Ng Hun Yan and Julia Ung of Jung + Co. Photo: CHING YEE SING
For someone who had no direction in life and forced to take up culinary arts by her parents, it appears Julia Ung, 40, has found her true calling.
According to the Penang-born Ung, both her Nyonya grandmothers were fantastic cooks.
“However, I was a scrawny kid who had no interest in food or cooking. As a teenager, I was rebellious and partied a lot instead of taking my studies seriously. To ensure I did something useful with my life, my family insisted on sending me to culinary school so that I’d at least get some proper qualifications.
“Honestly, the idea didn’t appeal to me at first as culinary arts was perceived as something only those who don’t do well in school take up.”
Despite her initial reluctance, Ung discovered her passion for cooking when lessons began.
“I was surprised that I enjoyed the classes so much. The course was a combination of arts and science, and had a certain musicality to it, a culmination of everything I was interested in.”
Together with Ng Hun Yan, 35, another Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU) culinary arts graduate, they both rule the roost at D’s Wine Bar, Damansara Kim in Petaling Jaya, with their inventive array of Peranakan and Malaysian Chinese fare. Their “old meets new” creations are conceived to complement the vast selection of fine artisanal wines on offer at the oenologists’ haven.
Ung offers a different take on Pekasam.
Despite being classmates with Ng, who goes by the nickname Chef Onion, both went their separate ways right after graduating.
Ung went on to join Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur’s Lafite restaurant for two years. Then, she left to be part of Yeast Bistronomy’s opening team and returned to the hotel industry for a short stint at Gobo Upstairs Grill, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
“Ng and I were reunited when I joined Char Line Asado and Bar in 2019. We discovered that we worked well together and formalised our partnership in April this year by establishing Jung + Co.”
On her earliest and fondest food-related memory, Ung says, “My paternal grandmother’s simple baked chicken with butter, soy sauce and white pepper powder is a very simple dish, yet the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. I also love her sambal belacan.
“For Chinese New Year, it was the norm to be feasting on ju hu char (stir-fried shredded jicama), kiam chye boey (salted vegetable stew), chap chye (stir-fried mixed vegetables), chicken curry and beef rendang.”
She admits she was surprised and tickled to discover that her friends didn’t eat the same mish-mash of Chinese, Indian and Malay food at home, unlike her Peranakan family.
“That’s when it hit me how fortunate I was, being able to enjoy such a variety of good food at the family table.”
She recalls her grandmother used to buy fresh spices from the market and grind everything up at home to make her own spice blends for sale.
“My mother also makes her own pickles. She’d buy all the different vegetables and then painstakingly make jars of Nyonya acar. I’m currently talking with my aunts as I’m trying to gather as much information as possible from them on our family recipes!”
Her efforts and intention to preserve her Peranakan family’s culinary heritage is shared by Ng, 35, whose early interest in food was spurred by his father.
Chef Onion doing his thing.
“My Dad was a big fan of the famous Singapore-born but Hong Kong-based food critic Chua Lam and I’d join him on his search for eateries. My family is Toisan Cantonese, so I’m keen to preserve our familial culinary specialities too,” says Ng.
He started helping his mother in the kitchen when he was nine. “By the time I turned 14, I was already cooking for the whole family. At 16, I was sure I wanted to study culinary arts.”
After graduating, Ng then spent a year in Switzerland on a fast-track programme.
“My Caucasian lecturer had a hard time trying to pronounce my Chinese name, so I told him to call me ‘Onion’ and the nickname has stuck ever since.”
After Switzerland, Ng worked in Singapore for eight years, first at the Pan Pacific Hotel and then at the Tippling Club. In 2017, he joined Deuce at Publika which served European fusion specialities. When Deuce’s sister restaurant Char Line opened, Ng moved over to head the new restaurant team.
Love for heritage foods
On their off days, the duo’s love and passion for heritage food has them hunting for old-school hawker fare together.
Ung reiterates, “Heritage food is something close to our hearts. We aim to preserve those cherished flavours of yesteryear, especially old kampung-style specialties.
“People often talk about the preservation of French, Italian and Japanese cuisines, but very few pay the same attention to Malaysian old-school food. Most aren’t willing to pay for good homegrown fare, although these days, things are slowly changing.
The inviting interior at D’s Wine. — Photos: CHING YEE SING
“Our cherished Peranakan and Chinese heritage should be protected and promoted as they link us to our past. Ng and I are keen to understand, analyse and preserve all the old flavours and traditional techniques.
“Instead of replicating old-school dishes, our approach is to capture the essence of those nostalgic dishes and present the core idea or infuse quintessential flavours in modern ways.
“We want to bridge the gap between the old and new, allowing both young and old diners to appreciate classic, old-school flavours in a more refined setting.
“The name Jung + Co. is a contraction of our names − Julia and Ng − while the word ‘company’ denotes our desired collaboration with other like-minded industry players. Hopefully, we can learn from each other, grow together and bring the local dining scene to the next level,” she adds.
Using D’s Wine Bar as their current base, Jung + Co. looks set to conquer more hearts, minds and tummies of serious wine and food lovers in the days ahead.
