Flavours of the Orient

He was all of 19 when he embarked on his culinary journey in Amsterdam in 1989. Almost three-and-a-half decades later, Chef Kuan Lai today is a name to reckon with and is a Pan-Asian cuisine specialist. Born in a Chinese family in the cultural melting pot that is Malaysia, Chef Kuan is the Founder of Kuan Kitchen Klub, a masterful concept designed to bring authentic Asian delicacies to you. Offering a range of services, Kuan Kitchen Klub aims to delight the taste buds with the wonderful flavours from the Orient.

Chef Kuan was in India recently as the visiting chef at Courtyard by Marriott Outer Ring Road Bengaluru where he curated a 10-day Asian Food Festival. Sharing his views on the adaptation of Chinese delicacies in India, he says, “The Indo-Chinese cuisine is much more robust than authentic Cantonese cuisine. Indo-Chinese food is an Indian interpretation of Chinese that combines the spicy flavours of India with Chinese ingredients like soy sauce, Sichuan and vinegar. It combines the goodness of both Indian and Chinese foods to create unique dishes that essentially have the same Chinese names but a completely different flavour profile.”

The chef adds that the Indo-Chinese food is made for the more robust Indian palate. “The typical Chinese cuisines wouldn’t be appealing to people over here. During colonial era, India was one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the world and attracted travellers and immigrants from all over the globe. In the 1800s, many groups of Chinese travellers from the southern region of China, like Hakka and Cantonese, came to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and settled there for many years before moving to other cities. These Chinese settlers built a small community in the region, and soon, Cantonese and Hakka food started to appear on the menus across the street-side food stalls. The migrants started serving homely food to locals to earn an income, and soon their dishes became popular. The locals then adopted these foods and gave them their own twist to suit their palate, leading to the emergence of Indo-Chinese food,” he says.

As he has travelled extensively, Chef Kuan feels he has learned to adapt his cooking to the local palate. “When cooking for people with a strong cultural heritage, I can’t simply rely on my own recipe and ignore their preferences. Instead, I try to incorporate local flavours and ingredients into my dishes while still staying true to the essence of Chinese cuisine. Ultimately, my goal as a chef is to create dishes that people enjoy and appreciate, regardless of their background or cultural heritage. By taking the time to learn about local tastes and ingredients, I believe that I can create truly memorable dining experiences for my guests,” avers Chef Kuan.

He adds the first thing one learns during travel is that people have different palates around the world. “I like to explore the different fusion versions of the cuisine I have mastered. Much like India, many other Asian countries have a serious Chinese fusion cuisine going on. In many countries, people tend to use local ingredients while using Chinese techniques to cook them. I have noticed different cultures have unique flavour preferences. For instance, Indian cuisine is characterised by its deep and complex flavour profiles. This means that Indian dishes require multiple layers of intense flavours to be truly delicious. One of the great things about fusion cuisine is that it allows chefs to experiment and be creative. By mixing and matching ingredients and culinary techniques from different cultures, chefs can create exciting new dishes that are both delicious and unique,” shares Chef Kuan, adding that much like the Indo-Chinese cuisine, the Malay-Chinese cuisine is also prominent with its flavour profiles. “I have been in Malaysia all my life so Malay-Chinese is my personal favourite,” he says.

For youngsters wanting to make a career as a chef in the hospitality industry, the celebrity chef has an advice. “Being a chef is a demanding job and you have to work hard. One has to be passionate about this and not take this as a hobby. You should be dedicated to make a mark in the industry and no shortcuts help. To be a chef, you need to be patient, resilient and have time management and organisational skills, be creative and original, and most importantly, have leadership skills and people management. You must keep your team happy,” he concludes.