1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,400 Previously on Chapter 1. 2 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:36,560 F&B is really not for everybody. I feel like there is a lot of physical and like mental 3 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:42,640 kind of strength that you have to build. Just to start your average working day, it's probably 4 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:49,360 nine active hours at least, minimally. And the amount of toll that it will take on like your feet 5 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,720 is going to be quite a bit. The hours standing up. Especially your back. And if you have terrible 6 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:02,960 posture, oh that's it man. I really recommend if you can, if you work in F&B or any kind of job 7 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:08,400 that requires to stay long hours, like please take care of your back health, your posture. 8 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,360 Do you take care of your back health? 9 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,600 Yes. I actually was diagnosed with scoliosis. 10 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:16,560 Oh dear. 11 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:23,040 Back then, my mom pushed me into the pool, did a lot of swim training. So actually my back muscles 12 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:31,040 were okay. I did not feel any strain at all. And the doctor said, keep it up, like keep fit, go to 13 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,040 the gym, strengthen your lower back, you'll be fine. And I've been religiously hitting the gym, 14 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:45,120 not doing crazy stuff, but more like just trying to keep fit so that I can earn a living wage. 15 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:51,520 Yeah. Wow. I mean, you're a chef in the kitchen with scoliosis. Holy shit, man. 16 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:57,040 But it was not too bad. It was just more like under probation. It wasn't the serious sort, 17 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,760 just slanted by like just like a couple, maybe like one or two angles off. But other than that, 18 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,720 it's okay. I don't think anybody has a perfectly straight back as well. 19 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,480 So how did you do for your diploma? 20 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:15,280 I was a straight B student, I believe. Maybe not as good. Or maybe I'm hoping so as a straight B. 21 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:24,720 I'm still a troublemaker in polytechnic. I think I did really not too bad in my practical exams, 22 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:32,080 but my written exams, I have no idea why an A-Math level statistics paper was in culinary science. 23 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:38,880 I'm like, I came here to cook. I didn't here to do psychoscience engine, man. And those were the 24 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:46,480 topics that killed me. But I think I told myself I wanted to do at least okay. Like at least okay. 25 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:51,840 I didn't need to pass with flying colors. I just needed to do good enough to get by. 26 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:58,400 Because the kitchen would not care for how well you do in your statistics or your communications 27 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:05,600 as more like how well you cook. So it seems to me, judging by how you just said this, that you 28 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:15,200 already have in mind that I am going to definitely use this diploma, things I've learned, 29 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:20,800 and go into culinary as a profession. You've made up your mind there? 30 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,240 I pretty much made up my mind. I'm greatly motivated. I think one of my biggest motivations 31 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,760 throughout my career, part-time on lot, is when my friends will come and pay me a visit. 32 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:38,560 And usually the establishments that I work in can be a little bit out of the pockets reach. 33 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:45,520 So when they pop by, no matter what they ordered, I just felt so happy that you know, 34 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,480 you know, bring people together. Sure. But let me just try to get this back, 35 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:56,240 go back to chronology. After diploma, naturally, you went into international service. 36 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:01,920 So you had two years of being away from cooking, right? Yeah. Nothing at all. 37 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,200 It's believed that you signed like once you are full-time in NS. 38 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,480 You can't work, I know. You can't moonlight. I know that. 39 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:18,000 Which I know a good amount of people do, which I regret I didn't. But I think it would not have 40 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:23,200 been possible for me as well. Okay. Because of the unit you were in. Yeah. Right. The one in 41 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:31,440 Changi. Changi, yes, correct. Yeah. We wear red. Okay. The one in Changi where you wear red. Okay. 42 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,920 We jump out of planes. Okay. Perfectly good. Bleeding aircraft and I had to jump out of it. 43 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:42,160 Yes. Okay. But you seemed as if you had fun during that time. Absolutely. I had a ball of a time, 44 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:48,320 maybe great, but not too great. But more like the experiences, the kind of places. 45 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:53,840 Miscoliosis and you still ended up in that unit? It didn't feel too bad. Right. I'm sure I declared 46 00:04:53,840 --> 00:05:00,640 it and they were okay with it. So... Must have been them show the manpower or something. We had 47 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:07,840 a couple of medical issues. I have a fellow chef friend. He has a really bad condition of eczema. 48 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:12,960 Oh dear. And when he was in outfield, when he came back after like five days of being in the jungle, 49 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:20,800 he was just going at it. Oh dear. And we, I think, but we made it. We made it. 50 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:28,400 You're quite a resilient guy. As all of us need to be. Yeah. Well, I'm glad I have a young person 51 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:36,880 who actually says that. Thank you. Really. I'm glad. I'm really glad for it. So NS came and went. Now, 52 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:44,000 of course, almost towards your ORD, you must have planned something for your future, right? Did you 53 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,640 plan to go into university or did you plan to start work? I didn't plan to go into university 54 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:54,960 because I already knew that I had consulted. So after Ramen Champion, I got to meet one of my 55 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:00,400 chef mentors. His name is Darryl, Chef Darryl Woon. Worked with him at the Coffee Academics 56 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:07,200 for quite a while back when the flagship store was in Scott Square. I also got to meet this 57 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:13,600 sous chef. His name is called Randall Tilford. Amazing guy. I asked both of them, do you think 58 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:18,880 your culinary degree is worth it? Chef Randall was from the Culinary Institute of America. 