The recent Kita Food Festival: Four-Hand Dinner paired chefs Anthony Yeoh from Summer Hill, Singapore, with John Lim from Roots Bistronomy, Kuching, for an unforgettable night as both chefs successfully brought their best, incorporating seasonal and non-seasonal local ingredients into their carefully curated bistro dishes.
Familiar food prepared in novel ways
It was an unforgettable night for all who joined the recent Kita Food Festival: Four-Hand Dinner, which paired chefs Anthony Yeoh from Summer Hill, Singapore, with John Lim from Roots Bistronomy, Kuching, as both chefs successfully enticed the diners’ palates.
It is worth noting that the chefs incorporate seasonal and non-seasonal local ingredients into their carefully curated bistro dishes.
Among the indigenous ingredients used in their cooking are dabai (local Sarawak olives), bambangan (indigenous mango), temu pauh (mango ginger), kaffir lime, pucuk paku, tarap (indigenous fruit of the jackfruit family), tepus (indigenous roots that belong to the ginger family), limau pagar, and others, elevating each dish to new heights.
One-night, one-dinner extravaganza
Held at the Roots Bistronomy, which is set against the rustic walls of Kuching’s 150-year-old Old Courthouse, I feel very blessed to be one of the lucky diners to experience the one-night, one-dinner extravaganza for myself.
The dinner started with Seafood Bouillabaisse, Prawn, and Rouille Toast and Highland Rice Tuile, Trout Roe, Dragonfruit, and Avocado as amuse, followed by Grilled Local Lobster, Sauce Vierge and Seared Scallop, Corn Emulsion, Spiced Duck Powder as starters.
It then continued with Catch of the Day (for that night, they used threadfin fish) and Scampi, Wild Ulams, Fish Roe Paste, as well as Roasted Chicken with Buah Kulim, Herbs Butter, Mash Potato, and Fern Heads as the main dishes.
And finally, for desserts, diners were served with Banana Frangipane Tart and Temu Cekor, Lime Custard and Tarap Ice Cream, Tlur Caviar, Milk Soil.
I was quite surprised by the compatibility of these combinations; it was proven that local ingredients were able to enhance western dishes to a new level of taste and aroma. Personally, my favourite was the mashed potato — it was buttery and creamy with a fluffy, smooth, and dense texture, and most importantly, it wasn’t dry at all, all of which I absolutely like.
I was deeply enchanted by the Tarap Ice Cream, Tlur Caviar, Milk Soil as well. It never crossed my mind that tarap would be a delight when made into ice cream. It has an extremely sweet and fragrant smell, and surprisingly, when combined with local salty caviar, they both really enhanced one another’s flavours.
The talent from Roots
I had the opportunity to meet and interview the talented John Lim from Roots Bistronomy, where he explained that his biggest influence in cooking was his Peranakan grandmother. He was brought up eating Peranakan food on the daily and his favourite was the banana leaf rice with curry, vegetables, some fried items on the side, as well as a few shots of rasam.
“I started my journey (as a chef) at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Then, I was given the opportunity to move to Shangri-La, Singapore.
“I spent a good five years there, and then I decided to move to restaurants in search of my true self and continue my pursuit of being a better cook and restaurateur in Singapore.
“Persuaded by my then Sarawakian girlfriend (now wife) to explore Kuching, I started sketching out ideas using ingredients from Borneo after visiting the 7th Mile Wet Market, Stutong Community Market, and Kubah Ria Market,” he explained.
Sustainability tastes from farm to table
Asked how he came up with such a culinary masterpiece for the Kita Food Festival, the down-to-earth chef said that he decided to blend in his Roots’ philosophy and share it with Yeoh to work with menus that truthfully embrace Malaysian local sources with European cooking.
“A few months ago, I was invited by Kita Festival to do the East Malaysia takeout of the Kita chefs collaboration event. They then arranged and invited Yeoh to collaborate with us (Roots), and this is when I thought of creating dishes using local ingredients that would allow diners to enjoy familiar food prepared in novel ways.
“At Roots, we emphasise and utilise sustainability using home-grown and local-produced ingredients around Malaysia. We use what we find and work closely with local farmers to curate dishes based on what is in season.
