Monday, March 31, 2008
Indonesian chef in Cebu
By Jenara Regis Newman
WATERFRONT Mactan’s executive chef is Indonesian-born Uyung Al Wazir. He brings with him the flavors of neighboring Indonesia through herbs and spices, like chilli, ginger, garlic, galangal, turmeric, lemon grass and lime. He also does it in foods like sate lilit (fish on a lemon grass skewer), gado gado (a vegetable salad with peanut sauce), soto ayam (a chicken soup with vermicelli), rending daging, gulai ikan (dried beef curry, fish fillet in turmeric and coconut milk) and ayam panggang bumbi opor (chicken with cumin turmeric sauce). These flavors definitely enhance the food selections at Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino’s (WAHC) Uno.
Chef Uyung comes from Padang, West Sumatra, and learned to cook at the age of six or seven from his mother who gave cooking lessons.
His first culinary job was at The Stage Restaurant and Bar in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Then he became Country Kitchen Restaurant senior cook for a year before moving to Mulia Hotel Senayan where he assisted the chef de partie in the banquet kitchen.
His last job in Jakarta was with Intercon Plaza Hotel (formerly Kempinski Plaza Hotel) as first cook. From there he went to Bali, still in Indonesia, as sous chef of Ku da Ta Restaurant.
From there he was hired by Amanresorts, first in Amansara, Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he was head chef; then in Amanpulo in Pamalican Island, Philippines, as executive sous chef; and finally in Amangalla in Fort Galie, Sri Lanka as executive chef.
Chef Uyung is back in the Philippines because he always wanted to come back here, after his stint in Amanpulo.
He brings with him his 15 years of culinary experience and his expertise in the kitchen, not just for Indonesian food, which he is introducing to Waterfront’s clients, but also other oriental foods, like Japanese, Thai and Cambodian, as well as western food, particularly Italian and French. He has learned to cook and like Filipino food, too, like sinigang, bistek Tagalog, chicken binacol and pancit palabok, the last beings his favorite.
The good thing about his being in the Philippines, he says, is that he does not feel like a foreigner. And certainly, his being here adds to the flavors the community can savor!
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 31, 2008 issue)
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