59 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:27,360 Whereas Chef Darryl graduated with a diploma from Shattek. And both of them, more like Chef Darryl, 60 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:32,960 because he's super experienced at that point of time. He's done his time in Gaggan. So two 61 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:40,720 Michelin stars, Asia's literal best restaurants, three years in a row. Crazy, crazy chef, 62 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,840 Chef Gaggan and Chef Darryl himself. Both chefs I really look up to and he's like, hey, just 63 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:54,320 continue cooking, put your head down. The mother of all teachers will be experienced. And I 64 00:06:54,320 --> 00:07:02,320 asked myself, do I want to pay like probably four to five digits and graduate with a debt 65 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:09,840 and then start a job? Or would I rather work and learn practical skills, communication, 66 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:16,000 planning, et cetera, in the kitchen and just on the job. So you decided not to go take the 67 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:21,760 university route. You went straight into work. I ran straight into work. I told my mom, I'm 68 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:28,640 going to work. I ran straight into work. I told myself post ORD, I wanted a one month break to 69 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:34,880 slowly look for restaurants. And then I couldn't take it. It was two weeks in, I was like, I need 70 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:40,080 to do something with my life. It was two weeks of being at home, just going, just keeping fit 71 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,040 and everything. And I was like, I need to do something. I couldn't just stay at home. So yeah, 72 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:52,320 I got myself a job at, now it's called Blue Smoke. You might have heard of Chef Ivan Yeo. He 73 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:58,080 cooks for Bosch from time to time. It used to be called 1925 Brewery & Co. 74 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:00,320 Wow. You know, rings a bell somehow. 75 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:08,080 I was there for a month before I got a phone call from a very, very lovely lady. Her name is Nicolette 76 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:17,200 Lee. She is my about to be fiance. Hi. We exchanged numbers on the last day of our internship back in 77 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:22,800 2019. Oh, the political correctness again. I think it's a really lovely, lovely girl. Yeah. 78 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:27,600 Yeah. Okay. Best in the world. Brownie points. Brownie points. 79 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:34,960 She gave me a call and asked me if I needed a job for a new restaurant opening called View 80 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:40,880 at OUE Bayfront. So this restaurant is a lovely place on the 19th floor of the penthouse at OUE 81 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:50,000 Bayfront. And I got the job. I went for a kitchen tour. I was sold because 1925 Brewery & Co. was a 82 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,520 really humble place. Charcoal fire, modernized cho-chew food, mangrove food charcoal. It was 83 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:02,800 really nice to be cooking fried like Chef Ivan's signature crab bee hoon. The pan is straight on the 84 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:08,160 charcoal. So that was the place where you really learn how to control heat. Okay. And how to cook 85 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:13,600 with fire. Right. And all that smoke, the charcoal smoke will actually go inside and envelop the 86 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:21,440 complexity of the bee hoon that hits different. I miss it. I learned a lot, but when you go to a more 87 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:27,680 industrial-based kitchen, a kitchen that is said to be aiming for accolades, you kind of dream of 88 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:33,120 it. You hear of things like Michelin stars, Best 50, Tatler fine dining awards, etc. And you kind of 89 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:37,600 tell yourself you want to go somewhere there. Am I right to say, you know, call me a plebeian, 90 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:47,200 okay? Am I right to say that what you experienced in that bee hoon charcoal bee hoon cuisine thing, 91 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:55,600 and then that's not considered fine dining. Am I right? Not at all. Okay. Then you moved 92 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:03,120 to this view at OUE that was fine dining. Semi-fine. Okay. Now how do you, how the fuck does one 93 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:09,360 chance it? Because you know, to me, right, if I get a diploma in cooking, fuck, I might end up in a 94 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,560 store in the August Center. Perfectly fine. Yeah. But then again, there's all these different 95 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:21,760 versions of cuisines. You've got your fine dining, you've got all these different versions, right? 96 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:27,040 You've got your fast food, you've got this and that. But you went into fine dining eventually. 97 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:34,000 Eventually, yeah. What would make a person, is there such a thing, a constitution of a chef 98 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:39,120 in the making, or you can do fine dining. Is there such a thing, you can do fine dining, 99 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,520 you should work in a fucking coffee shop, you should be in the August Center. You know what I mean? 100 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:53,760 Is there something about this? You know, not everyone ends up cooking fine dining. So what, 101 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,720 how does it happen? How did that happen? I mean, educate me here, man. Because I'm, like I said, 102 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:03,360 call me a freaking plebeian. I'm a noob when it comes to this shit. So just tell me. That's why 103 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,040 I got you here, because I want to learn, you know. Teach me. I mean, how does it work here? 104 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:12,720 You ended up from cooking, learning to cook, how to control fire, charcoal fire and stuff, 105 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:17,040 with B1. It sounds really great to me, man. Then all of a sudden, he moves over to this 106 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,640 semi-fine dining. Eventually, he's going to end up in fine, fine dining. Fine, fine dining. Yeah. 107 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,440 Yeah. You know, how does that happen, man? How the shit did that happen? I would just say, 108 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:30,880 like curiosity kills the cat. So basically, it's a choice. So like today, I play blues. Tomorrow, 109 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:35,680 I want to learn to play jazz. Is that what it is? Yes. Because I'm curious and I want to find out 110 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:40,080 more and I kind of like it. So I'm going to give it a shot. Yeah. Is that exactly it? I just wait 111 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,800 for it. Just my stomach tells me what to do. My gut tells me what to do. So in poly then, 112 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,480 what do they teach then? Do they teach you what? What do they teach? Do they teach fine dining, 113 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:54,240 cooking already? What do they teach? Fuck. They teach very... There's still the syllabus to follow. 114 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:59,520 So it's basic culinary skills. I had a ball of a time because there was so much diversity 115 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:04,880 in the syllabus that I had. So I feel like there's no culinary diploma out there in the world 116 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:10,400 that will give you a Cantonese two-eared handled walk. Okay. After that, 117 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:17,200 plunge you into a two-eared handled walk. Fuck. Walk. Okay. So nobody uses that kind of walks anymore. 118 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:22,240 They don't? Rarely. I mean, come on, come on. The hawker in the chuck kri teow stall, 119 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,000 it will still use the two fucking-eared handled walk. Inside culinary schools, 120 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:32,000 because they say it's bad for your wrist. Oh for fuck's sake. It's not comfortable chef. I can't 121 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:38,000 hold it. Yeah. Stuff like that happens. What? What you mean? Seriously? I mean, give me a fucking break. 