From Malaysia's Kulai To Tokyo For Love Of Japanese Food

By Anis Amira Zamani KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- He was 18 when he left his hometown in Kulai of Malaysia's southern state Johor to pursue his dream of becoming a Japanese cuisine chef. "After I took my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education) examination, I decided I wanted to further my studies in Kuala Lumpur and I came here to do my diploma. "I started work as a kitchen helper right after, as I really wanted to become a chef," Cheong Cherng Long told Bernama here, Friday. From a mere kitchen helper, Cheong, 32, spent arduous hours working his way up at various restaurants around the city centre, and now could proudly call himself an Assistant Chef. To top it all, he emerged as the Gold prize winner in the coveted Washoku World Challenge 2016 cooking competition last month. The contest for international chefs held in Tokyo, Japan, was hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Dec 15 last year. The final round of the competition saw Cheong beating ten other chefs from around the world whereby the Silver prize went to Shaun Presland from Australia and the Bronze prize, to Songkran Comnew of Thailand. In the competition, Cheong, who has 10 years of experience as a Japanese cuisine chef, concocted an original dish called 'Akamutsu no kenchin yaki'. He prepared the dish by roasting tofu and winter vegetables wrapped in 'akamutsu' (rosy seabass) with a side dish of 'gobo' (burdock root) stuffed with soft-boiled pumpkin with its seeds removed. He also devised a way to add 'edamame' (green soybean) tempura to his dish, to demonstrate his awareness in giving variety to the colouring and texture of the overall platter. The contest received entries for 205 dishes from 26 countries and regions. After the entry deadline, 23 dishes entered by 20 candidates who passed the initial screening were recreated in Tokyo according to their recipes. The dishes were then judged on elements such as the candidates' understanding of 'washoku' (traditional Japanese cuisine) techniques, taste, appearance, originality and viability in their home countries. From the 20 candidates, ten, including Cheong, were selected to compete in the final round. On how he managed to trounce other international chefs at the competition, he humbly acknowledged that discpline and experience pulled him through. "Becoming a Japanese cuisine chef is hard because it takes someone years to be a master in the art of cooking Japanese food," he said. Citing his mentor Hideaki Oritsuki, Cheong said it took the latter 35 years to call himself a Master Chef who specialises in sushi making, which is one of the many forms of Japanese cuisine out there. Both Oritsuki and Cheong currently work with two other Japanese chefs at an established sushi restaurant in Jalan Kia Peng here. One of the challenges he faced during the competition, he said, was the unfamiliarity of the kitchen he had to work in during the two-hour long contest. "It took me quite some time to get used to the cooking area as some of the kitchen equipments were used differently back home. But I managed to get my head in the game quickly because I was so focused on completing my dish," he said. On the next stop of his culinary journey, the father of one planned to enter a sushi competition in August this year, saying, "I just want to try my luck". --BERNAMA