A Malaysian Journey

James Won, Chef-Patron of Enfin by James Won, is taking Malaysian flavours and ingredients to the next level.

- Christy Yoong

It has been a journey six years in the making before James Won, Chef-Patron of Enfin by James Won, was happy enough to present his Malaysian gastronomy menu. “We want to be the voice for elevated Malaysian cuisine,” Won said of the 18-item menu. “This menu might have taken two months to conceptualise but it has taken us six years to get here – time that we spent tasting, testing and assembling the right team.”

The idea behind the menu is simple: taking the finest ingredients Malaysia has to offer and elevating it to the highest standards. “This is the evolution of what we have been doing,” Won said. “This is the direction we are headed, where we want to beat the drum. This is where we define the philosophy of our cuisine as a Malaysian restaurant – basically contemporary French cuisine with Malaysian ingredients.” At its heart, the menu at Enfin by James Won is a culinary journey that takes in food and flavour memories that we Malaysians would be familiar with from the home or hawker stall, but present in unexpected but delightful ways. One of the dishes, for example, is nigiri sushi, a throwback to Won’s time in Japan. In his version, however, the fish is replaced by aloe vera that has been cured by fermented fish powder and wrapped in banana leaf until it is firmed up. The aloe nigiri is then stained with beetroot and served with a Bario rice puff, fermented chili in place of wasabi and crowned with white sturgeon caviar.