122 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,640 Students are complaining about that shit. I mean, look at our standard of army food. 123 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,520 It's gotten better and better. What are you saying? The bunks are getting more comfortable. 124 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:53,120 So culinary schools are also getting more comfortable. We have air conditioning. When the 125 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:58,080 air conditioning, the exhaust is spoiled, we'll be like, teacher, chef, could you please call the 126 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:03,280 technician? It's not working. Oh no, I can't have class today. I'm feeling faint. Things like that 127 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:10,960 happen. I'm serious. Again, I'm so glad dude that you are not fucking snowflake. Okay. I am very 128 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:16,080 fucking glad you're not. I'm glad that you are resilient. Seriously, I really mean that. I mean, 129 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:22,480 thanks for giving me a bit of hope. You know, about this. This sounds ridiculous to me. Anyway, 130 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:28,480 coming back to the point. Would you say that taking a diploma, a local diploma, doesn't matter which 131 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:35,360 poly, as long as you have a poly that offers this, in culinary science is worth the while for any 132 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:41,840 young chap out there who's thinking of pursuing this life? Is it worth the while? I would say if 133 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,560 your teachers and your mentors are like mine, thankfully, I'm so thankful to be having that, 134 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:53,680 like to have had them. If your mentors are like mine, absolutely, 100% go for it. Okay. Like you 135 00:13:53,680 --> 00:14:00,880 are a changed person, but only for- So you endorse this? I endorse this. I endorse at least, I mean, 136 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:07,120 you have to have at least a certain form of basics drilled into you before you fly. Okay. You can't 137 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,400 just throw your money into Mumu or Tiger without knowing what the heck is going on around the world. 138 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:17,360 Okay. You need to have a background knowledge before you kind of want to take a plunge in it. 139 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:22,720 Okay. Okay. Let's move on. Let's move on. Now you went to view Semifine. What the fuck is Semifine? 140 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:28,640 Semifine dining is more like, I don't know what the world has done to like, to do stuff. It's like, 141 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:36,960 in music, you used to just have like rock, heavy metal. Now there's new metal. Now that is like, 142 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:42,960 what, like, could you name me other like funky genres? Post hardcore, hardcore, black metal. 143 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:49,120 There's jazz, hip hop. I can never fucking understand that. Death metal. Yeah. New jazz. 144 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:56,800 Black metal. Death metal. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. It goes on and you have what? Pocket? I have no 145 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:02,560 freaking clue, dude. Exactly. I ignore all the other new fangirl shit. Yeah. But all this goes up. 146 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:08,400 Oh, like, let's not even go to like subculture. You have like J-Rock, J-Pop, and then K-Rock, 147 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:12,400 K-Metal, K-New Metal, K-Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh. This boy is really schooling me. Okay. 148 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:18,720 So I think it's, it's gone like that in cuisine as well. And in dining restaurants. So what's 149 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:23,600 Semifine? Just explain to me the definition of Semifine. We want to cater to a more specific 150 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:29,440 crowd that does not like have the time, effort, and energy to go for, let's say, an eight-cost, 151 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:34,800 two and a half hour degustation menu for $300. Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Degustation 152 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:40,560 menu. Okay. Can you once and for all, somebody explain to me what the, what the hell does 153 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:45,280 degustation, I've been saying what the fuck too much. Degustation. Go for it. It's your podcast. 154 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:50,240 Yeah. I know people might get angry and all this. Oh yeah. If you don't like it, don't watch it. 155 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:56,960 Bye-bye. Thank you. Thank you. Degustation. Degustation. When you use the term degustation, 156 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:03,120 what would that really mean? I would say it's like a tasting forward menu. So people who want to 157 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:09,360 really try fine dining or go and enjoy fine dining, but don't have the time to sit through an eight 158 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:16,480 costs. You go for Semifine. Which will be how many courses or is it a la carte, you order a dish. 159 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:21,920 It can be a la carte. It can be a couple of courses. And I would say in Semifine restaurants, 160 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:28,560 it's more customer friendly so that the food is a bit more easier. So it's not snobbish basically. 161 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:35,520 It won't be. I won't say it's snobbish. Not like overly complicated. Snobbish, maybe yes. 162 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:44,240 Maybe yes. Chris is trying to poke me. No. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm not, you know, 163 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:49,600 because of snobbery sometimes. Okay. Semifine would be like that. Thank you for explaining. 164 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:56,160 Easy to eat food. So okay. And it's a non-intermediating environment basically. 165 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:00,080 Not non-intermediating. Less intimidating. You flip to the end of the champagne list. 166 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:05,600 There is a fine difference between saying non-intermediating and less intimidating. 167 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,400 Which means you're saying that in the first place, it is intimidating. If you go for fine, 168 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,920 there you go. I rest my case. It's still intimidating. No, fine dining is intimidating. 169 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:24,080 It is. Because somehow you feel as a consumer, you feel that when the service, the server comes to 170 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:31,760 you and recommends whatever and recommends what's on the wine menu, right? And then you look like, 171 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,480 and you have to try to pretend as if you fucking know it. You know when you actually don't and you 172 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,440 want to ask, but you dare not ask. That's the position of a lot of people. Why would you? Okay, 173 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,960 then here's another question. Now, what the hell are you doing in a fine dining restaurant? Why do 174 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:52,560 you not dare to ask? Because it would seem that you might be snubbed. That's okay. No, that is the 175 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,840 general impression most people have in my opinion. I understand that. You know what I mean? It's the 176 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:02,640 same thing. You got a guy who wants, who knows he needs to get healthy. I'm using another analogy. 