Miri omakase restaurant using Sarawakia ingredients – Wired PR Lifestyle Story
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From a young age, Kenny Gan has always been fascinated by the world of cooking. Even in the face of famous chefs, he knew that pursuing a career in the culinary arts would be his future.
Growing up with Mirin, she spent a lot of time in the kitchen with him, asking questions and helping out where she could.
“I think his passion for cooking came from his love of eating. It’s the joy of eating something good and the face of others when they eat something that is good, ”he said in our interview.
Now 33 years old, he is able to do just that, preparing Miriko in front of the table in his small omakase restaurant called Hachi.
Living in the world
After finishing her cooking program at Taylor’s University, Kenny managed to do an internship at Hilton Kuala Lumpur and Chateau de Mercues in France. Once he graduated, he was tutored by chefs at KL hotels and restaurants, such as chef James Thong (known for his world-class cruise ship cooking career) who worked with Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda of Japan, a Michelin-starred chef. .
Although Kenny was trained in traditional French cuisine, he has always admired and respected Japanese philosophy. “Their respect for the ingredients is unlike any other, and when you have that respect for the ingredients, you will do your best to reach their full potential,” Kenny said.
Kenny spent about 7 years in KL before returning to Miri’s home. Le Charlemagne, a 2-star Michelin-starred restaurant, also turned down a job offer in France to take care of its elderly grandmother.
In 2015, Kenny opened his first restaurant named after him. Kennyrena.
If you don’t get it in the beginning …
Kenny’s offered a range of western Japanese food. The restaurant remained stable for a year or so until the end of the 2016 oil crisis.
At the time, Kenny decided to change the concept of his restaurant and offered a white card menu. The concept is similar to the Japanese omakase, where a restaurant does not offer a menu service, but only offers dishes based on fresh ingredients found that day.
“People came and left. Most wanted the old menu, and when they heard the new concept, they left the restaurant. Miri wasn’t ready for that, ”Kenny recalled.
The restaurant would fight for a year until Kenny decided to close in October 2017. For the next 5 years, he took a break from entrepreneurship to work elsewhere before deciding to return in 2021 to open a Hachi, an omakase restaurant. By Sarawakia cuisine.
It was my wife who encouraged me to do omakase when I was sure it would work. He knows that it has always been my dream to make an item off the menu, fresh and available to prepare what I want and to bring out the full potential of the ingredients.
Founder of Kenny Gan, Kenny’s and Hachi
Please try again
As the name suggests, Hachi (八), the Japanese word for number 8, is an 8-seat omakase bar located within the original Kenny’s restaurant. “So it’s like a restaurant inside a restaurant,” Kenny said.
The concept of omakase is usually purely Japanese. But in Hachi, ethnic ingredients from Sarawakia and China are included in the menu along with imported Japanese seafood and ingredients.
When you think about Sarawake ingredients, they are thought to be cheap, and in the context of beautiful dining, their use is hardly heard (or at least a marketing point for restaurants).
Not long ago, we introduced a local omakase restaurant in Bukit Jalil, Eat and Cook, which provides a tour of Malaysia using ingredients that can be obtained from around Malaysia. It aims to show what can be done when discarded local ingredients are used in a premium way.
Kenny has the same intention to use Sarawakia ingredients. “Our goal is to make Sarawakia’s ingredients known to the world, increase their value and demand, and at the same time improve the livelihoods of local farmers,” Kenny thought.
“Through our omakase, where we interact directly with our guests, we can educate them about the ingredients we use, where it comes from and how it is made. [We get] to teach the locals that we have something to be proud of. ‘
Kenny decided to open this belief in the small town of Hachi Miri instead of the crowded city of Kuching. But having a great restaurant in a small town doesn’t come without hindrance.
A small restaurant in a small town
“Miri is a small town, most of the time the location is no problem, especially when the food is good,” Kenny said. “Mirians will go from one end of the village to the other for dinner and then return. And on weekends, there are people in Brunei who have a lot of power to spend. ”
However, Miri’s small population is challenging to find returning customers, as there are not enough people in the village for high turnover rates.
A 90-minute session of the Omakase experience can cost a patron between RM498 and RM1,088 / pax, depending on the package chosen. The experience curator is managed by only 3 staff members: Kenny, his kitchen assistant and a sommelier.
But those who understand the value of beautiful dining will not be disappointed with Kenny’s costs, and it’s clear that there are many who want to get a place at the table.
Hachi serves an average of 30 to 42 customers a week, which is a full house at the omaase bar every night.
Right now, the restaurant only hosts one dinner session per night, and Hachi is fully booked until mid-December, with some reservations already made by the end of the year and the beginning of next year.
Kenny Hachi’s short-term goal is to create a steady demand for omakase experience. “To do that, we need to get components of the same quality for a slightly lower cost and lower the overall price so that everyone can have the experience,” Kenny said.
Her long-term goal is to reach a self-sustaining restaurant, so Kenny can be more free to open more specialty restaurants that serve only one thing at its best quality.
Featured Image Credit: Kenny Gan, founder of Kenny’s and Hachi
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