Selamat Hari Raya

I awoke to a rainy Eid Al ‘Fitr and thoughts of a breakfast of freshly brewed coffee, fluffy pancakes and warm pandesal slathered with homemade mango jam. At about this time of year two years ago, my dear friend Mayan (Javellana) Montenegro prepared exactly that for me at her lovely home in the suburbs, 45 minutes from Kuala Lumpur.

Her husband Jimmy was then serving as Director of Operations of HOTEL EQUATORIAL in Bangi, a gorgeous sprawling resort hotel in Putrajaya, the newly developed seat of the federal government. Leading the property’s forward-thinking team, he supervised renovations and saw the large potential in banquets including birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. And as part of a broader program designed to elevate the skills of their pastry department, I somehow found myself lugging tools, gadgets and books back to Malaysia to conduct a cake decorating workshop. The classes were scheduled for after the Ramadan, allowing the staff time to come in from their hometown visits on their Balik Kampung.

In my care were Head Pastry Chef Bob or Ahmad Fairuz Harrun, Pastry Assistant Radzy and Hotel Artist Zulu.
The training covered piping techniques, sculpting trends and cake assembly, even a photo shoot. For their final project, they came up with an ingenious Deepavali Lantern Cake and a Hari Raya Cake featuring Kantil patterns and a fondant Ketupat-Lamang, a woven palm leaf rice cake pouch that figures prominently in Muslim festivals.

But a week of living in a hotel and feasting on Executive Chef Abu Bakar's interactive buffet three times a day was punishment. I had to make tough decisions and schedule thematic meals: Chinese breakfasts, Malay lunches and Indian dinners, mix-matching on alternate days. How could I turn down Japanese outlet Chef Cheah's generosity? So the guys manning the brick oven wouldn’t feel bad, I also had to have their thin and crispy Italian-style pizzas. Oh, and just to be fair to the evening shift, I forced myself during overtime to down their deliveries of cold stone-like ice cream concoctions. I truly wish it were a joke that I went home 10 pounds overweight!

That Malaysian stint was one of the most fulfilling of my career. It was extremely humbling to work with such a spirited and eager group who trusted me without hesitation. To be called their Sifu* was an honor.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- *Sifu (師傅 or 師父; Pinyin: shīfu) is a Chinese term for a master. The character 師 means “teacher”.

James Montenegro is now General Manager of Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.