KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 ― Celebrity chef Datuk Redzuawan Ismail, popularly known as Chef Wan, has washed his hands of a controversial attempt at the nation’s largest Sarawak laksa that ended up being binned.
According to the chef, he was originally only invited to join the launch of shopping mall Plaza Merdeka’s new food hall with Sarawak governor’s wife Puan Sri Ragad Waleed and perform a cooking demonstration, before he was asked to join the record-breaking event.
“Naturally I said yes. I was excited to know also how big is this bowl and the record that they must achieve to be in the Book of Records,” Redzuawan said in an Instagram post earlier today.
He also said that he was not aware that the laksa would not end up being served to the public.
“I didn’t cook the laksa, neither I am aware they are not feeding them to others until I was there that morning,” he said.
Chef Wan also explained that he has no control over the media’s portrayal of his involvement with the laksa, and felt it was unfair that he was targeted because of it.
The Borneo Post reported today that Plaza Merdeka in Kuching has planned to throw away the equivalent of 1,500 bowls of Sarawak laksa that was cooked for its successful bid yesterday to set a record for the Malaysia Book of Records.
Its organiser Debra Sim confirmed the contents of a huge bowl custom-made for the attempted “The Biggest Bowl of Laksa Sarawak” feat at Plaza Merdeka there yesterday would be binned for “being unhealthy”.
The move has since been criticised by many Malaysians on social media, who chided the move as wasteful.
According to the local daily, the bowl measuring 1.3 metres deep and 3.1 metres wide contains the Sarawak dish whipped up from various ingredients, including 100kg of Sarawak laksa paste, 225kg of rice noodles, 90kg of prawns, 1,008 eggs, 90kg of bean sprouts, and 80kg of chicken.
Preparation for the dish took 18 hours and involved 15 cooks, the report said.
Malaysia Book of Records deputy general manager Mohamad Alex Edward yesterday certified the successful record attempt.