Dinner with Cambodian MasterChef Luu Meng

With Cambodian MasterChef Luu Meng

Everytime I sit down for dinner with Luu Meng, I am not only humbled, but I am inspired by this man. I had previously written about my dinner with Luu Meng before here. And today, I have yet another story to tell.

Last week, I met up with Luu Meng at one of his restaurants in town - the new Yi Sang on the riverside. Needless to say, Yi Sang at the Almond Hotel (also owned by none other than the man himself) is one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. The one on the riverside serves dim sums and lighter meals as it also functions as a Tourist Information Centre (again, managed by none other than the man himself).

Always the gracious host, Luu Meng ordered too much food! Later, when he told me that his family hailed from Guangzhou, China, I understood. In my last trip to China, I learnt that in the southern parts of China, you are deemed a good host when you 'over-feed' your guests. The culture changes as you travel to different parts of China.

Anyway, yes, over baskets and baskets of dim sums, I caught up with the busy, busy, busy man. What I've always admired about Luu Meng and I respect him for it is how humble he is as a person. We got to talking about his involvement with the ATF, his various restaurants and hotel businesses and I am excited to know that there is a great franchise that he is bringing into Cambodia (of which I am not at liberty to disclose at this point).

And it was here that he spoke about the failure of Studio 182. Although he did not go very much into details about why the venture closed, he spoke about it with jest and without shame. I remembered his words : "That was a very, very big lesson for me, for all of us because we spent so much energy in that business." To sum it up, closing Studio 182 was a wise decision and instead of crying over spilt milk and spent-energies, he moved on to other greater things. Learning to accept when something is doomed, learning to learn from it and embrace it with grace and using all the learnings to move on and ahead - I think sitting down with Luu Meng, this is a great reminder for me as well. I hate failures. Of course, I have failed before and I have learnt from it. But still, sometimes, I think in my blindness of trying so hard not to fail, I refuse to accept when something is doomed. Luu Meng said "If you succeed all the time, how can you learn?" Again - true. Again, I know. But I guess, once in awhile, we just need to be reminded that it is OK to fall. Get up and move on.

I have some serious streamlining to plan for my businesses the coming year..... indeed. But I am actually excited. I'm not going to look at it as a 'red mark' on my report card. In fact, it is about the adventure, yes?

Our conversations moved on to less serious stuff, like Gordon Ramsey and his constant yelling and TV chefs (since yours truly is an ardent fan of all cooking shows), to which Luu Meng agreed that in a real kitchen, no staff will stay to work if they were constantly being yelled at like that. Well, at least he agreed with me. *laugh* By the way, Ramsey apparently lost one of his Michelin stars! I never knew that could happen. Well, there you go. You learn something new everyday.

Another thing I admire about Luu Meng is the fact that despite his numerous businesses, meetings and what-nots, he still makes it a point to cook once a week. This is to facilitate new menu creation for his restaurants and to bond with his crew. He goes to the market with them to get fresh produce, meat, fish (he's not happy about a fish issue, but I shall leave this to another reporter to write *smile*) and etc. He is still very passionate about cooking. One day, I hope to see him at work in the kitchen. I'm sure it'll be as inspiring even as it is as educational.

Dinner ended with plenty of leftovers - to which Luu Meng arranged for them to be packed for me to take home with me. The Chinese say "Also eat, also take"..... Malu-nya! So, once again, unashamedly, I told Luu Meng that the next time I am cooking at home, I shall invite him and his wife over.

Before that can happen, I need to make sure I perfect ONE dish at least for I know Chef Luu Meng's tastebuds are of superior standards. Till then, I shall just enjoy eating at his restaurants. Thank you again for dinner, Luu Meng!

p/s : I was so engrossed in my conversation with Luu Meng that once again, I forgot to take photos of the food!!