Asia's chefs talk about sustainability, identity and next moves
.jpg?w=728)
Owner chef Andre Chiang of Restaurant Andre speaks during the 50 Best Talks held at the Wynn Macau, Monday, organized as a pre-event leading up to Asia's 50 Best Restaurants annual awards. / Courtesy of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna
Finding identity is the task for Asian cuisine
By Yun Suh-young
MACAU -- “To go global is to go local,” said Asian chefs who gathered in Macau to speak at the 50 Best Talks held Monday, a day before the announcement of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. Identity, sustainability and the next moves for Asia's gastronomic scene were topics discussed. Taiwanese chef Andre Chiang who won The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award -- Asia 2018 said identity was about “giving a space, a country, a city, a chef the right identity instead of duplicating the same thing.”
“You want to create something that fits the space, community and identity, and create conversation for the people who live there,” said Chiang during his talk.
Chiang is the owner/chef of the Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre in Singapore which closed on Feb. 14 after seven years. He plans to “return” his Michelin star and start a new life in Taiwan. The restaurant was ranked No. 2 on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list and No. 14 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants last year, the first in Singapore to make the list.
“I moved to France when I was 13. I lived 10 years in Montpellier and I know everything about Montpellier. But I didn't know what to say when they asked about Taiwan. When I passed my 30th birthday, I decided to come back to Asia and to start with Singapore, which is the window to Asia. I always wanted to go back to Taiwan -- for which I've been preparing for the past few years. That's why I think identity is so important.”
The more local you are, the more global you go, he said.
“When it comes to finding identity, it comes in different forms -- using local ingredients is the first thing we have to do. You need to think about what is an identity for a city or a country, what will be the behavior that builds. There are so many things we should start to think of,” said Chiang.
“I think that's the global movement. And I think it's about time more young Asian chefs worked toward this direction, not about a trend or how to be cool. In the past 10, 20 years, young chefs have gone overseas to learn techniques and these young chefs have started to come back to where they belong. I think it's the way to be.”
The next moves for restaurants are not about being a fine dining or top notch restaurant, he said.
“The most successful restaurant is the restaurant that is needed, that is packed every day. So being a chef, we need to constantly think about how to create a dish or restaurant that is needed. I guess we have to evolve, and evolve as fast as we can as the palate evolves,” he said.
“I never feel I have to go back to what I created with Andre. I'm not saying we're physically exhausted. You want to deliver something better. We don't use the same vocabulary. We're creating new vocabulary every day. We need to think about what will be the new language for the next decade.”
Sustainability and localness
While Chiang stressed identity, other speakers touched upon sustainability and localness.
Richie Lin, one of the three co-founders of Mume alongside with Long Xiong and Kai Ward, said the reason they opened their first restaurant in Taipei was because of the local ingredients.
“When I went to Taipei, there were 20 different vegetables I'd never seen or tasted before. I was like 'wow Taiwan has so much to offer,' so diverse. I thought I knew something with all the training I had, but actually I knew nothing. That moment, I realized Taiwan is very underrated and I've been thinking probably this is something we can do in Taiwan,” said Lin. He is a Hong Kong native trained in Sydney and Copenhagen where he met his two partners Kai Ward in Australia and US chef Long Xiong at Noma in Copenhagen.
“So I took more trips to Taipei, and did more research. The more I get into it, the more it surprises me, and the more I feel like I'm connected to this place. Opening a new restaurant allows you to continue to educate yourself and set yourself out of your comfort zone. That's part of the reason why I chose Taipei because it really sets you out of your comfort zone.”
Nearly all of their ingredients are locally supplied.
“More than 90 percent are supplied from Taiwan -- all the vegetables and fruits are from Taiwan from very small farmers. If you're just using local ingredients, you come up with a big list of suppliers you have to deal with. The logistics of it is a big challenge because in most cases they only do one or two things so you end up with 50 to 80 suppliers,” he said.
Meanwhile Vijay Mudaliar, founder of the bar Native in Singapore, which made its debut last year and is already on both Asia's 50 Best Bars and The World's 50 Best Bars, said his bar is mindful about sustainability.
“We forage in the wild finding things like star fruit, mini cucumbers, pink jasmines... It gives us a better idea of what we can use in the cocktails. This way we can connect with our environment and with the people who come to our bar,” he said.
"We're extending the idea of sustainability with mindful bartending. For instance we use leftover ground coffee from cafes nearby us, we don't use fresh citrus in our drinks but instead use vinegar because the biggest waste at bars is citrus, and we're powered by solar energy. We also don't use tissues, but instead use linen napkins.”