FOOD connects people. As families come together during Chinese New Year (CNY), they will feast on a variety of heritage dishes that transcend generational differences in taste.
These dishes will require many hours of painstaking preparation, with many households preferring to order from specialist caterers for certain difficult-to-make delicacies.
This includes roast duck – a dish especially popular during the
festive period.
Jorden Lee, 29, is a chef recently highlighted by Maggi. He recounted how he and his family used to roast ducks in Malacca under the tutelage of his Cantonese master chef father – the late Lee Yong Huat.
Like father, like son
Apart from roast duck, Yong Huat sold roast chicken and roast pork. He also ran a catering business in Kota Laksamana.
Yong Huat, who started cooking at the mere age of 12, had accumulated four decades of experience working in bustling kitchens the world over, including in China (Shanghai and Macau)
and Australia.
Upon his return to Malaysia, Yong Huat established a hugely popular roast duck business.
He along with Jorden and his elder sister worked tirelessly around the clock to complete orders in the kitchen. This meant they did not have a chance to hold their own family reunion dinner.
Instead of a lavish dinner, they marked the occasion together with a simple lunch before they started cooking dishes to meet the
festive demand.
“We usually buy all the ingredients a day or two before CNY Eve and start preparing in advance as many shops close during this period,” explained Jorden.
