Going the extra mile
Whether it’s at his restaurant Celestial Court or at home, Chef Ho Boon is all about perfection on the plate.
THE restaurant kitchen is so hot, it literally feels like we’re inside an oven. But Chef Ho Boon is oblivious to the sauna-like temperatures in here. He brandishes his ladle with a flourish and stirs and fries like the pro that he is, never once breaking a sweat.
Ho is the executive chef at Celestial Court, the Sheraton Imperial KL’s revered Chinese restaurant. He worked his way up through pure grind, starting out as a kitchen helper in a local hotel way back in 1982 and slowly moving up the ranks over the years. As the Chinese chef for Celestial Court, he is responsible for planning the restaurant’s overall menu, a task which the hard-working Ho relishes as this gives him the opportunity to get creative.
The food that Ho concocts at the restaurant is testament to his determination to go the extra mile. His crispy roasted duck, for instance, is made by boiling and cooling herbs like cinnamon and star anise, before soaking the duck for four hours in water and the herb mixture. The duck is then dried for another couple of hours, before finally being roasted in the oven. The result is gorgeously crispy skin with tender meat inside.
“Roast duck is a very normal dish in Chinese restaurants, but this long process makes mine different from other versions,” he says.
Ho’s double-boiled chicken consomme with golden baby abalone, sea cucumber and fish maw meanwhile, is reflective of his quest for perfection, which involves constant experimentation and attempts to elevate good dishes into great ones. The soup has a rich depth of flavours and a peculiar sweetness, which you’ll discover is from the addition of black garlic, which Ho added after much trial and error.
This attempt to innovate and improve is also obvious in the dish of sauteed prawn and grouper fillet with chef supreme sauce. The spicy sauce was created following Ho’s stint in a five-star hotel in Jakarta. After he returned to Celestial Court, he worked hard on improving the original recipe, making all sorts of tweaks until he perfected his current recipe, by adding asam keping.
“I improvised and kept trying until I discovered a version that was perfect for local tastes,” he says.
When a chef is as meticulous and hard-working as Ho, it is literally impossible to imagine him letting his hair down when he cooks at home. Somehow, you can’t quite picture this chef stirring up an instant noodle storm!
“It’s true, whether I am home or in the hotel, I try my best. Even though I don’t have to face guests at home, I still want to present the best dishes for my family. I set high standards for myself and I have to live up to it everywhere,” he says, grinning.
The only difference in the meals he prepares at home is that Ho often trawls the recipes of his childhood and young adulthood, frequently cooking the dishes that his mother and mother-in-law made when he was younger.
“One of them has passed away and the other lives some distance away, so I cook these dishes as a way to remember them,” he says.
Like his mother’s delicious pan-fried white pomfret with ginger and shallot sauce, for instance. The dish has a homey feel, with crispy fried fish and a slightly sweet sauce stealing the show.
“The secret to getting perfectly crispy fish is to deep-fry the fish until it is 75% cooked, then pan-fry until done. And only flip the fish once!” he says, having obviously experimented numerous times in his quest for perfection.
The dish of stewed vegetables in preserved bean curd sauce is another childhood favourite that Ho used to watch his mother make, literally standing by her side as she cooked it. As a result, he realised that the key to getting even, rich flavours in the dish is to stir constantly for 10 to 15 minutes to ensure the bean curd sauce coats the vegetables thoroughly.
Although he enjoys making his childhood favourites for his family (his 19-year-old son is apparently a huge fan of these dishes!), Ho also often treats his family to the dishes that he prepares in the restaurant!
“I apply the same standards at home and in my restaurant. I often even bring my work home! So I’ll bring some ingredients from the restaurant kitchen home and cook roughly the same dish at home, so that my family can try my restaurant food. I even portion it out the same way!” he says.
For Chef Ho Boon’s recipes, go to Star2.com.