Chef Darren Teoh Min Guo is the head chef and restaurant owner of Dewakan, where in April 2019, it became the first Malaysian restaurant on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at 46th place with the title Best Restaurant in Malaysia.

“Dewakan” derives its name from a combination of two Malay words: Dewa (meaning “God”) and “makan” (meaning “to eat”). And at Dewakan, Chef Darren is known for taking rare and forgotten ingredients from peninsular Malaysia – including the sea, mountain, jungle and farmlands – and elevating them into unique dishes that diners have described as ‘modern art’.

But how did it all begin?

In this STIMY episode, we talked about:

• 2:00: Why Darren once considered doing fashion or graphic design
• 3:38: Being good with his hands
• 5:15: Studying at Ternas, which had a dual programme with Institute Cartel
• 7:13: Why he moved to Singapore to work
• 10:25: Being caught sauteing mushrooms in a pan that wasn’t hot enough
• 14:58: Working in the cafeteria of KDU
• 15:46: Lecturing on molecular gastronomy at KDU
• 17:14: Unexpected challenges in running Dewakan
• 18:44: Diving into the history of “Malaysian” cuisine 
• 21:12: Figuring out how to use local, often forgotten, ingredients in Dewakan’s menu
• 23:17: Developing relationships with local producers like Langit, Chocolate Concierge & A Little Farm on the Hill
• 24:09: Differentiating good/bad local producers
• 29:04: Impact of being on Asia’s Top 50 Restaurants List in 2019
• 31:55: How listeners can help Darren
• 36:38: Be very, very good at failing

Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/29