Cover A spread of the Malaysian food served at Laut (Photo: Laut)
A spread of the Malaysian food served at Laut (Photo: Laut)
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Salil Mehta shares his journey of bringing Malaysian cuisine to the heart of Manhattan
While he has not stepped foot in Malaysia, it would be wrong to say that the cuisine Salil Mehta serves at his restaurant, Laut, in New York, is not rooted in authenticity. Salil, whose foray into the industry began after taking over an Asian fusion restaurant, took an interest in Malaysian cuisine when he realised there was a lack of advocacy for it in New York.
“In 2008, Asian restaurants had to have a bit of everything, from sushi and curry to Thai food, as the market was less developed,” he says. “People were not as well-educated when it came to cuisine, especially Malaysian or Singaporean food.”
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Above Salil Mehta, founder of Laut
Salil Mehta, founder of Laut
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Salil decided to take matters into his own hands—while he was in college, his uncles brought him to a Malaysian restaurant where he tried roti canai and sambal belacan for the first time. “Growing up in a vegetarian household, sambal was a flavour I hadn’t come across, while the sweetness and lightness of roti canai and the combination of curry sauce intrigued me,” he recalls. “I wanted to give my customers a similar, new experience.”
Above Roti canai at Laut
Roti canai at Laut
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Even now, there are many more Japanese or Thai restaurants compared to those boasting Malaysian food, and he felt it could be beneficial to enter the market. Doing his due diligence, Salil bought cookbooks, mostly in Malay, to truly understand the cuisine. “I studied the core components of dishes, and learned the right techniques to make asam pedas, rendang, and other staples,” he recalls. “We learned through trial and error, and were lucky to be able to source many ingredients.”
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Laut, which he now runs, is a fast-casual restaurant that portrays Southeast Asia’s rich street food culture, with a focus on Malaysian fare. “We serve all the iconic wok-fried, noodle soup, and braised dishes,” he smiles. Concurrently, he began a “makan club”, his take on a supper club where he would serve dishes he learned to make. Those who had been to, or were from Malaysia, and had experienced its breadth of cuisine, would visit and often share anecdotes about different dishes they missed, which expanded his knowledge and allowed him to add to his repertoire.
“This is where I learned about the different types of bak kut teh, and how Hokkien mee is different in Singapore and Malaysia,” he smiles. He also better understood the market in New York and what could be accepted at the time: “For instance, poached chicken did not bode well with our customers due to the room temperature meat and skin, so when it came to chicken rice, we had to opt for the roast version.”
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Above Laut serves a variety of wok-fried dishes
Laut serves a variety of wok-fried dishes
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Other difficulties, however, came with the cost of ingredients and customer expectations. “We really pay attention to the quality of our ingredients, from using pure coconut milk in our rice to buying the highest quality chicken with natural yellow skin,” he says. In New York, he tells me lemongrass sets you back US$ 150 a case, lime leaves cost US$ 65 a pound, and curry leaves US$ 22 per pound. “The cuisine is also associated with cheap street food, and people do not realise that these dishes take a lot of effort, such as rendang, which takes almost 10 hours,” he adds.
Above Malaysian ingredients often prove hard to source
Malaysian ingredients often prove hard to source
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However, the backlash he receives when it comes to authenticity is the hardest to swallow. “Often, there are ingredients we are unable to source, for instance, the right kind of noodle when it comes to Hokkien mee, and the feedback we get is that we do not understand the recipe or are not authentic to the recipe’s roots,” he sighs.
Above Satay
Satay
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However, Salil’s love for Malaysian fare has kept him pushing forward, with the hope that one day it will be better understood and appreciated by New York locals as well as providing the Malaysians abroad a small taste of home.
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Images: Laut
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About
Katelyn is the dining and travel editor of Malaysia and Indonesia. Based in Kuala Lumpur, she offers readers an inside look at the movers and shakers in Asia’s growing food and beverage industry.