177 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,560 Okay. He needs to get healthy. He needs to lose fucking weight, right? I thought get healthy, 178 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:11,040 get fermented grape juice in your system and then get your minerals in with wine. No, no. 179 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:17,040 I'm moving away now to say signing up for a gym membership. One of the reasons why people don't 180 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:23,360 walk into a gym is not because they're lazy. I'll tell you the top reason. It's because they're 181 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:28,480 embarrassed. They're embarrassed. They go in there, they know they're out of shape. They see other 182 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:33,840 people who are in shape and then there are snobs in there as well. Yeah. You know? I don't deny that. 183 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:40,320 It's no longer something for them. They go in, they go, you know, I want to get fit, but I feel 184 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:48,160 so intimidated and I, you know, I feel as if this environment is not good for me. I walk away and 185 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:53,280 then you lose that. You know, you lose the opportunity of getting healthier. At all. Same thing. 186 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:59,200 Same in my opinion. Going into a fine dining restaurant, you got to go in there prepared 187 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:04,880 for having someone raise an eyebrow at you. You know what I mean? For even the server, the waiter, 188 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:13,920 who might raise an eyebrow at you, right? Popping the cork of a wine that he's recommending, 189 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:21,360 pouring it into your goblet. He expects you to swirl it and then expects you to, you know, 190 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:27,920 a rate swirl and a rate and then, you know, yeah. And then, I can smell the f**king grapes. F**k off. 191 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:38,400 I'm guilty of that. And then, you know what I mean? And then, he asks you, are you okay with this wine? 192 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:42,880 And you go, f**k. You don't even know whether to say yes or no. Exactly. And then you got to pretend, 193 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:49,520 right? You got to be fake. You know? It can be tiring. It can be f**king tiring. It can be very tiring. 194 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:56,160 So, okay. Anyway, coming back to the story. Yes. You went to View. Okay. They have this ambition 195 00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:02,320 for having a Michelin star rating. And then, you said, okay, this is the joint for me, man. Plus, 196 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:07,040 of course, the girl will ask you to go there. Eventually, we'll end up marrying you soon. 197 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,120 She was so cute. I couldn't say no. Okay. 198 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:22,480 Fine. So, okay. You went to View. Then, what happened? I went to View. I spent nearly two 199 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:28,640 years there. As a what chef? What kind of chef? I was like the lowest ranker. So, I was- What's 200 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:36,400 that called? It's called a commie. A commie chef. Commie chef. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Right. See, that's 201 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:43,120 the thing. Yes. Sorry. Okay. They're different ranks of chefs. Yes. Commie chef. Commie chef. 202 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:48,960 From commie chef. Then, you go up to what? Demi chef. What? Demi. Oh, gosh. Okay. Demi chef. 203 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:54,080 Demi chef. And then, from demi chef, you go up to what? Chef de party. A CDP. Chef de party. 204 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,480 Okay. Then, after that? And then, you go to senior chef de party. Senior chef de party. Then? Junior 205 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,520 sous chef. Junior sous chef. Then? Sous chef. Then, sous chef. And if the organization has it, then, 206 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,600 senior sous chef. Then, if you have it, then, executive sous chef. And then? Then, you go up 207 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:12,320 to chef de cuisine. Chef de cuisine. Which is head chef. And then, you go up to executive chef. 208 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,880 What a lot. There's so many ranks, man. Oh, there's also executive head chef before executive chef. So, 209 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:22,960 just FYI. Oh, my lord. And sometimes, people come up with those things, just like your subcultures 210 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:29,360 of like music and dining. Right. And from time to time, yeah. Okay. So, what are you now? 211 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,080 I'm a senior chef de party at my current role. Oh, that's quite big shit, man. 212 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:42,000 Okay. It's not crazy. Can do better, but yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll see how it goes. Okay. Okay. 213 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:50,320 You're okay. Fine. You've mentioned about being in the kitchen. And I know being in the kitchen is 214 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:56,480 something really, really challenging. Standing up long hours, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 215 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:03,760 Now, let's talk about the actual work. Yeah. How laborious is it? I mean, kitchen management and 216 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:08,240 everything you have to do. Let's start with, let's say we start with the menu. Menu planning, for 217 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:13,840 example. Then the actual work in the kitchen. How challenging is it? Starting from different 218 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:21,280 positions, we have different kinds of responsibilities. So, as a commie, you hit in there probably 219 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:28,000 9, 10 AM in the morning. Right. And you just work your ass off. Don't ask questions. Yeah. Like you 220 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,920 just work. If you need to pick salads, you pick salads. You need to de-shell prawns, you de-shell 221 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:39,920 prawns. But your focus doesn't need to be too crazy because your ingredients should be slightly 222 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:45,200 easier to handle. So, they're doing prep actually? Doing prep. Okay. So, you prep. An average day, 223 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:51,360 for my current life now, I hit in the kitchen. I have a very, very good kitchen life now, thanks 224 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:55,680 to all the work-life balance and everything and the 44-hour work-week thing. So, thank you, 225 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:07,200 Puthekarikara, I'm originally Singapore, I started either at 11 AM and I end at 9 PM. Right. If I 226 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:13,360 have guests, then I'll just hang out a little bit longer. If not, you'll be from 1 PM to 11 PM on 227 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:20,000 paper. Holy shit, boss. But back then at view, hours were pretty decent as well. Like 10, 30 AM, 228 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:29,600 we have a split shift after lunch. So, they'll be from either 2.30 PM to 4.30 or 5 PM. We end 229 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:35,840 usually about 10, 10.30 PM. Oh my goodness. On a good day. That's pretty good hours. Back at view, 230 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:44,880 I still hit the gym after work. Yes, I do. Yes. But for fine dining, it was a bit different. 231 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:50,960 It was a bit different. However, I feel this attitude that people take on is very healthy. 