Eats Meets West
For chefs of Asian heritage, travel to our near neighbours is less about nostalgia than endless inspiration. Whether it's opulent restaurants in Hong Kong or roadside stalls in Malaysia – they just can't get enough of the tastes of Asia. Joanna Savill asked five leading Asian-Australian foodies for their expert guides to this dynamic region.
Jerry Mai
Seamstress, Melbourne
Jerry Mai was born in Vietnam but came to Australia, via Cambodia, as a child. She is head chef at Seamstress, an Asian-inspired restaurant and cocktail hotspot in Melbourne. last year she travelled the length of Vietnam, flying on to Cambodia where she found dishes aplenty she would jump back on a plane for, anytime.
www.seamstress.com.au
Why I love eating in Asia
It's the people shouting out, going to the markets, things happening at any time of the day or night. Knowing you can go out at 3am and have the freshest seafood in one part of town or awesome roast duck or suckling pig in a Chinese quarter. My favourite place is the markets – the frogs are still jumping and the fish still swimming – where old ladies sell the freshest herbs and calamari that's still throbbing. I get so excited thinking of a million things I can cook.
Favourite Asian cities and countries
The heritage town of Hoi An, central Vietnam. It's relaxing, like a sanctuary. I also love Hanoi and Saigon. And there's Siem Reap, near Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, although it's a shame to see it turning into a huge tourist town. [But] I spent three to four days in Siem Reap last year, just eating.
Where I love to eat in Asia
Hanoi fish at Old Hanoi (106 Ma May, Hanoi, Vietnam; +84 824 5251; www.oldhanoi.com). A lot of tourists go there, but they make the famous Hanoi fish, marinated in fresh turmeric and fish sauce and cooked with dill. To eat it, you wrap it in rice paper with vermicelli and fresh herbs.
Drinks and snacks at Koto (59 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam; +84 4 747 0337; www.streetvoices.com.au). This is a place that trains street kids to work in hospitality. They do nice Vietnamese dishes quite well and some Western-style food. It's interesting to see these kids who were struggling on the streets two months earlier, with new ambitions and personal goals. There's a rooftop bar there overlooking the famous Temple of Literature.
Barbecued frog at Benh Thanh night markets (Phan Chu Trinh Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; from 6pm nightly). The street to the west side of the central market has a whole series of seafood stalls. You can even find frogs. You order them and they cook them for you on the barbecue. You can also get big sea snails, which they steam up with lemongrass.
I'd jump on a plane for
Amok at Amok (The Alley, Siem Reap, Cambodia +855 63 1280 0309). Between Pub Street and Bar Street is a little laneway called The Alley. There's an awesome place there serving amok trei. This is Cambodia's national dish. It's fish steamed in coconut milk flavoured with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and perhaps a little turmeric. It's wrapped in banana leaves and served with rice. The flavours are fantastic and you just can't find it in Australia. Or at least I haven't found it anywhere.
Cheong Liew
Grange, Adelaide
Japan, Vietnam and of course, his native Malaysia, are just some of the countries cheong Liew has eaten his way through. the man known as the father of modern Australian cuisine, is executive chef at Adelaide Hilton's Grange restaurant and leads food tours in Asia.
www.thegrangerestaurant.com.au; www.hilton.com
Why I love eating in Asia
We have a lot to learn from the way people eat in Asian countries. Food is not just an oral experience; it involves all the senses. People can get so seduced by decor and design [in Australia] that they don't really eat. You have to understand that it all goes together...the surrounds, the food, the ambience.
Favourite Asian cities and countries
Kuala Lumpur, of course, because it's my home city. The great thing is street food, from all different cultures and nationalities from Chinese to Malay to Indian (mamak) style. You watch people cook on the street and you learn from the way they do things. Hong Kong is amazing too – so many places to eat. And then Japan. The variety and the techniques are just extraordinary.
Where I love to eat in Asia
Breakfast at RA Nasi Lemak (Jalan Raja Abdullah, off Jalan Dang Wangi; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Nasi lemak is the best breakfast dish and this street stall is so popular. Rice is cooked in coconut milk with a pandan leaf then topped with a rich red prawn sambal, a piece of egg, fried whitebait, piece of cucumber, anything you choose. After midday, the menu changes to ethnic Malay or kampong food – freshwater fish, fermented durian curry, beautiful rendang chicken, fried beef lungs with chilli and coconut, lots of local herbs.
Chettinad dishes at Vishal Food and Catering (15 Jalan Scott in the Brickfields area; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; +60 03 2274 0502). This is southern Indian-style food served on banana leaves so you eat with your fingers. I love eating this way. The food does taste so much better.
"Spoon" laksa at 328 Katong Laksa. Named for the original settlers of Singapore, this is laksa served with a spoon, not chopsticks. There's a whole street of places to choose from. Try 216 East Coast Road (+65 9732 8163) Their spices are very simple, lots of dried shrimp, ginger flower, chilli and galangal, incredible sambal, blood clams, tofu and shredded chicken. Very smooth and creamy. Lots of coconut milk.
