Malaysian Sushi Chef Wins Gold At Prestigious International Competition In Japan
The 31-year-old stood out among competitors from around the world.
By John Lim — 06 Jan 2017, 01:11 PM
A 31-year-old Malaysian sushi chef's recent outing at the Washoku World Challenge was a success as he took home the gold medal at the prestigious competition
Cheong (right) receiving his award from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Ken Saito
Image via Sin Chew DailyCheong Cherng Long, a sushi chef based in Kuala Lumpur, came out at the top in the 2016 Washoku World Challenge in Tokyo on 15 December.
The Washoku World Challenge (WWC) is an annual contest for Japanese cooking hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan. The competition is only opened to international contestants.
Washoku - literally, “food of Japan” - has drawn critical acclaim worldwide for being healthy and delicious. The dish normally consists of salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami flavours, with emphasis placed on beautiful presentation.
This year's Washoku World Challange received entries for 205 dishes from 26 countries and regions. After the entry deadline, 23 dishes entered by 20 candidates who passed the initial screening were recreated in Tokyo according to their recipes.
From those 20 candidates, 10 were selected to compete in the final round.
Cheong's winning dish was "Akamutsu no kenchin yaki", a delish plate of freshly prepared tofu, seabass, pumpkin, and tempura
Cheong was highly praised for his perfect execution of the dish, which includes the balance of flavours and intricate arrangement. He won the hearts of the judges and was crowned the champion.
The second spot went to Shaun Presland of Australia, followed by Thailand's Songkran Comnew.
Through his gold medal win, Cheong hopes he can bring more exposure to the Japanese cuisine
"I'll use what I've experienced and learned on this trip to improve myself and to do everything I can to share genuine Japanese food with the world," said Cheong.
Want to savour some of Chef Cheong's award winning creations? Well, you can! He's currently working at Oribe Sushi, a fine dining Japanese restaurant located in the heart of KL.
Location: Ground Floor. Block C-1, Vipod Residences, No6, Jalan Kia Peng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Operating hours: 12pm - 3pm (lunch), 6pm - 11pm (dinner)
Contact: +60-3-2181-4099
