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| Chef Laudico Guevarra's deck up for the Christmas Season |
I have always been fascinated with all the textures and
flavors of other Asian cuisines apart from our very own. It could be the bursts
of flavors or the exercise on one’s palate, but the thought of indulging in
Asian food truly excites me. I was recently invited to a launch called Chef Laudicos x Kitchen Mafia to sample and get the first dibs on what Chef Roland Laudico (of Chef Laudico Guevarra’s) and Malaysian celebrity chefs Sherson Lian and Johnny Fua (of Kitchen Mafia) collaborated on for Chef Lau's Guevarra's popular buffet restaurant in San Juan.
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| Chef Laudicos x Kitchen Mafia team: Chef Johnny Fua, Chef Sherson Lian, Chef Jac Laudico and Chef Roland "Chef Lau"Laudico of Chef Laudico Guevarra's |
The mere mention of Malaysian cuisine reminds me of a symphony of flavors making Malaysian cuisine highly complex and diverse because of its influences from Malay, Indian and Chinese. As I have known Malay food, they're strong, spicy and aromatic, combining the rich tastes of the many herbs and spices commonly found in Southeast Asia.
Many of the fresh herbs and roots that are commonly grown in the Southeast Asian region have found their way into Malay cooking. Lemongrass, shallots, ginger, chilies and garlic are the main ingredients that are blended together and then sautรฉed to make a sambal sauce or chile paste, a condiment that often accompanies every meal of Malay food.
Chef Sherson and Chef Lau met on the set of Asian Food
Channel’s Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines back in 2014. As they worked
together, Chef Sherson has observed that both Filipino and Malaysian cuisine
had a lot of similarities. “It might not exactly be the same thing but it
functions almost similarly, the purpose of the ingredient is almost similar,”
said Chef Sherson in an interview.
