CHEF MURAL

CHEF MURAL ON HIS FAVOURITE THINGS

• Fondest Mumbai memory: Growing up helping my mother in the kitchen.
• Personal comfort food: Chicken rice — Singapore food!
• Drink of choice: Masala tea, or a cold beer with my culinary team after a hard day at work.
•  Favourite Singapore restaurant: Loy Kee Chicken Rice at Balestier.
• Favourite Mumbai restaurant: Not restaurant, but Mumbai’s street food at places like Dadar Chowpatty!
• What I miss most about Mumbai/ India: The food.
• What I cook for my family... Whatever they ask for as they are all very special to me. 
• Favourite travel destination: I like travelling as it opens up your eyes and is a learning opportunity, and makes you a better, thinking chef. I was recently in Dubai again for the Italian Cuisine Summit, and was also at Ubud Food Festival.
•  Top three celebrities I want to cook for: For chef Sanjeev Kapoor, a mentor and strong supporter and someone I admire a lot, I would cook my laksa chicken kebab, which is cooked in the tandoor.  I would have loved to cook for the late Lee Kuan Yew, who has done so much for Singapore. For his son, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, I’d make naan and the sambal barramundi tikka, also another dish I created for Deepavali. Of course, The Song of India’s degustation menu is a must.
• What’s next? My personal goal is to share the rich heritage and diversity of Indian cuisine, and hopefully one day, people will regard it as highly as they do French cuisine. 

Victory!

Ten years after he first set foot abroad, after many a trial and error, with focus, perseverance, dedication and faith from his employers, Manjunath won the restaurant its first Michelin star, claimed to be the first for an Indian restaurant in SE Asia. A year later, the guide renewed the honour. “Finally, our team’s hard work paid off. As a Mumbaikar, I am very proud,” says chef Manjunath.

How to succeed

“To stay focused on keeping the standard, quality and presentation of our food consistent is our goal. My team and I were looking forward to earn the Michelin star again this year after last year but we didn’t think too much about it,” Manjunath admits, adding, “The most important thing is to be good in your basics. It is only after years that people will know your creativity.”

“I want people to think of Indian food as highly as they regard French cuisine”

He now has a new mission. “I will be exploring more cuisines from across India, presented in our unique style. There are many east and west Indian dishes that are still undiscovered,” he points out.

Explaining what makes Indian cuisine Michelin-worthy, he says, “Having knowledge of traditional Indian cuisine and how it is prepared is important. After that, you can be as creative as you want. Your food must tell a story. Ingredients and consistency are only next to this. My principle is to enjoy my work and also let my team enjoy their work. I take responsibility for all guest complaints, but all the appreciation and praise belongs to my team.”

So the next time you find yourself in Singapore sinking your teeth into Alaskan tandoori crab, flambeed leg of lamb, sarson cod tikka, blue cheese naan and elaichi flavoured creme brûlée, ask to meet chef Manjunath, give him a hug and say, “You make me very proud.”

Or you can just go gaga over him. And it will not be because we told you so.

A new song and struggle

Manjunath had briefly worked under chef Milind during his time at the Juhu Centaur. In 2006, chef Milind founded the menu at the Song of India restaurant in Singapore and recruited chef Manjunath. He moved to the Garden City and achieved his new goal. Then, reality sank in. He knew nothing about the international palate.

“Spicy, chatpata – that was the only way I knew Indian food because in India, we love hot food. I struggled for many months to control my hand. There was even plenty of salt in my food. Chef Milind mentored me. It took me several months to unlearn what I had known about Indian food and understand the new vision,” says chef Manjunath candidly.

Two years later, chef Milind returned to India. By then, chef Manjunath had proved to be a worthy lieutenant. The restaurant’s management bumped him up to the commander’s post. He became the restaurant’s executive chef.