232 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:58,560 You need to healthy and unhealthy. You come in as and when you deem fit to be able to finish 233 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:06,240 your work. Once you're done, you can go. However, if your work is very, very meticulous, very, 234 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:11,600 very laborious, it takes a lot of time and effort, then you might want to consider coming in at 7.45, 235 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:16,560 7.30, 8 AM. How about the demands from your superiors? For example, I watch a lot of Hell's 236 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:22,320 Kitchen. Hell's Kitchen, Hell's Kitchen. I watch it too. I make myself feel better about myself 237 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:28,640 from time to time. I was like, I never do this. I never make a flop like that. I'll be fine. I can 238 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:35,120 work. So, on a day I get like a lashing from my superiors. Like, hey, why would you do that? 239 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:39,360 And I feel like, oh man. I mean, I tell you man, I can never do what you do, man. Because if I were, 240 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,600 you know, watching Hell's Kitchen. If I were one of those guys in there, right, in a fucking show, 241 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:49,600 right, I'd probably be freaking, I'll punch Ramsey's mouth right in. Don't get me the wrong way. I like 242 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:54,160 Ramsey, but if I were caught in that position and this guy, the name calling the guy, fucking does, 243 00:24:54,160 --> 00:25:00,000 you know, I'll freaking cream him alive. Dude, his one-liners are great though. No, no, I know. I 244 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:06,240 don't get me wrong. As a viewer, as a guy who enjoys the show, right, I enjoy that. But when you put 245 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:12,480 yourself in that person's shoes, I mean, you got to feel it too, man. It really goes right through 246 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:20,240 you. Is that true of most chefs? You know, the head honchos in the kitchen. Is it true of them? Are 247 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:26,000 they like that? As with different people, we all have different personalities. We all cook for 248 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:35,920 different reasons. Okay. I have met, I've met people who are really, really nice. But also people who 249 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:45,200 can get a bit more aggressive. It has happened. Yeah. So it's not a, so Ramsey is not a one size 250 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,200 fit all. Not every one's like that. It's really, it really boils down to a matter of personality. 251 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:54,080 Yes, absolutely. Because it strikes me that a lot of chefs out there, right, the one on top, 252 00:25:54,080 --> 00:26:01,360 are freaking moody guys, man. It's just, I think it's just a portrayal of, uh, you know, I mean, 253 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:07,600 I'm, I'm, I've been exposed to quite a lot of, uh, well-named chefs throughout my life. Uh, 254 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:14,640 I won't name the hotel though. Uh, there was one I was invited to, uh, for their, their, their soft 255 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,720 opening actually. All right. And I like soft openings because you get to go and dine in almost 256 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,200 every one of the restaurants and telling you them feedback stuff for free. Oh yeah. Oh hell yeah. 257 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:33,280 Uh, and, and I was, I was invited to, uh, this hotel's main outlet. Okay. Uh, it's a French dining, 258 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,360 uh, restaurant. I will not try and guess what it is. No, no, no, no, no, please don't. Okay. 259 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:42,080 And when I was sitting there, you know, the family, you know, our whole family's invited, 260 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:49,520 the executive chef walks out. It says, Mr. Hanson, can I, hey, good to see you. Uh, 261 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:55,680 it's a French guy. Come, come, come with me to the kitchen. It's, uh, say hi, Mr. Chris, Mr. Hanson. 262 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,000 How are you? I'm Monsu, Monsu, Monsu Chris. Monsu, Monsu Chris. Then, but actually called Monsu 263 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:05,760 Hanson, you know. And so I followed, I said sure chef. I followed him. Went into his kitchen and 264 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,880 then, you know, all brand new stuff. It's a brand new setup. It just opened. It will stay brand new. 265 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,840 Ah, it don't. If he's French, it will stay brand new. I hope, well, this is great, man. You know, 266 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,600 the, the, the plate warmers, man, they put the cabinet where you put the plate warmers, your 267 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,440 plates going. And so he opened up and he took out the plate and said, put your hand here. He took 268 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:28,800 my hand. He literally took my hand and put it on the plate and says, you tell me, what do you feel? 269 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:36,720 Hot. I said, uh, it's warm. No, you don't call this warm. This is not even warm. 270 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:44,000 He was ranting and raving about the way not being hot enough. He is ranting about the sun. 271 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:51,360 Yeah, it was so funny. I was like, okay. And so I said, okay, so what do I do? Am I going to 272 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:57,760 enjoy my dinner or not? How did you even know this guy? I'm not going to go to specifics, man, 273 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:04,560 but I was quite the guy about town in my younger years. For good reason. Oh yeah. For definitely 274 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:09,120 for good reason. So, um, and, and, but I enjoyed myself for sure. I mean, I don't get me the wrong 275 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:16,080 way. I'm quite the plebeian. Yeah. But I have had my fill. I don't think that I've had my fill. I'm 276 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:23,840 still the plebeian. I don't drink wine. Okay. Let's, let's move on a little bit. So you were there 277 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:28,160 for two years in view. Then after that, what happened? You moved on. Do you, when, where do 278 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:34,560 you end up? Where do you end up? Uh, I ended up at, at then ages best 50 restaurant. I was in cloud 279 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:43,680 street, cloud street by Rishi Nalinga. So chef Rishi used to own a chick-mai-jow. Okay. Okay. Yeah. 280 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:51,680 So I wanted cause view was like semi-fine dining has its very like, it has its benefits, which is 281 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:55,520 you get a huge array of customers. You get to learn, do everything, but the food gets a little 282 00:28:55,520 --> 00:29:00,000 bit generic. Sometimes there's not too much character because you need to please a larger 283 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:06,240 amount of crowd. Your food cannot be too provocative. So I felt that I wanted to learn something with a 284 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:14,400 bit more identity and that we do pretty good classic French fair at view at OEE Bayfront upon 285 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:22,240 request. So when customers, we do our own omakases as well for our super VIPs, we get a CEO of bank 286 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:28,800 of America in sometimes, et cetera, et cetera. We get sometimes ministers. So if they ask for 287 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:32,720 something and they are willing to fork out the money, we will have to do it for them. And sometimes 288 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:37,600 the food, it's really easy to eat. I wanted to do something that was a bit more provocative, 289 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:44,640 a kind of place whereby the restaurant has a stand on what they want to serve to the customers. 