“Roots is not just about serving good food, but also about giving good memories of what you have tasted, giving you a sense of how sustainability tastes from farm to table, and enjoying each bite with a different approach,” Lim said.
Elaborating, the 35-year-old culinary explorer added that before opening Roots, he did plenty of research on what he could work with through foraging in the west and east of Malaysia in search of things out of curiosity.
According to him, his meeting with local artisanal producers gave him ideas, and with all this collected information, he quickly noted that cross-cultural cooking was what he wanted when creating a new restaurant concept.
Over the years, he has formed bonds with ‘real’ people, which have educated him along the way. This was where he began to learn that buah kulim is the best substitute for truffle; he no longer imports truffles from Europe, but buys buah kulim from small regions in Terengganu instead.
Roots meets Summer Hill
Speaking on his collaboration with Summer Hill’s Yeoh, the Selangor-born Lim said that it was actually his first time meeting the Singaporean in person.
However, he said both of them clicked really well as soon as they started to discuss what should be on the menus for over the months to make sure that each piece is puzzled properly.
“I am very delighted that I have a new friendship, and I learned a few thingsfrom him as well,” he said.
For Yeoh, this collaboration needed a lot of trust (in Lim) in order to curate menus that would fascinate the diners.
“To me, being flexible (in cooking) is crucial in a new environment. You have to have respect for the place that you are in, apart from being receptive to the ideas, experiences, and knowledge that the locals have.
“To stick strictly to what we desire; is the worst thing we can do. We do not have the same equipment, team, ingredients, quality, or varieties of chicken here, so I can assure you that even if I tried to cook the exact same chicken that we have in Summer Hill, it would not turn out the same.
“So you need to be flexible; that is how immigrant cuisines are developed — by fully utilising what is around you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kita Festival manager Tim Talbot said the event offered inspiration and skill development for young food producers while also serving as a platform for discussions on food consumption and the restaurant industry.
“This is the first time we have organised such a festival in Kuching. We want to open up some doors for local chefs and meet up with a few government agencies to see whether there is an appetite to bring the Kita Food Festival, which really focuses on sustainability in the food and beverage industry.
“We also want to support restaurants that really focus on sustainable dining, where we would ‘force’ them to use offcuts in our effort to tackle the problem of food waste step by step. We want our chefs to think in that way as well — how do I use produce that would otherwise be going to waste, or how would I use local produce that isn’t in season?” he explained.
He added that the Kita Food Festival was established to put Southeast Asia on the global gastronomic tourism map. It aimed to create a community of people who appreciate good food and its origins.
Fascinating journey of fermentation
To ensure that he does not run out of seasonal ingredients, Lim said he has been making tonnes of fermentations at Roots since 2017. He added that fermentations were a fascinating journey, demanding unwavering commitment and a keen eye for detail.
After a lot of trial and error, Lim and his team managed to make vinegar from their favourite buah salak, belimbing, fresh pepper, and temu pauh, garum from seafood and meat carcasses, and also budu from mackerel.
“Roots is blessed with a wealth of seasonal ingredients that can’t be found anywhere else outside of Borneo, each bringing its own unique charm as the seasons change. Our kitchen is a hub of creativity, where my team and I tirelessly explore the world of fermentation, a project that I have passionately dedicated myself to over the past few years.
“Through precise control of time and temperature, these elements result in the creation of extraordinary flavours in our dishes, elevating and enhancing the depth of every sauce, paste, or broth we make,” said the executive chef.
He also stated that more fermentation techniques were being used as he and his team believed that they would enhance the natural flavours in each ingredient and bring out the natural senses in sauces.
Lim noted that he is continuously learning from his team, who shared with him how Bornean food is to be enjoyed and valued in the community, in his efforts to provide diners at Roots with a new and higher level of food taste and aromas.
For those of you out there who are curious about the unique taste and aroma of Lim’s appetising dishes, stop into Roots Bistronomy at the Old Courthouse and experience them for yourself. You can also give them a ring at 012-5887366 to make a reservation.
Meanwhile, for more information on the food festival and its various events, visit https://kitafoodfestival.com or follow their social media accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