Yum cha at Luk Yu Teahouse (24-26 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2523 5464). This is a very, very, old tea house on Hong Kong Island. You have to go very early as it's really hard to get in. They serve a lot of steamed gow gee, but you go there especially for their very good fragrant tea. At night it's a traditional classic Cantonese restaurant with such finesse. It's a must.
Chicken yakitori at Birdland Ginza Yakitori (Tsukamoto Suyama Building B1F, 4-2-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; +81 03 5250 1081). They grill tiny pieces (wings, heart, oyster, giblets etc) of a special chicken, a bit like a capon, on skewers in the original yakitori style. And they have very good sake.
I'd jump on a plane for
Yumin Restaurant (559–567 Yingbin Road, Dashi Town, Panyu, Guangzhou, China; +86 20 287 8811). This is a seafood restaurant but it also has its own fish and vegetable market, a huge roast and charcuterie section and also a comprehensive yum cha and pastry area. The staff is so professional and there is just so much variety.
Kylie Kwong
Billy Kwong, Sydney
Kylie Kwong is Australia's best known chef of Chinese background. Born in Sydney to Australian-born parents, she was first taken to China 13 years ago with her then boss, chef/ restaurateur Neil Perry. In 2005, she made her first trip to her ancestral village and since then she has returned to china 15 times.
www.kyliekwong.org
Why I love eating in Asia
People in Asia really take food seriously. There's a variety and diversity about flavours, textures and ingredients and an ingenious, industrious approach to the humblest of ingredients, making do with what you have got but also transforming it into something extraordinary. Nothing is wasted, people go to the markets twice a day for freshness.
Favourite Asian cities and countries
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Dali in Yunnan province. I have also fallen in love with Kuala Lumpur because of its food culture. And of course I love Bangkok too. Hong Kong is where I first realised how serious the Chinese were about their food. I remember the first time I saw Peking duck delivered to the table on a rosewood trolley by a man with white gloves, and my first bird's nest soup. All those weird and wonderful things.
Where I love to eat in Asia
Spring Moon (1st floor, The Peninsula, Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 2920 2888; www.peninsula.com). A very high-end Cantonese restaurant in the Peninsula hotel. It has opulent, dark wood decor: Art-Deco Shanghai/Beijing style. They do great Peking duck, braised abalone, beautiful wonton soup with the incredible impeccable service you get in Asian hotels. There's the humility of the waiters, no arrogance, so happy to be of service to you – no pretentions at all.
Yung Kee (32-40 Wellington St, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2522 1624; www.yungkee.com.hk). The melt-in-your-mouth roast goose which comes with a superb plum sauce, is incredible, as is the suckling pig.
Nan Xiang (85 Yu Yuan Road, Shanghai, China; +86 21 6355 4206). Just next to the Yuan Gardens, this is the most famous dumpling house in Shanghai, for those little pleated buns that melt in your mouth.
Li Qun (11 Bei Xiang Hutong, Beijing, China; +86 10 6702 5681). This is a beautiful, famous little Peking duck restaurant in one of the hutongs (alleyways). All the tourists go to the big duck places but this is like a little neighbourhood eatery. They roast it over a cherrywood fire; it's so artisanal. You see the chefs tending to the fire.
In Kuala Lumpur I love Chow Kit markets (Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Chow Kit monorail) for snacks and fresh spices like turmeric, krachai, ginger and galangal.
I'd jump on a plane for
Yellow Door Kitchen (6th floor, Cheung Hing Building, 37 Cochrane Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2858 6555; www.yellowdoorkitchen.com.hk). It's one of the original "private" restaurants, set up to get around the bureaucracy of opening a restaurant in Hong Kong. The chef is a wonderful Sichuan woman known as "big sister Wah".
My dream dish is sautéed cod fillet with pepper and chilli sauce. It's spicy, vinegary, caramelly and full of chilli heat. The chef just gets the balance right. They use Sichuan chilli oil, Chinese black vinegar, dried chilli flakes, soy, sugar to make an almost demi-glaze sauce that's not reduced too much.
As you eat, the Sichuan peppercorns explode in your mouth.
Ajoy Joshi
Nigiri's, Sydney
Ajoy Joshi is from Hyderabad in central India. He migrated to Australia in 1988, setting up Malabar, a southern Indian eatery with his wife Meera, in 1991. His current venture, Nilgiri's, is one of Sydney's most awarded Indian restaurants. Ajoy and Meera travel regularly to India, via Singapore or Kuala lumpur.
www.nilgiris.com.au
Why I love eating in Asia
Australia has become a country where food has become a part of every occasion. Going to Asia is a continuation of that. But the food in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, and of course, India, has a taste and flavour of its own. I don't know what the difference is but it's an amazing change. And you just cannot get that same taste from food in Australia. It's a difference that we long for sometimes.
Favourite Asian destinations
We go back to India quite regularly but we usually stop over in Malaysia or Singapore on the way. And although we've tried so many places we always figure there's something new to try next time. Even if we are staying in a five-star hotel we don't eat in the hotel.
