The Asian Persuasion

Despite its European heritage, Australia lives next door to Asia. Modern Australian cuisines has been heavily influenced by its Asian and South-East Asian neighbours: Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese, and by many waves of immigrants from Asia and all parts of the world. Elizabeth Chong, a Hong Kong Goodwill Ambassador who has held Chinese cooking classes in Melbourne for 40 years, sums it up: “You hardly come across a menu in Australia nowadays that doesn’t have an Asian influence.”

Despite its European heritage, Australia lives next door to Asia. Modern Australian cuisines has been heavily influenced by its Asian and South-East Asian neighbours: Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese, and by many waves of immigrants from Asia and all parts of the world. Elizabeth Chong, a Hong Kong Goodwill Ambassador who has held Chinese cooking classes in Melbourne for 40 years, sums it up: “You hardly come across a menu in Australia nowadays that doesn’t have an Asian influence.”“Australians want their lives made simpler and their food experiences more complex,” says Gary Tilsley, managing director of Australian economic research firm BIS Shrapnel. “Consumers are looking for value, but they also want flavour and visual appeal.”According to BIS Shrapnel’s report, Ethnic Foods in Australia 2004 to 2007, over 20 per cent of Australia’s restaurants serve Asian cuisine. The major contributors are Chinese 14.5 per cent, Thai 4 per cent and Japanese 1.9 per cent. What’s more, Asian cuisine accounts for 33.5 per cent of total consumer expenditure on ‘ethnic foods’. Younger consumers are moving to cheaper and perceptibly healthier Asian food – namely Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese (sushi).Kelvin Leung from Chine on Paramount, an upmarket Chinese restaurant in Melbourne, has further insights. “Australians are much more sophisticated than they used to be when it comes to Chinese food. Now, almost everyone uses chopsticks and people know what to order and where to go for what specialties.“They are very knowledgeable about different yum cha dishes and search out fresh seafood from restaurant tanks. They even appreciate the subtleties of different Chinese teas,” Leung says.So, how is the Asian influence reflected in the pub scene compared to restaurants?BISTRO interviewed chefs at two restaurants: the Tamarind of the Reef Hotel Casino, Cairns, and the Oriental Hotel Restaurant in Adelaide. Head Chef of Tamarind Restaurant, Paul Bowell, answered BISTRO’s questions.Why and when did you learn to cook Asian food?Paul Bowell: Asian cuisine is a style of cooking that I’ve used and learnt throughout my whole career. Australia has such a mixture of cultures resulting in the increased popularity of Asian food.Why do you think your customers like Asian dishes? Paul Bowell: In Cairns, in particular, there is definitely a growth of Asian food. I think this is because our climate mirrors that of South East Asia and lends itself to that cuisine. Our clientele is a mixture of Asian and Western diners. There are many reasons why we have an Asian restaurant. Not only the climate but also because at the time we opened, there was a lack of high-end contemporary Asian restaurants in Cairns.Does cooking Asian dishes affect your profit margin?Paul Bowell: There is no difference in the profit margins in different cooking styles; it depends on the quality of products that you use.How labour intensive is Asian cooking compared to traditional Australian meals? Do you need special training? Are the right suppliers available? Paul Bowell: Asian cooking is labour intensive as a lot of dishes contain many ingredients. An extra level of organisation is needed in order to compete with western restaurants providing simpler menus. But I find that people don’t need extensive training to cook Asian. Tamarind is high end contemporary Asian dining, so we produce all our sauces and pastes in-house. There are a wide variety of Asian products available in Australia and their supply and availability is growing each day. A different approach to the Asian flavours is found at the Oriental Hotel restaurant, Adelaide. BISTRO interviewed Executive Chef of the Independent Pub Group, Aleksander Korcz. What inspired you to put Asian-influenced dishes on the menu?Aleksander Korcz: The name of the Hotel. We wanted to have a special atmosphere – signature dishes, which would separate the Oriental Hotel from its competitors. We re-organised the menu recently. Instead of two menus – à la carte and bar menu, there is only a simple bistro menu. And it worked straight away! We had a substantial increase in patronage within two weeks of launching the new menu. I feel Asian flavours let us keep the original atmosphere of the Oriental and provide our customers with greater and more interesting choices. Besides serving typical curries you have some dishes, which combine the traditions of a few cuisines. For example, Thai Green Curry Pizza, Fish ‘n’ Chips served with wasabi and Thai salad. How did you come up with this idea? How popular are they?Aleksander Korcz: They are very popular. I like to experiment and create new dishes. It keeps the menu exciting and fresh. And if you offer your diners an experience they can’t get anywhere else, word of mouth travels very fast.Combining two menus into one – is it good for the bottom line?Aleksander Korcz: The reason for one menu is to produce fewer dishes, but at very consistent high quality and offering good value. Fewer dishes means improved efficiencies in terms of labour and wastage.Profit in the kitchen depends not only on the produce, but also on the quality of staff. A good chef can learn new menus very quickly.Do you make your sauces and curries from scratch or are you using pre-made products? Aleksander Korcz: We make all our dim sims, curry pastes, sauces etc. in-house at the moment. So now we need to keep the consistency to keep our customers coming back. I am open-minded about having curry pastes and sauces supplied so we can cut our labour cost down, but I would have to research it carefully, not to compromise the quality of food.The reasons for putting Asian dishes on the menu may vary – existing market demand (Tamarind) or giving the place a competitive edge (Oriental Hotel). The common factor: people want flavour and diversity and like to have a range of options.
BISTRO magazine, March 2009

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