A yen for Japanese cuisine

THE Japanese use of fresh ingredients and overall healthy style of cooking was what first attracted Mazwadie Mohamed, 34, to specialise in that cuisine.

"I also love their culture of cooking different foods according to the season," said Mazwadie, who took on the post of chef de cuisine at Gen Japanese Restaurant in Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, just two months ago.
He is currently busy redesigning the food concept for Gen and improving the quality of its menu.
Mazwadie, who hails from Pahang, started pursuing his food dream right after Form Five by landing a job at a hotel in Kuantan where he was cooking a wide variety of cuisine.
It was when he joined Resort Hotel in Genting Highlands that he finally got the opportunity to try something different cooking for the Japanese section of the hotel's buffet offering.
Mazwadie continued to hone his skills in Japanese cuisine when he moved to Kuala Lumpur and worked with different restaurants.
"I have never been to Japan, although I would like to do that soon," said Mazwadie who has been trained by six different Japanese chefs throughout his career.
He was the senior chef at Kampachi Pavilion before moving to Gen.
"While I was there, I noticed that Malaysians liked set meals and I might introduce that here eventually."
When asked what was the most valuable lesson he'd learned while studying under the Japanese chefs, Mazwadie said: "Discipline in work and also how to handle the ingredients".
He said the Japanese chefs alway handle their ingredients delicately because they appreciate them.
He added that this reverence for the ingredients is something we can all learn and emulate.
After handling mostly high-end ingredients, we asked him what he considers as comfort food.
Mazwadie cites home-cooked food. "I like to eat and I like eating my wife's cooking".
For our food tasting session, he prepared various styles of sushi; sliced up some fresh sashimi; prepared some smoked duck with a special wasabi dressing; dished out a succulent teriyaki chicken that had been marinated in garlic, ginger, soya sauce and left to dry overnight before frying; and a dessert called dungo made from rice and glutinous rice and served with finely chopped peanuts, cashew nuts and sugar.
The spicy dynamite, a sushi roll topped with chopped salmon, kimchi, chilli padi and sesame oil was his little creation for local customers who like a little kick. Let's just say it lives up to its name.
Besides a la carte dishes, Gen also serves Japanese buffet lunch and dinner until Dec 31 that feature sashimi, sushi, makimono (Japanese style rolls), cold as well as hot dishes, noodles, and desserts.
For more, visit the Sunway Putra Hotel website and Facebook page.