For the gourmet world, Michelin star is a prestigious award given to restaurants by the Michelin Guide. With that said, restaurants awarded with the Michelin Stars usually represent outstanding quality. Just recently, a chef that owns a Malaysian restaurant in New York revealed a rather shocking news.
Chef of Michelin Star M’sian restaurant reveals that he has never been to M’sia
According to an interview conducted by CBS News, Salil Mehta, a chef born in New Delhi, India made a shocking confession that he has never been to Malaysia! While it may be normal for people to have never been to Malaysia, this is definitely surprising as the chef actually owns a Michelin Star Malaysian restaurant in New York City!
Source: CBS Network
Sharing his journey setting up the restaurant called “Laut” (translated to sea in Malay), Salil mentioned that his passion has always been fashion but as he has bills to pay, he had to leave the industry. Beginning his journey into the culinary world, the chef mentioned that he first began with a visit to a Buddhist Temple at Elmhurst, Illinois.
“Every morning, people from the community would cook for the monks and I started talking to the ladies who cooked”, he said.
Takes over Laut, starts Wau
Chatting with them, he slowly discovered his passion for cooking and would often use their suggestions and tips to improve his cooking. Taking over Laut back in 2010, Salil was able to create a fulfilling and successful career out of it, earning a Michelin Star for his restaurant.
Source: CBS Network
Subsequently, Laut became the first Malaysian restaurant to earn a Michelin Star. Managing his other restaurant Wau, Salil shares that Wau offers dishes like Nasi Lemak, roti canai, char kuey teow, asam pedas and rendang. Revealing his star dish, the talented chef showcased his personal spin on a char kuey teow, dubbing it the ‘Dragon Breath Char Kuey Teow’.
Have you tried his restaurants in New York? Let us know!
Watch the interview below:
