For five years since moving to New Zealand from Malaysia, 30-year-old Jack Hew has dreamt about setting up his own restaurant.
That dream turned into reality when the restaurant owners of a Malaysian eatery where he was working as a chef decided to move to a new location.
When the 36-seater space became available two years ago, Hew jumped at the opportunity to open his own Malaysian restaurant - Lima Bintang - on 7 June 2023.
Before opening his restaurant, Hew had worked as a cook in a Cantonese restaurant before becoming an assistant chef at Treasure Kitchen.
Originally from Ampang, a town in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Hew comes from a family of restaurant owners.
“My father has owned our family restaurant for 40 years, and he has been an inspiration for me to have my own restaurant, too,” he said.
But the decision to start his own business didn’t come easy, as he knew he lacked experience and New Zealand was just coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic at the time.
“What I lack in experience, I believe I can make up with my determination and passion,” Hew said.
Hew was determined to inject some of the nostalgic flavours into his own rendition of the popular Malaysian street food dishes he grew up with.
“I make my own sauces and not use ready-made ones because I want the food in a certain way,” he said.
Hew confessed to also turning to YouTube to learn cooking techniques by Malaysian chefs.
“Every step of the way, we kept changing how we do things because we were unsatisfied and wanted to be perfect in every element of the dishes at Lima Bintang,” he said.
While the dream of having his own restaurant has come true for Hew, he said living the dream has been pretty taxing.
“It is common for us to be working 14 to 15 hours a day. Food prices have increased like crazy, and our profit margins are very tight,” he said.
“But we are lucky that we have built up a pool of regular customers that have continued to support us since we opened.”
Hew said that in Malaysia, eating street food is not just about “filling the stomach” but a social activity where people gather with friends and family to share meals in a relaxed atmosphere.
“What we hope to do in Lima Bintang is to have that same kind of Malaysian vibe here too,” he said.
Lima Bintang, translated from Malay, means “five stars” - and that is the level Hew said he was aiming for in terms of food quality and dining experience offered at his eatery.
Three of the dishes Hew said he was most proud of are the assam laksa, KL-style Hokkien mee and fish head vermicelli soup.
Assam Laksa is a dish that’s more commonly associated with the state of Penang than KL. Although it is labelled as laksa, it is very different to the curry based soup that you’d find in other forms of Malaysian, Thai or Indonesian laksa.
The key ingredients of laksa include mackerel and assam (tamarind) which gives the hint of sourness to the broth.
Assam laksa is served with sliced cucumber, onions, pineapple, mint and hae ko, a type of shrimp paste.
Assam laksa is an acquired taste, and besides the fact that it can be quite complex to cook, many Malaysian eateries are reluctant to have it on the menu as it doesn’t have mass appeal.
“I think this is one dish that we have almost perfected, and our customers say they like it,” Hew said.
Lima Bintang’s assam laksa comes with thick rice vermicelli that absorbs the rich flavours of the broth, and the special prawn paste adds sweetness and umami to the sweet, sour, spicy experience.
Then there is the KL-style Hokkien Mee, where thick yellow egg noodles are fried with pork lard oil, leafy greens and sliced pork before being seasoned with caramelised dark soya sauce.
Hew says wok hei is an important factor to a good KL Hokkien Mee, and has practised hard to fry up the dish in high heat to get the elusive rich, smokey and savoury flavours.
The dish is served topped with a generous amount of crispy “chu yau char” pork lard.
Then there is the fish head bee hoon, which comes with thick rice vermicelli, green vergies, tomato, and pickled veggies all doused in a milky broth.
Crispy deep fried fish head pieces are served on top of the noodles that will soften as they soak in the soup.
Hew said the “chili station” at Lima Bintang also meant customers could help themselves to homemade sambal, cut chili and chili sauces to their heart’s content “as long as nothing goes to waste”, noting that chilli was essential to give Malaysian street food that addictive, fiery kick.
Lima Bintang Malaysian Cuisine 6 Station Road, Ōtāhuhu, Auckland 1062. Ph: 09 2000299. Business Hours 11am-3pm, 5pm-9pm Tuesday to Sunday (Monday closed)
