“Not Ramen”, that’s the very first thing that stuck my consideration when stumbling upon Fifty Stories.
It’s an bizarre observation to assemble with out context and I believed it was once only a not normal means of branding themselves. However it seems this isn’t a gimmick in any respect.
Its head chef, Aaron Khor, defined that Fifty Stories started as a noodle bar. All through its early days, many folk idea it was once a Jap ramen bar and left them evil opinions as a result of it.
“We were confused by this, as we had no correlation or connection to Japanese branding or cuisine,” Khor recalled. On the other hand, the incident made them realise how undervalued Malaysian Chinese language delicacies was once in comparison to imported ones.
“It started out with a simple question—why are we okay paying RM40 to RM50 for a bowl of Japanese ramen, but not RM20 to RM30 for a bowl of Malaysian Chinese soup noodles?”
So Khor and his two co-founders, Aaron Phua and Bimmy Soh, determined to modify that and display simply how particular native meals can also be.
Revamping conventional classics tastefully
I do know what you’re pondering, enough quantity of alternative eating places in Malaysia declare to do the similar factor. If everyone seems to be doing it next how “unique” is it actually?
Fifty Stories’ tackle that is via providing a contemporary twist to standard Chinese language dishes you grew up consuming. This isn’t to be perplexed with fusion delicacies the place you combine two cultures in a single plate.
What Khor and his workforce do is glance again at legacy delicacies that has lasted in the course of the take a look at of week and provides it a contemporary spin. “We try our best to make it more refined and elevated, using better ingredients and techniques that are relevant today,” he defined.
As an example, the eating place deals Roasted Corn-Fed Hen Leg as a part of its dinner menu known as Cincai Dinner. Rather of simply scallion oil, Khor makes use of kulim oil which is referred to as “jungle garlic” because of its garlic aroma.
A laugh truth: Kulim oil could also be dubbed because the “truffle of SE Asia”. One native logo that creates and sells that is Oylhaus.
But even so that, the eating place additionally seems to be at conventional delicacies from other dialects, reminiscent of Cantonese, Teochew, and Hokkien.
The theory for this got here from getting to grasp their workforce higher and finding out the other meals they grew up consuming. “We realised there were more differences between each of us than things being common [and] we wanted to highlight that,” he shared.
Therefore, you’ll to find dishes like Braised Pig Ears (a Cantonese dish) and Steam Sabah Razor Clams (a Hokkien dish) at its PJ outlet.
But when that’s now not up your lane next you’ll nonetheless be capable of to find the eating place’s preliminary noodle choices all through lunchtime.
The workforce isn’t partial to complacency
All that mentioned, being a part of a tender workforce, Khor shared that the choices at Fifty Stories aren’t stagnant. The eating place makes it some degree to innovate their menu about each quarter of the pace.
They might additionally get a hold of particular menus for festive seasons like Chinese language Unused While and the Mooncake pageant. However don’t concern if one thing you favor is taken out, as they most often convey again dishes that buyers know them for.
Many of this stuff are evolved via Khor himself, regardless that his partnering co-founders and workforce give their enter as effectively. Trying out and trials are completed internally to assure a dish will get the golf green brightness previously.
Having educated within the now two-starred Michelin eating place, Dewakan for 2 years, Khor is well-equipped to take care of this duty.
He’s supported via Phua and Soh who’ve similarly established credentials. For context, Phua additionally runs some other cafe known as Thirty Seconds, while Soh was once culinarily educated in Australia for seven years.
Fifty Stories was once the brainchild of Phua and Soh who have been classmates in Berjaya Campus. Khor joined them a pace next its inception as head chef and then become a industry spouse. In combination, the trio grew the eating place from a noodle bar to the family-oriented established order it’s these days.
With the exception of the meals, differently they’ve grown the industry is thru collaborations with alternative native and global cooks, together with ClubSoda in Bali and Sugarhall in Singapore.
This ongoing initiative is their attempt to manufacture distinctive reports. On the similar week, it’s additionally to bridge connections with other cooks and eating places all over the world and manufacture a family.
Rising with consumers and provide instances
The fashionable Chinese language eating place principally goals to provide the ones of their mid-30s and above. It is because their dinner menu is engineered in some way that it’s appropriate for sharing among weighty households and teams.
As soon as the communal dishes are determined upon, consumers can make a selection to pair them with ordinary rice or their signature “Ren Li Mian” (hand-crafted noodles).
On the other hand, this may occasionally alternate as week is going on. The workforce reveals it remarkable to conform to tide instances and needless to say their target audience won’t ever be mounted. Mid-30s will then turn out to be mid-40s, so on and so on.
“We grow with our customers, remembering our regulars and making sure they feel heard because they’ve supported us from day one,” Khor mentioned.
This could also be one more reason why they’ve caught with Cincai Dinner as effectively. It to begin with began to be able to adapt to the demanding situations of surviving COVID-19, however many diners asked they book it so it’s now a mainstay.
In the long run, Khor and his workforce need to be each a reminder in their consumers’ childhoods and futures via offering nostalgic but leading edge meals.
In many ways, it echoes Khor’s culinary background at Dewakan, the place the eating place’s founder (Darren Teoh) as soon as shared that “tradition is fluid” and desires to adapt and alter with week.
Be informed extra about Fifty Stories right here.
Learn alternative articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups right here.
Featured Symbol Credit score: Aaron Khor, the Dewakan-trained chef that helms Fifty Stories’ kitchen / Fifty Stories