290 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:51,040 I was looking around online, restaurants that were up and coming and cloud street popped up into the 291 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:57,920 the radar, sent my resume and lo and behold, got myself in for about a year there. Okay. And then 292 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:03,840 after that, where do you go? After that, I was fished out. I helped a friend. So I took a little 293 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:09,840 bit of a break from fine dining. Okay. The hours were pretty intense. I got a call from a chef 294 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:17,440 mentor, Kevin Wong of Seroja. So my partner used to work at One Michelin Star Metta. This is a 295 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:26,240 Korean fine dining in Singapore headed by chef Sun Kim. And chef Kevin Wong was the head chef 296 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:34,320 over there. So chef Kevin Wong branched out from Metta and wanted his own restaurant. So he won 297 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:42,560 San Pellegrino best 50 finalists, global finalists, young chef. And I felt that I could learn a lot 298 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:48,640 from him. I have had the opportunity to deal with a lot of Japanese and Western ingredients and 299 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:55,040 use their techniques like Italian cuisine, French cuisine. However, I felt like the joy, 300 00:30:55,040 --> 00:31:00,640 the thing that brings a lot of joy to me is when I cook Asian food. That's why I tried 301 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:08,240 cloud street to begin with. So you had your sauces were curries, coconut spice, coconut broths. 302 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,280 You're using a charcoal grill instead of your typical like wood fire oven. And it was a lot 303 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:20,160 more fun. I got to learn a lot about flavors and pairings and the trend at that point of time was 304 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:25,360 minimalism. You had a piece of protein, you had one sauce, you had a couple of garnishes. That was 305 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:31,600 it. But Asian cuisine is about maximalism. How many things could we put into a salad to make it 306 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:39,920 good? Which makes it very interesting because what you did to have won your award, right? 307 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:50,880 Will Young Chef, you won it and the video we'll be playing in a bit. You won it using 308 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:57,840 Peranakan dishes. Peranakan influence, not purely Peranakan. Yeah, but when you have, 309 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:04,000 because Peranakan is Asian. So it's maximizing stuff, but you didn't maximize that one. That 310 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:10,960 one was kind of, was that considered maximized? Maybe I just presented it in a way where it looks 311 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:16,080 a little bit more minimalistic. Right. Can we put up that picture on the plating please, Kai? Which 312 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:21,680 one? I don't know whether this was the dish. Oh no, this wasn't the one. This wasn't the one. Yeah, 313 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:26,400 this was, hey Ian, could you put up a dish for us? We can take a photo of you plating a dish. 314 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:42,480 Oh my god. Right, right, right. Okay, I tell you what, Kai, can we play that video please? 315 00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:09,280 What a privilege for me to be a part of this whole judging with Young Talent. They have come 316 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:15,120 with some great dishes. Very exciting to judge them and taste them. It's very important to us 317 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:20,880 to support the future of hospitality. You know, spirits and hospitality have been hand in hand 318 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:27,840 forever. It's great to see that the Young Chef Young Waiter competition is also focusing on the 319 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:33,440 waiter aspect and on the service aspect, not just the chefs behind the scene, because it is 320 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:51,360 an overall experience. Chef, chef, you have the last 15 minutes before you stop cooking. 321 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:22,560 The world champions for 2023 Young Chef Young Waiter are Singapore! Yeah! Manjula! Singapore! 322 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:32,000 Good times. Young Chef Young Waiter, Young Mixologist is all about creating a network 323 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:38,160 of people and moving forward, creating a community where they can call or message and have support 324 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:42,880 any time of the year and any time of the day as well. Really excited to have been here, 325 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:47,840 really grateful for the opportunity and really honoured to have met the future of hospitality 326 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:54,320 around the world. For me, the competition was nerve-wracking, yes, but I feel like 327 00:34:54,320 --> 00:35:02,000 I'm proud of myself because I know that I did my best and what I say also, go big or go home. 328 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:08,720 That's it. One year, now we start again for next year. 15 countries around the world and away we 329 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:18,800 go again. All over 2024 Young Chef Young Waiter, here we come. Oh wow. Wowee. Good times. Yeah, 330 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:24,560 yeah man. Looks like it. Looks it man. I had too much fun. 331 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:32,720 Right. And you know, so this is Maximize saying what you did, just tell me a little 332 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:39,680 bit about that dish you came up with, the Peralaikan inspired dish. Oh, my Peralaikan inspired dish, 333 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:44,240 the one with the heaviest influence is actually my main course. Right. Just for the record, 334 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:51,120 everybody had about 20 to 40 ingredients for their market list. Right. I had over 60. Wow. 335 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:57,920 So talk about maximization. What the heck man. The suppliers, the administrators, 336 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:04,640 you're going back and forth in emails and I'm sure they hated me. So Karina, thanks for being so 337 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:10,320 patient. Daisy as well. You guys are saying this. Thanks for entertaining my emails on could you 338 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:15,760 get this ingredient or not? And you had it all shipped over to Monaco for the competition? 339 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:20,720 The things that I thought that might not have been possible to make appear there, I shipped them all. 340 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:27,360 So I got a, this thing is called I think an Arctic Capsule or something. It was a really hairy duty 341 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:35,280 thermal insulated box. Right. So it should probably, almost the entirety of Geylang Serai over to 342 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:41,040 Monaco. So yes, back to the Peralaikan dish. My main course had a couple of components. 343 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:48,160 I just called it like, we named it Ingatan, which means like remembrance, like an homage to. 344 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:54,240 So Western people usually don't like, there's a meme going on online whereby there's a Chinese 345 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:59,760 restaurant. There's a bunch of Westerners, but they're all having, meant to be sharing this to 346 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:05,440 themselves. So this dude was eating out from a clay pot. This guy was like, trying to dissect 347 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:10,640 an entire fish and the Chinese guy was just like, guys, what's going on? This is not how you do 348 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:17,440 food. So we just can't have like one fish, one sauce. Like it has to be a spread. It's always 349 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:23,200 a spread. And whenever I'm at my partner's place, it's really, really usually always, I'm always very 350 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:30,720 blessed with a spread. So we have, Ota, like we call it Sata Terangganu. So I picked a beetle leaf 351 00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:39,280 from outside, outside my friend's condominium. Serai. No, no, it's at the minton. So. No, no, 352 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:46,160 the beetle leaf, better leaf is actually in Malay is serai. Isn't serai lemongrass? No, serai is 353 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:53,680 better leaf. So the one I know that I got is called Daun Kadut. So it's a wild pepper leaf, 354 00:37:53,680 --> 00:38:00,480 like beetle leaf relative. So I touched it. I wrapped a fish mousse inside. So the fish I used 355 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:06,560 was a brand Zeno in the competition back there. I requested for a Kin Mediah, a splendid Alfonzino. 