Above Chatswood train station in upmarket food court The District, you will find what many diners believe is the best Malaysian in the area. Amah by Ho Jiak is a collaboration between chefs Junda Khoo and Hun Loong (formerly of Mr Wong). It honours the cooking of Hun Loong’s ‘amah’ (grandmother).
Self-trained chef Junda, who has three other Sydney restaurants, has always had a passion for food. He was working in banking but was inspired to change direction when he watched fellow Malaysian-born Po Ling Yeow and Adam Liaw on Channel 10’s MasterChef Australia.
“They (instilled) the idea in me that you don’t have to be a trained chef to be a good cook,” says Junda. “MasterChef popped my bubble, and I decided to turn my passion into a career.”
Junda will appear as a guest chef in the MasterChef Australia: Back to Win kitchen on June 15, bringing his signature dish, the Laksa Bomb, to the competition.
“Contestants (up for elimination) have to guess the ingredients used in the Laksa Bomb,” says Junda. “The first three contestants to guess incorrectly will go into an (elimination) cook-off using the ingredients to make a dish.”
When I visit Amah, I’m pretty hungry and fear I may order everything on the extensive menu, so I trust restaurant manager Tina Dong to recommend some menu standouts.
First off the pass is Hainan chicken siu mai, chilli crab har gao, and chargrilled satay wagyu and chicken skewers with peanut sauce – and our flavour journey begins. The black pepper prawns with Malaysian sarawak pepper are deliciously succulent and moreish.
Tina mixes the XO oyster clay pot rice with grilled Pacific oysters and XO sauce before we help ourselves. The rice is cooked in a clay pot – resulting in a satisfyingly crispy bottom. Belachan kangkung, stir-fried water spinach with sambal, is understandably a favourite in Malaysia. The Asian barbecue wrap special looks as good as it tastes. It contains tender Angus char siu rib, char siu pork belly with Yunnan rose jam, and 10-day aged duck with five spice and ginger torch plum sauce. The duck skin is wafer thin and so crispy, and the Yunnan rose jam is delicate and aromatic.
Amah serves up a perfect combination of sweet, salty, smooth and crispy, giving diners a feast for the senses.
The poor commuters in the station have no idea of the magic unfurling above them!
Amah by Ho Jiak
Chatswood Interchange
436 Victoria Avenue | 9170 4714
hojiak.com.au/amah
Watch MasterChef Australia: Back to Win on Channel 10 and 10 Play from 15 June.
