Following the success of the first Michelin Guide Dining Series, the second installment brings together talents from three different countries in a six-handed treat with Chef Henrik Yde Andersen of Kiin Kiin restaurant Copenhagen, Chef Chayawee (Berm) Sutcharitchan of Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin Bangkok and Chef Malcolm Lee from Candlenut Singapore. Chef Berm and Chef Malcolm sat down with us to discuss their grand collaboration.
Two Different Roads
Chef Berm did not quite plan on being a career chef, “I went to America to study Computer Sciences. In my free time I cooked for friends and ended up falling in love with cooking,” he said while laughing at the thought. “I felt I had wasted my time with other things, I fell in love...and I never looked back!” Today, Chef Berm translates his inspirations into the inventive cuisine at Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin using global cooking techniques.
For Chef Malcolm, things were deeply rooted in family. “My mother wanted to cook home-style Peranakan food in Singapore. We weren’t trying to be the best. It was a simple idea born out of the desire to cook good family-style food.”
The Merging of Minds
Following the theme of ‘Peranakan Cuisine with Thai Delight,’ we asked the chefs to weigh in on each other’s cuisine style.
“I must admit I didn’t know much about Peranakan food,” said Chef Berm, “I had to study it, and I found that it was similar to Southern Thai food with influences from Malaysia and Indonesia. I was born in the south of Thailand, I love Southern Thai food and how the dishes use a deeper level of spice and herbs.”
Thai food played a pivotal role in Chef Malcolm’s life, “I had a Thai Chef in my culinary school. The way he taught us how to use the pastes and soups amazed me. Actually, that lesson inspired me to focus more on Peranakan food. We all know what Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin does. It’s interesting because they are more modern in nature. I think it’ll be quite an inspired fusion of styles through the menu.”
“To find harmony in the flavors will be the biggest challenge,” Chef Berm added, “Peranakan food is heavy with heat while at Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin we tend to go for more light and airy dishes. It will be an interesting collaboration with Chef Malcolm to see how we balance the flavors.”
Balance and Harmony with Tradition
“Peranakan food is time consuming and laborious,” Chef Malcolm admitted, “In the past this is how families value each other. For instance, if someone can cook well, they exhibit all the good virtues: patience, attention to detail, and care. You cannot rush. You cannot give up. If you give up it shows you don’t care. So that’s why we prefer slow cooked food.”
Chef Malcolm has already planned his menu. “For this collaboration, I would like to present our signature ingredient, the ‘Buah Keluak’. Buah Keluak is a nut from a tall tree that grows in mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia. It’s poisonous in its natural form, but when you ferment it the toxins are removed. It’s just so special to us because it was widely used in Peranakan history and royal Malaysian cuisine. I’ll be making a dry beef curry with it.”
Chef Malcolm continues, “We’ll also present a very rare rice salad. It’s rare because it consists of 30 ingredients, including herbs, salted fish and salted shrimp. The moment you put it in your mouth you’ll get a burst of flavor. The salad is also difficult to find because it must be prepared and served right away.”
On the side of modernity, Chef Berm and Chef Henrik will be dishing up signature surprises that customers have come to expect from Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin. Chef Henrik has hinted at a creative rendition of Butter Fried King Crab along with other revelations that customers will only experience on the night. It’s clear that the chefs will be bringing their best for this event. With three great minds thinking alike, this ambitious menu is set for extraordinary results.
The 2nd Michelin Guide Dining Series will take place at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok) on 6 and 7 June 2018.
What Michelin Inspectors said about Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (Bangkok)
There is a burgeoning love affair between Bangkok foodies and envelope-pushing cuisine, and this beautiful restaurant is one of the original purveyors of modern and innovative Thai cuisine. Order 'The Journey'-a ten-course menu-to see the kitchen's full repertoire that respects traditional Thai flavors and ingredients but flips the script to produce something creative and original. Copenhagen's Kiin Kiin was the inspiration for the food and cooking techniques.
What Michelin inspectors said about Candlenut (Singapore)
The 2016 move to Dempsey Hill may have left it a little further from the city center but these comfortable and spacious surroundings provide a warm and pleasant backdrop to the accomplished Peranakan cuisine. The kitchen successfully balances the modern with the traditional; lunch is à la carte, while dinner offers a set menu of little dishes and is a great way of experiencing the various tastes and textures of the skillfully prepared cuisine.