356 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:12,080 They didn't have it. So I went for second best. Thankfully I surveyed the markets. So the remaining 357 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:17,440 flesh from the fish that I didn't get to trim, I used them all inside the mousse and then the fish 358 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:25,920 itself, I got it off scale on, so we can have it with crispy scales. Right. So the bones were used 359 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:33,760 to use as a base for a laksa style broth. So this laksa style broth was a recipe that came from 360 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:40,400 my home economics teacher. So my first home economics lesson was, that's why it's called 361 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:46,080 Ingatan, it's an homage and remembrance. So it was a laksa sauce. So everybody was getting shepherd's 362 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:51,280 pie. Ingatan. Yeah. Everybody was getting shepherd's pie and everything for their 363 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:56,640 practical lessons. My first practical lessons was Jokhorian style laksa. Okay. Yes. And it was 364 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:02,000 intense. She bought like the ikan serak kuning or something. Yeah. I had to fillet, like had to 365 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:06,880 gut the things and everybody was like, I don't want. Then I'll just like, you know what, like 366 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:12,080 let me get it over and down with. I just went on for it. The bones were used to make the sauce. 367 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:17,040 And then on the side, you cannot finish a true Asian meal without condiments. Yeah. Like it's 368 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:23,280 either like pickled green chilies or something. Yeah. So the influence was a sambal that was 369 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,640 reminiscent of the style of sambal licha-licha. So it's fresh fruits, fresh fruits added to 370 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:35,760 a sambal that has been cooked with ikan roa. Right. So which is dried smoked Indonesian garfish. 371 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:41,360 Okay. So I folded pickled mangoes into the sambal. Okay. And that is influenced from my 372 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:47,760 used to be domestic helper. So I managed to just prong this all together. Wow. Yeah. So. That's a 373 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,320 winning dish. That was the main course, but the favorites were actually the appetizers and dessert. 374 00:39:52,960 --> 00:40:00,000 So the appetizer was green, like it was an alter ego of a cuttlefish and kangkong. Right. So instead 375 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:10,240 of using cured, sun-dried, rehydrated cuttlefish kangkong with a warm sweet sambal, I went for a 376 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:18,640 cold, astringent, sour, very spicy green sambal instead of red one. The kangkong was served cold. 377 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:25,200 So instead of fresh cuttlefish, it was fresh wok chaat calamari that I cooked. Yeah. Wow. I tell you, 378 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:31,200 it's so complicated, man. This whole thing, it just went through. It was like, well, Chris, okay. 379 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:35,760 But it sounds good. And you've got something planned for us for the show. Yeah, I do. Yeah. 380 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:41,200 Yeah. So this is where I'm going to just say this. Thanks very much, really. My pleasure. 381 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:46,960 Really, man, Ian, for being on the show and congratulations again. Thank you. And thank 382 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:53,600 you for really bringing the country forward in this way. Yeah. You've been watching the Chris 383 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:58,880 Hansen conversation. Go away. Don't go away yet because we've got something special coming up. 384 00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:05,120 Chef Ian Tan has prepared something that's going to be on this podcast table. So we'll be right 385 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:12,240 back. We'll be setting things up right now. Catch you in a bit. Okay. So what have we got? What have 386 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:19,440 you got for us today? I'm making a salad. So it's a good appetizer for your dinner later. So if you 387 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:24,720 are not already hungry, I hope this makes you hungry. Okay. So I was in Bangkok recently. 388 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:31,200 That's a great place, man. I was at this private dining called Hom, H-A-A-W-M. Where? This private dining 389 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:38,000 called Hom, H-A-A-W-M. H-A-A-W-M, okay. They do some of the best foods I've ever had in my life. 390 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:51,200 Hom. It's a pun. Hom. Yes. So it's supposed to be called Hom as well. Hom. Right. So it's like a 391 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:55,680 mishmash of all the salads I've eaten before, but it's just basically what I like to eat. So I'm 392 00:41:55,680 --> 00:42:02,080 going to start off with just- What is that? So this is Coo Mee Fen. Okay. Can we put it over there? 393 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:06,240 So that I'm right under that. I'm right under this. Yeah. There you go. What's it called again? 394 00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:11,360 Coo Mee Fen. Coo Mee Fen. Okay. Like vermicelli. Right. Right. So chef's hands are always clean. 395 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:17,120 I'm smelling something, man. What am I smelling? Fish sauce. Oh yeah. Oh, plenty of fish sauce. 396 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:24,800 The studio's gonna smell fishy. That's what I said. That's fine. So just gonna layer the bottom. 397 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:29,120 Take a look at it. Just look at the way he's doing that with his fingers, man. Like, you know, 398 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:35,840 I expect you to do the salt bae thing. No, you will kill me. I'll totally get like off from this 399 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:44,720 podcast. Really? Yeah. So just gonna layer it with some of my favorite vegetables. Got bean sprouts. 400 00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:54,960 Okay. Tau Gae. Tau Gae. Tau Gae. Let's call it Tau Gae. Tau Gae. And Kang Kong. Kang Kong. 401 00:42:54,960 --> 00:43:06,320 Kang Kong. Right. Oops. Well, you must make sure that it looks so neat. Is there a method to that, 402 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:10,560 man? I mean, you have a Tau Gae first and a Kang Kong. Why not a Kang Kong first and a Tau Gae? 403 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,160 At the end of the day, it just needs to look good because you're gonna mix it all together. 404 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:20,880 But if you have the Kang Kong first and Tau Gae on top, I mean, it won't matter. Okay. So there 405 00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:26,400 wasn't a method to it. It was just a question of, okay, put what. Right. Okay. So I'm being an idiot. 406 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:32,800 No la. Who says that on their own podcast? Me. I said. Not Shyon. And here's my feedback. Stop. 407 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:39,920 Eh, kidding. So, uh, favorite stuff goes in. So we got mint leaves. Right. Got coriander. Wow. So 408 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:44,880 I'm just gonna make a fruit salad now. Do you like coriander? Well, I'm okay. I love mint though. 409 00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:49,600 Okay. Then more for us. Very Thai. More for us. Okay. I think, I think that's enough. 410 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:56,560 Okay. So I think we always add a lot of textures into our food. So that's what I'm aiming for today. 411 00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:03,120 Okay. So you got pomelo, green mango, as well as some pink guava. I got them from the Thai 412 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:10,880 supermarket the other day. Oh, wow. Yeah. So we're just gonna put them in. Mango goes in first. 