goingplacesmagazine.com
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| August 2019CHEF’S CUT (^) | Zoe Rai
buffalo meat. Others are easily charging twice as
much as what I’m charging for the same kind of
meal,” he said.
“I’m very humbled and surprised that I’ve
received the kind of attention that I have so soon
and from so many people. I am really thankful
for it.” The positive reviews have brought in more
customers, allowing Rai to pay his staff above
market rates in order to retain them. “I treat
them with respect and I try to teach them as
much as I can. I genuinely care about their
well-being.” The restaurant, which can
accommodate 55 people in a single seating,
now has six full-time staff.
Rai knows in this digital age, the business is
constantly under scrutiny, and while he tries to
take negative reviews in his stride, it does affect
morale. “We put our hearts and souls into this
place. We come in early and work long hours.
When we get unsubstantiated comments, it does
hurt. There is no such thing as the perfect dish. I
try to do the dish better today than yesterday.”
He has, on occasion, improvised his dishes to
incorporate customers’ feedback. “When the
comments are valid, I take steps to improve it
immediately,” he said. Rai believes that if one can
be successful in the restaurant business in
Malaysia, he or she can make it anywhere in the
world. “Because here, we have to compete with
the mamak shops, hawkers and kopitiams.
Consumers here have so many options, whereas
overseas, they only have restaurants, cafés or
food trucks. There is nothing in between.”
Rai plans to stay in the business for the next few
years, but he has no intention of starting a food
empire. The 49-year-old had considered
becoming a chef 12 years ago so he could give
back to the community. He considered teaching
English, but that would take a long time for
someone who doesn’t have the ability to master
the language, and he lacked the technical skills
that most charity organisations were looking for.
“I looked at the areas in which I could do charity
work full-time, but I had to be practical too. I still
have to have a job. Then I thought about
cooking. I could learn how to become a chef, and
Cook Like A Chef
Rai shares his recipe for Anchovy Pasta.
Ingredients
n 250g pasta of your choice
n 5 anchovy fillets (50g cans in olive oil)
n 1 tsp minced garlic
n 1 tsp minced onions
n ½ tsp minced red chillies (without seeds)
n 1 tbs butter
n 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
n 1 tbs white wine vinegar (or any vinegar
of your choice)
n Pinch of fennel seeds
n ¼ cup pasta water (or fish stock)
n 1 tsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
n 1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves
n Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Fill and boil a pot of water
three times the amount of
the pasta.
- Add some salt for taste.
To know if you have put
enough, the water should
taste of the sea.
- Bring the water to a
boil. Add the pasta and
cook according to the
recommended time on the
packaging.
- As the pasta is cooking, sauté garlic,
onions, chillies, anchovies,
butter and olive oil in a
saucepan until all the
anchovies have dissolved.
- Add fennel seeds
and vinegar.
- Add pasta water or
fish stock.
- Add cooked pasta, and
continue sautéing until all
the sauce sticks to the pasta.
- Season to taste and
garnish with parsley and
mint leaves.
with that knowledge, transfer it to someone who
has no background in cooking but needs a job.
It’s a skill that can be learned quite fast even
without a common language.”
Rai hopes to establish a cooking school in three
years for those who lack the opportunity to be
trained professionally, but he hasn’t quite figured
out its shape and form. “I want to impart the
knowledge and teach the skills for sure. But for
now, I have to find a way to pay everyone back
because this place was built 110 percent with the
help of family and friends. Without them, I’d be
nowhere. This restaurant would not have
existed. It’s proof that no matter what you do in
life, you can’t do it alone.” ■
I went through a
very difficult stage in
my life. I was very
unhappy, and then one
day, it hit me that it
wasn’t the other person;
it was me.
SALT_Aug 2019_Chef's Cut03.indd 52 18/07/2019 10:32 AM