Lemon grass, blue ginger, garlic and a host of other spices... Have I got your mouth watering yet? All these and more go into the meals prepared by visiting chef Daniel Koh at the Waterlot Inn.

Until at least December 23, the restaurant will be offering its Singaporean and Malaysian nonya (pronounced nyonya) menu, but according to Ma|0xee|tre d’ Barry Cohen, it may be held over for longer.

Chef Koh’s 35 years perfecting his signature cuisine have taken him to several continents to work in top international hotels.

Most recently he was the executive chef of the five-star Sheraton Towers hotel in Singapore. He has been awarded several bronze, silver and gold medals at Food Asia and of late he has acted as a culinary judge.

He is a member of the Singapore Chef Association, The Restaurant Association of Singapore, and was the President of the Society of Professional Chefs from 2000-2004.

He has also written two books: ‘The Chinese Art of Healthy Eating’ (1994) and ‘Sensation — Warming Hearts in the City’ (2005).

With all this experience, one would assume that he spent his childhood cooking up a storm with his mother or grandmother. But, according to Elizabeth Wunderlich, Caribbean manager of the US Meat Export Federation, Mr. Koh learned European cooking first and then learned Asian cooking.

Ms Wunderlich, who was instrumental in bringing the chef and his assistant chef William Choo to Waterlot by way of a culinary exchange, said many chefs in Singapore are actually trained in Western styles of cooking before Asian.

“He had to go back and learn the Asian styles,” she said.

Of his experiences, Mr. Koh said: “I started as a salad and sandwich boy, just because everyone needs a job.

“I loved it in the kitchen and I never turned back.”

Nevertheless, it would take him many years to turn to perfecting Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine.

“After 18 years working in a five-star hotel — around 1985 — I joined the opening team to set-up F&B outlet in Australia,” he said. “At that time I was a sous chef, banquet cooking Western food.

“I didn’t start to cook Chinese food until a marketing manager gave me a ring (sometime later).”

Chef Koh added that the principles of cooking the two cuisines are, at the heart, the same.

“You are just using different ingredients and of course one must understand the culture,” he said.

Once he did turn himself to Asian cuisines though, his esteem soon grew and he found himself with the Singapore Chef Association.

Over the course of his tenure there, the association would make its name known in some unique ways.

“The Chef Association’s objective was to bring up young chefs and also to exchange knowledge and improve,” he said.”Four years as president was not an easy task, but something we can be proud of was breaking into the Guinness Book of World Records for making the longest satay stick, the longest otah, and the longest spring roll in the world.”

Upon arrival in Bermuda in late November, Chef Koh prepared a special meal for the Bermuda Chef Association where he was also training various chefs both from Waterlot and other local restaurants.

Chef Eddie Smith of Mediterraneo, who is the president of the Chef Association in Bermuda, did the inviting, and Waterlot hosted the event.

“Daniel was president of the Singapore Chef Association and so he has a big place in his heart for training and education,” Ms Wunderlich said of the event.

Some of the chefs who attended are now set to go to Singapore for an upcoming food show, she added, including Malaysian chef Danny Liam of L’Oriental.

Mr. Koh said the Singapore night that was organised gave him a great opportunity to meet “all the top chefs in one night” as well as various local vendors.

“You have quality chefs and, to train them to cook Singaporean food, was just like coaching a national basketball team,” he added.

In preparation for that night and his month-long stint at Waterlot, Chef Koh said he considered several menus.

“To promote Singapore cuisine at Waterlot Inn wasn’t difficult, but there are so many good foods to show,” he said. “And I just didn’t know what to choose from.”

In the end he went with a Singaporean-Malaysian menu which started with Malaysian Black Pepper Prawns with a golden egg sauce and Bak Kut The, a famous pork spare ribs tea.

“It is the most popular soup in Singapore,” said Chef Koh. “It has de-boned spare ribs and a clove of garlic.”

The choices of entrée he offered were: Singapore steak flambéed tableside, a grilled tenderloin flavoured with a satay spice and served with peanut sauce; Char Siew lamb chops, with aromatic herbs; Nonya-style broiled chicken; and, Ikan Panggang, which is a grouper medallion with sliced garlic, leek tomato and black olives.

“Ikan is fish and Panggang means to fry,” Chef Koh explained, adding:

“Char Siew is simply a Chinese word for barbecue and it can be any meat, not just the lamb chops that we are using.

“The Nonya-style broiled chicken is a combination of Indian, Malay and European spices coming together.”

Scrumptious side dishes on offer included Oriental Fried Rice and Singapore Styled Noodles while Chef Koh’s dessert was Pisang Gorgeng, which when translated simply means Fried Bananas wrapped in peanut butter and batter, which Chef Koh said was an adaptation of the banana flambé.