Chefs' tables

'Noom', second from left

THANINTHORN ‘NOOM’ CHANTRAWAN

— Chim by Chef Noom (1*),
TSLAW Tower, Kuala Lumpur
My idea of comfort food is three eggs. It’ll cost you, maybe, RM5 (around $1.50), but you can turn it into something Michelin star-worthy. You can do so much with them — perfect scrambled eggs; steamed egg custard; Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese-style… If I am just about waking up, a French omelette, cooked with just butter and nice and runny, or Japanese tamagoyaki, which is creamier. Throw in some garlic and onion and you’ve got yourself a Spanish tortilla. I don’t need wagyu or Iberico pork. Every morning, three eggs mean I am in my safe zone. In Kuala Lumpur, my go-to is Restoran OK Kari Kepala Ikan in Imbi’s Jalan Barat for chicken and congee. I just call it “lao ban”. I always, always, start with a meal here.

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RAYMOND THAM
— Beta (1*), Kuala Lumpur
Comfort food is simple, honest and quietly nostalgic… rooted in memory. A humble bowl of beehoon soup, prepared the way my grandmother, whom I still miss dearly, used to make it — with pork slices, tong choy, sawi, fried garlic and shallots, and a poached egg. Or a bowl of perfectly cooked white porridge, made with Japanese short-grain rice, which I would enjoy with braised peanuts, crispy ikan bilis with onions and a choy poh omelette. Other times, I would crave something bolder, spicy… like curry and chapatti. I find myself returning to
Capati Tiger Jit Singh in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur. This, likewise, reminds me of my father who used to tapao roti and lamb curry for breakfast. I think this reflects who I am as a Malaysian. Our palate is inherently multicultural.

BEH GAIK LEAN
— Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery (1*), George Town, Penang
There’s nothing as comforting as food which you’ve cooked yourself. If not, it doesn’t do justice to one’s self-belief and the skills painstakingly acquired over the years in this profession as well. For me, comfort food has to be rich, nutritious and very flavourful.A personal love of mine is porridge. I would first make a stock, then add in the rice and chosen ingredients in a careful sequence. I don’t dump in everything willy-nilly. And presentation, even for something as humble as porridge, has to be perfect. If I must eat out, I would go to Hon Kei Food Corner in Kampung Malabar, Penang. They serve wholesome pork porridge and noodles — always full-bodied, without compromising on ingredients.

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DARREN CHIN
— Restaurant DC (1*),
Kuala Lumpur
My wife Nana and I love seafood and would usually take a short drive out of the city to Kuala Selangor where we would just indulge, especially live crabs and sometimes local rock lobsters, prepared simply: either grilled with salt or steamed. Nana would also bring a bottle of our nam jim sauce from home, made with Maldivian chilies, coriander, garlic and lime juice. It goes so well with fresh crabs. That, to us, is the ultimate comfort food.

GUILLAUME DEPOORTERE
— Molina (1*), Kuala Lumpur
My go-to is usually dough-related, like pizza or sandwiches. I also have a big love for noodles, dumplings and crispy pork. If I had to name a few places, I would say Fifty Tales in Sea Park, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, where you would find me several times each month especially for Sunday lunch; and the Italian sandwich shop La Spiga d’Oro in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur, which does a very good job indeed.

DARREN TEOH
— Dewakan (2*), Kuala Lumpur
Comfort eating is usually a reaction to stress. You might find me sitting in my walk-in chiller eating blocks of butter. Jokes aside, different emotional needs call for different responses and whether or not I am stressed, feeling low or wanting realignment. A small and immediate fix is a Kinder Bueno as, growing up, it was seen as a luxurious, expensive treat. Or the crispy ghee rava thosai from Jaipur Curry House in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. If I want grounding or a reset, it would be something familiar, like claypot chicken rice from the uncle near my house who cooks my favourite version of it. A steak dinner at Jake’s also works, or perhaps lobak or nasi lemak from the aunties at my local pasar malam. Many of them have since passed on but I still explore different places, hoping to recreate the same ol’ feeling and flavours.\

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KAZUMINE NISHIDA
— Shoukouwa (2*), Singapore
I am always on the hunt for good teishoku-style food in Singapore as it is influenced by Japanese home cooking. Also, any soup-based dish equates to comfort for me. It offers a great deal of flexibility as I can change the ingredients according to the season. Paying attention to the fish and vegetables that go into the soup is especially important to me, as it helps me stay connected to the changing seasons of Japan even while living abroad. Also, a meal is never defined by where I have it — but who I share it with. It is the company that often leaves the strongest impression.

KEVIN WONG
— Seroja (1*), Singapore
After a long day in the kitchen, you want familiar flavours. To me, that means my mum’s cooking. To have a mum who still cooks for you is a blessing and I miss her sambal chicken on hot rice, chicken soup with wolfberries and dates and a simple pork chop with soggy fried potatoes. In Singapore, I enjoy going to Long Ji Zi Char in Tiong Bahru where a Malaysian chef dishes up simple, street-style zi char (cooked food). If you do go, order the squid rojak, crab beehoon, pepper soup and Hokkien mee — KL-style, of course!

TETSUYA WAKUDA — Waku Ghin (1*), Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Chicken rice! I have always liked how much care goes into the dish, down to the rice. The flavours are subtle but when done properly, everything comes together. To indulge, I often go to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Food Centre. That said, I also enjoy frequenting Boon Tong Kee Restaurant, but only at the Balestier Road branch.

EMMANUEL STROOBANT
— Saint Pierre (2*), Singapore
It has to be couscous — the dish itself, not just the ingredient, and preferably in Moroccan soup. A hearty meal with carrots and chickpeas, it is considered a traditional North African “stew”. It is the kind of food that instantly brings back happy memories… which is what comfort food should do. Couscous is meant to be shared, simple yet versatile enough to be reinvented and taste different in many ways. To me, that is what food is about. If I am truly indulging, I have to say eating couscous at home — where everything feels personal and memories return most naturally. If you go on saintpierre.com.sg, you will find a recipe for Moroccan soup with couscous.