Watch Alvin in Action on SBS Food Safari with host Meave O’Meara.
I was featured in the SBS Food Safari in 2006 coordinated by Maeve O’Meara. The episode was about Malaysian food and I cooked Nasi Lemak (coconut rice), beef rendang & its accompaniments.This is a short from the episode, I hope you guys will enjoy it.
Alvin had been a chef for 25 years but his humble beginings started from home. He can trace his passion for Nonya and Cantonese food to his maternal grandmother who is an excellent cook. Under the tutelage of his grandmother, he learnt the art of using the pestle & mortar to make rempah (pounded spice paste) – the foundation to all good Nonya curries, sambals or laksa, he learnt to cook with no written recipes, using rice bowls or empty condensed milk tin as measuring tools, imaging buying 20 cents worth of coconut milk for quantity!, a thumb size of aromatic root, a handful of that, cooking by feel, taste and appearance, every dish is cooked to perfection with love.
Alvin foray into the food world began as an apprentice at a Chinese restaurant in Penang – the Mecca of fine Cantonese restaurants and famed for her bountiful streets food. Here he learnt the intricacies of Cantonese cuisine, roast duck, crackling roast pork, barbecue meat, the secret of making your own masterstock, the art of hand made fresh egg noodles and wonton wrappers.
He moved to Kuala Lumpur and spent several years working at various food establishments, honing his skills, refining his Cantonese cusine and expanding his culinary repertoire in Malaysian cuisine.
He became a tutor at the Damansara Hotel Management school and taught Western and Asian commercial cookery.
He emmigrated to Australia and settled in Sydney in 1990. In partnership, he opened his first restaurant “Taste of Malaysia” in Randwick, followed by “Flavours of Malaysia” a take-away shop in the city. Both outlets specialise in Malaysian food with emphasis on Nonya cusine and streets food.
Fast forward to 1996, Alvin started Seri Nonya restaurant at Miranda with his wife, Jessica, who managed the front of the house.They successfully operated the business for 10 years serving up an array of Malaysian flavours, reflecting Malaysia’s multicultural heritage.
Seri Nonya was often mentioned on ABC radio, was featured annually in the SMH Good Food Guide, SBS Good Food Guide, Sydney Eats, various papers and the local courier.The restaurant co-hosted the Malaysian Gourmet Food Safari with Maeve O’Meara.
Alvin was featured in the cookery book “Lamingtons and Lemongrass” authored by Maeve O’Meara & Joanna Savill, conducted a cooking workshop at the Sydney Seafood School featuring Singapore chilli mud crab & grill fish in banana leave.
In 2005, he started teaching part-time at Crows Nest’s Tafe on Asian cookery at the specially built commercial Asian Kitchen. He spent 5 years imparting his Asian experiences and sharing his culinary knowledge with apprentices and professional chefs.
For the last three years, Alvin had been conducting cooking lessons, ranging from Malaysian cuisine to Chinese to Thai and laksa & noodles at the St. George & Sutherland Community College at Kogarah and Jannali.
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