Arriving in India is always such a shock, people, cars, traffic and pollution. But then you go and eat in a restaurant and it's just the most amazing experience.
Where I love to eat
Muthu Curry House (138 Race Course Road, Little India, Singapore; +65 6392 1722; www.muthuscurry.com). This is a banana leaf restaurant. And all you have to do is say "veg" or "non-veg" and in no time your meal is laid out before you. They give you three or four items then rice or bread. The accompaniments are on the table. Meat dishes may include fried fish or a korma. Everything is bottomless, except the meat and chicken. They are famous for their fish head curry.
Karavalli (Taj Gateway Hotel, No 66 Residency Road, Bangalore, India; +91 80 66604545; www.tajhotels.com). It's named for a mountain on the west coast of India and it's been done up in the style of an old Mangalore (coastal) house. I worked there in the late 1980s and was sent to the coast to research the food of Mangalore. The cooking is chullah style, in an oven on an open wood fire. No dish is complete unless it has the flavours of that oven. The dish I love there is kane rava fry – it's a delicate little fish similar to a garfish, cooked crusted in semolina but rolled in a spice mix first. The other is kori kempu bezule: chicken marinated with dry red spices, steamed first them tossed with buttermilk and curry leaves. And there's kori gassi (Mangalore chicken curry) with a coconut sauce and served with a special rice roti. You eat it with your hands (recipe, page 125).
Also in Bangalore is a restaurant called Memories of China (Taj Residency Hotel, 41/3, Mahatma Gandhi Road; +91 80 6660 4444). They serve Sichuan food with amazing clean flavours. The chef is from Sichuan province. It's very unpretentious and the service is very good.
In Mumbai I like Parsee food. There's a famous restaurant called Jimmy Boy (11 Bank Street, Fort Bombay; Mumbai, India; +91 22 2270 0880) which specialises in dhansak dishes. These are a meal in themselves. Four or five kinds of lentils are cooked with meat or vegetables and served on top of brown rice – white rice that has become brown with caramelised onions. The guy who cooks there is probably as old as the cuisine itself!
Jimmy Shu
Hanuman, Darwin and Alice Springs
Jimmy Shu is of Chinese heritage but was born in Sri Lanka, where he grew up as a "chop suey kid", Cooking in his father's restaurant. He came to Australia in 1974 and has run restaurants all over Australia but now focuses on his Hanuman restaurants, specialising in malaysian, Thai, Nonya and Indian cuisines.
www.hanuman.com.au
Why I love eating in Asia
Because I still haven't finished exploring Asia. Indonesia alone, say, has so many thousands of islands, each with a different gado gado. Even laksa in Malaysia is different from place to place so I don't think I will finish trying everything even in my lifetime. The next place I want to hit is Vietnam.
Favourite Asian cities and countries
Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Guangzhou, Bangkok.
Where I like to eat in Asia
I travel to the Philippines a lot and there are a few places I always dine:
Aristocrat (432 San Andres cnr Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila, the Philippines; +63 2 524 7671 to 80; www.aristocrat.com.ph). Their best dish is honey-cured barbecued chicken – over charcoal. It's absolutely flavoursome and it's very moist, cooked to perfection. And they do good crispy pata (baked and fried pork hock served with a vinegar dipping sauce). It also has a bakery next door where they sell freshly made cheese balls.
Taste Asia (SM Mall of Asia, Ground Level, North Parking Building, Central Business Park I, Island A, Bay City, Pasay City, Manila, the Philippines; +632 831 3340). This is the biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere. There's a section where you buy your seafood and take it to one of the food stalls to have it cooked.
No Signboard Restaurant (414 Geylang Road, Singapore; + 65 6842 3415; www.nosignboardseafood.com) is famous for its brilliant chilli and black pepper crab, which you eat with deep-fried buns.
Another great place is the Chatuchak market in Bangkok, also known as the Weekend market (corner Phaholyothin road and Kamphaeng Phet, Bangkok, Thailand; BTS Sky Train to Mo Chit Station or MRT Subway to Chatuchak station). My favourite dish there is called kanom jim. It's a kind of rice noodle that's served with a good green curry with fish balls. They use good quality krachai [a tuber that is related to ginger and galangal] to remove the fishy taste and put a small piece of salted egg inside the fish cakes themselves. And every now and then you get an explosion of krachai in your mouth.
I'd jump on a plane for
Made in Kitchen restaurant (Mayflower Plaza, 68 Zhongshan Wu Lu, in Guangzhou, China; +86 20 8332 7688). I'm becoming more and more interested in Chinese food and this is a beautiful concept. It's a huge restaurant with all different types of food but set up along a fashion theme. You have to walk along a catwalk to get to your table. One of the dishes they do is blood clams, served as sashimi. It's quite exquisite with good soy sauce and wasabi. They also do a Sichuan chilli poached fish and beautiful crisp-skinned pigeon, one of the best versions in the whole of Guangzhou.
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