Fusion meets Xiamen
By Kent Hill
Photos by Yao Fan

来自新加坡的Desmond Chan是厦门马哥孛罗东方大酒店的新任主厨.这位经验丰富的厨师从业已有18年,他热爱各种美食,也喜欢不断地创新,结合中西方菜肴的优点,做出各种让你品尝之后回味无穷的佳肴.

Culinary expertise
Let's get excited Xiamen! The Xiamen Marco Polo has just hired a new Executive Chef from Singapore. Even though Desmond Chan has only been cooking here for a few short months, his culinary experience reaches back more than 18 years. He's definitely no stick in the mud either, considering that throughout his cooking career he has lived in countries all over the face of the globe, taking from each place a broader and more seasoned degree of cooking expertise.

Desmond's field of cuisine ranges from Mediterranean and Continental to Singaporean, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai food. However, he specializes in a form of cooking called "fusion" in which the chef uses his own experience and creativity to combine two or more dishes from completely different sides of the world creating a new, unique and delicious taste sensation. The style of fusion Desmond usually uses is a mix between Asian and Western food, sending the best of both worlds into a wonderful blend of fantastic cuisine. One example of this type of dish is a tender beefsteak seasoned with just the right amount of Sichuan pepper.

Currently Mr. Chan is working hard at appealing to a new market here in Xiamen as well as expanding the range of cuisine that the current market can accept. He said that as of now the local people's taste of food in Xiamen is still pretty "conservative", which just means that people here aren't quite ready to eat radically non-traditional dishes. But there is no need to fear because Desmond knows how to cater to the local people's taste gradually, giving them a chance to slowly open their taste buds to new and delicious works of food masterpiece.

With all this experience and such a variety of locations under his belt one has got to wonder what kind of food this chef prefers, "Singaporean food is still my favorite. I like its rich and spicy taste". Desmond also said that his two favorite Singaporean dishes are Laksa (spicy noodles in a coconut broth) and pepper crab, both of which he makes exceptionally well. When asked about the strangest food he had ever eaten along his trail of kitchens, he said, "Hopvilong. It's a duck egg with a partially developed baby duck inside. I tried it a few times while working in Vietnam".

Personal background
Interestingly enough, this amazing chef also picked up the Vietnamese language fairly fluently during his 2-year stint at the Omni Saigon Hotel, Vietnam. He also happened to find the love of his life there, whom he has now been married to for the past three years. They actually worked for the same hotel in Vietnam but strangely enough didn't meet each other there until after his wife had already resigned from her position as Sales Manager. However, through a stroke of luck the two of them met up at an event held in the Omni Saigon at which his wife had been invited to by chance. They have no children as of yet but plan on letting them "come naturally" when the time seems right.

Desmond mentioned that he and his wife are both still adjusting to the culture here which is proving to be a slow and steady process and which is especially difficult for his wife, considering that she doesn't speak enough Chinese yet to communicate. This is the first
time for either one of them to come to China but Desmond is already fluent in Mandarin as well as English and can also speak a fair amount of Malay, Cantonese and Vietnamese. While living here as well as throughout his entire cooking career his hobbies are still eating and traveling.

When asked about what got him cooking in the first place Mr. Chan replied, "My family was quite poor when I was growing up in Singapore. So I had to get a job to help with money and I liked eating a lot, so why not cook". Actually he started cooking first with his mother in her kitchen at the age of about 16. As a matter of fact, Desmond's parents bring his roots all the way back to the Mainland considering that they are both Chinese descendants from Guangdong province.

Tough job in Xiamen
One of Mr. Chan's favorite aspects of his job is the freedom and opportunity to travel. He has been employed in hotels and resorts all over Asia such as the Taj Coral Reef Resort in Maldives, the five-star Omni Saigon Hotel in Vietnam and three other hotels and resorts in Singapore. He has also had the chance to take various trips for different cooking conventions and promotions, including one that allowed him to travel to Egypt.

Being an Executive Chef might sound like a relaxing job of cooking, however, Desmond's work spans much further than that of just amazing cooking. He has really got his work cut-out for him at the local Marco Polo with responsibilities which include maintaining excellent hygiene, taking care of cost control, food purchase and selection, planning all food promotions and festivals, menu design, organization of the kitchen operations, training the staff and also meeting with guests.

The Marco Polo Xiamen is always planning exciting and interesting themes for food festivals and of course there is always the International Buffet and full a-la-carte menu available everyday of the year. So if you enjoy the occasional surprise of an extremely delicious and satisfying meal, then hop over to the Marco Polo because there is a super-chef awaiting you who is sure to amaze your tongue anytime.

My Xiamen

My name is Kirby Glenday. I have two daughters. I come from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where the winters are long and cold and the summers are too brief. I wanted to come to China to teach English and learn Chinese and to experience its culture. It has been an interesting year and eight months.

1.How long have you been in Xiamen?
About one year and eight months.

2. What do you like best about life here?
I like it because it's not cold or full of snow.

3. What's your job here? How do you like your job?
I'm an English teacher. It's quite interesting at times. I get a good feeling when I see a student progressing.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
My spare time is spent with friends (foreign and local).

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
The only thing I can think of is the traffic. I'll leave it at that.

6. What's your favorite restaurant?
The Dong Bei Lao Zhi Qing restaurant.

7. What's the strangest thing that has ever happened to you here?
A little girl selling flowers came up to me and put me in a vice grip. It took two of us to pry her off me.

8. Compared with other big cities in China, what do you think are the differences between Xiamen and them?
Well to start, a lot fewer people, much less noise and the air is fresher. I don't think Xiamen has less to offer. Most things I need, I can find here.

9. What's the last great book you read?
"Enders Game" by Orson Scott.

10. What's your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
"Practise, practise and practise".