413 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:21,120 Mango, pomelo, and some pink guava. Pink guava. Why pink guava? Because it's colorful. So it looks 414 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:25,120 better. If it's not on the top. Why your chopsticks so cool man? It's not chopsticks, it's tweezers. 415 00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:34,960 So I'm just gonna season this real quick. There is some crab rice powder. I only use tweezers for my 416 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:42,960 face. Okay. You can smell that. Wow. What's that? So the Thai people use this dressing. So it's just 417 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:49,360 toasted glutinous rice. Toasted glutinous rice? Heavily toasted glutinous rice. Okay. Yeah. And 418 00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:58,160 then we have some sakura abe. So what? Sakura abe. Oh, wow. Hebe. Hebe. Also toasted. Toasted hebe. 419 00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:03,280 Yeah. Right. And then I made this seasoning beforehand. Not that because I don't want to 420 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:07,920 tell you what's inside. I'll tell you what's inside now anyway. Okay. So inside we have 421 00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:12,960 an unfiltered fish sauce. Unfiltered fish sauce. Unfiltered fish sauce. What does that mean? 422 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:18,640 There's filtered fish sauce. So this is filtered fish sauce. So this brand which I really absolutely 423 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:24,880 love is called Mega Chef. Okay. So it's an adjusted fish sauce. Okay. So there's already like sugar, 424 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:29,440 the yum yums inside. Yeah, Mega Chef has got free advertising right now. Okay. And then 425 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:33,600 a blend of the unfiltered fish sauce as well. Okay. Some homemade chili oil. 426 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:44,080 Right. Wow, that smell. There's some chili party inside as well. Oh, wow. Oh, before I forget, 427 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:51,360 some aromatics. So we've got some, let me just open this up real quick. 428 00:45:51,360 --> 00:46:02,960 We've got some bungan kantan. So these are torch ginger flowers. What? Ginger flowers again? Bungan kantan. 429 00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:11,120 Okay. Torch ginger flowers. Torch ginger flowers. Torch ginger. Torch ginger. Okay. Sorry. No worries. 430 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:18,960 Me being deaf. Are you? A little bit. No headphones on. Now you know why I wear headphones. 431 00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:25,120 I'm wearing chiffonade, cafe au lime leaves as well. What? Chiffonade. So that means like thinly sliced. 432 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:30,400 Thinly sliced what? Lime leaves. Oh, lime leaves. Yeah. Just say la. Thinly sliced lime leaves. 433 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,760 I need to be atas mah. Alam mah. You atas. See, see, see. The snobbery, man. The snobbery. 434 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:43,200 So you're just going to give this a good mix. Well, what a aroma, mixture of aromas coming 435 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:52,000 out from there. No holes but just just just hammer. Just give it a good mix. Okay. I always let my 436 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,640 ingredients tell me what they want to do. Like I don't like, I want my, like I've worked in a couple 437 00:46:56,640 --> 00:47:02,000 places and they're all like, oh I want my sauce to be this way. I want my sauce to be that way. 438 00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:08,400 I want my sauce to have this texture, that texture. They end up texturizing things but have you ever 439 00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:14,000 asked your ingredients or like yourself what you really want to do in that moment? Like just just 440 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:21,360 do it all. What's the worst that can come out of it right? Yeah, just gonna ladle. Do you need, do you need, 441 00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:26,640 do you need, okay using your hands, okay fine. Your hands are always clean. Okay, no I'm not saying it's 442 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:33,920 dirty. I'm just saying like do you need a ladle or something or a spoon or something. I am hopeless 443 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:40,720 in the kitchen. You can improve. Ask your wife to help you. Please, I'm gonna edit that bit out of this podcast. 444 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:48,160 So that just goes on and then we just put this to the side and then I'm gonna finish off with some 445 00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:57,760 barbecue pork belly in just cooked in coconut sugar. Sorry Kai. Some coconut sugar as well as some fish sauce. 446 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:02,080 So this just goes on. So okay okay okay again you see you're so meticulous about where you place 447 00:48:02,080 --> 00:48:09,440 these things. So why? I mean okay okay right so it's presentation I know that. Yeah but but it's a 448 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:18,080 feel is it or is that a method? No right? No I'm just making it up as long as you go along. Oh I've 449 00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:23,120 never had this dish so you are my guinea pig today so thank you for letting me be your podcast. 450 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:31,360 So what do you do? How do you cook this pork again? I just boiled it with some aromatics so inside the 451 00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:38,160 pot goes some ginger, some coriander root so nothing goes to waste. Right. And then as well as 452 00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:46,640 hua tiao jiu. What? Glutinous rice wine. Okay. All very of it. Looks good man. Smells good too. 453 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:54,160 Damn smells good. A little on some of the coriander that we finish with and then finish it off just a 454 00:48:54,160 --> 00:49:02,880 little bit of the pep rice powder. All right there we go. Hey Kai can we take a snapshot of this man Kai? 455 00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,160 Okay there yeah wow wow wow have we taken a snapshot man? 456 00:49:12,720 --> 00:49:18,000 Yeah. Oh cool. Go a bit more sauce as well if you like your stuff to be saucy. Oh I'm all I 457 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:24,960 love saucy stuff. All right yeah I'm a saucy guy. Saucy guy loves saucy stuff. 458 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:32,160 All right there we go. Awesome and what do we call this? I didn't have a name. Oh come on man now 459 00:49:32,160 --> 00:49:38,720 is the time to name it man. When I named this when I put this in my folder in my notes 460 00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:44,880 like when I was planning this dish for the podcast the label is called podcast salad. 461 00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:50,480 So we will stick to podcast salad. All right so we got podcast salad. Sorry it's gonna be called 462 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:57,760 the CHC podcast salad. Yeah we can do that. Yeah it's a CHC podcast salad. CHC podcast salad. 463 00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:04,000 Yeah man CHC podcast salad man. Get a load of that. Anyway thank you so very much man. I'm gonna 464 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:09,040 really dig into that one. Thank you so much Ian. Should I move the stuff out before the room smells 465 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:13,680 like fish sauce? In a bit but first before we do that thank you everyone for watching the show. 466 00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:21,760 We have had chef Ian Tan and he came up with the amen. The Chris Hansen conversation has got a new 467 00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:27,280 has got a new food item. You guys got a salad now. Yeah we've got a salad it's called the CHC 468 00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:45,120 CHC podcast salad. Yeah right. And I'm gonna just chow down on this. Bye bye. Wow. What the hell did 469 00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:58,960 I just bite into man. I didn't know. Oh crap. I scared he over-scented. Thank you. 470 00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:18,960 Thank you.