LONDON, Dec 13 ― If you’re one of those people – like me – who craves Malaysian food even when abroad, then here’s a bit of good news, at least if you happen to be in London. You’ll soon be able to indulge in quite an authentic plate of Penang char kway teow, and more, at the massive Malaysian-owned St Giles Hotel in Bedford Avenue.
Located just a stone’s throw from the Tottenham Court Road tube station in WC1, their first floor outlet Il Grasso has undergone extensive renovations and come December 24, will reopen as Sage & Chilli.”
As you’ve probably gathered from the name, it’s in line with their new menu which will be offering a selection of Italian and Asian favourites, courtesy of Head Chef Arjan Kuci (pronounced Kuchi) who, interestingly enough, is actually from Albania.
Chef Arjan comes with impressive credentials, starting his culinary career in Italy, where he learnt to cook Italian food – his cheesy pizzas are pretty good, and apparently a favourite with the owners.
And if you’re sniffing at the idea that an Eastern European can produce a plate of real Penang char kway teow when even locals in KL can’t, then worry not: he earned his stripes at the source, so to speak.
“In 2011, I was sent to our sister hotel Cititel Penang in a culinary cross-exposure programme,” explained Chef Arjan. There, in exchange for sharing his expertise in cooking Mediterranean and Italian cuisine with the local chefs at the Penang Road hotel, he was given hands-on lessons on how to knock up a plate of this national favourite. “I loved Penang,” he added, “especially the fresh seafood and hawker food there.”
Although the raw kway teow is sourced locally in the UK, Chef Kuci, 37, a stickler for detail, goes so far as to prepare the chilli paste himself from dried chillies. “I also cook the soya sauce mix from fresh,” he stressed, and comes complete with kuchai (garlic chives) and large prawns.
Actually, to my delight, I was told that char kway teow isn’t the only Malaysian food that the new restaurant will be dishing up; according to Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategic International Investments Abigail Tan, there will also be three other favourites on offer: mee goreng, bak kut teh and even nasi lemak!
“Chef Arjan has a good sense of taste and technique,” she said, “and as the hotel and its clientele has changed so much over the past few years, we decided it was time to start offering them something different.”
Curious to see how the nasi lemak would turn out, I asked to try it – all in the interests of research, you understand – and would you Adam and Eve it (Cockney rhyming slang for “believe”) – wrap it up in some banana leaves, and I could have been sitting at a mamak stall in Pulau Tikus!
It was actually rather good, the nasi quite lemak, served with prawn sambal (home-made but of course), fried chicken, even fried groundnuts and ikan bilis! And at £8 to £8.50 (RM42-RM45) per dish, it’s not going to break the bank.
So when you’re next in London and happen to be around the Tottenham Court Road area, do head there if you’re gasping for something hot and spicy. Sage & Chilli is open between noon and 10pm from Mondays to Fridays.
Sage & Chilli
St Giles Hotel
Bedford Avenue
London WC1B 3GH
Tel: +44 020 7300 3000
