 pm to 3 pm and dinner: 7 pm to 11 pm. For details, call: 9884369333