"We get each other," says Paris-based chef Taku Sekine (Dersou and Cheval d'Or) about Christian Recomio (Sitka Eatinghouse & Bar and Sitka Studio) during a chat leading up to a partnership with Perrier-Jouët, the ‘wild child of champagne'
I hear the Sitka team took you to a Malaysian wet market. What do you think of KL so far?
Taku Sekine: Yeah, we went to the TTDI market and had street food in Chinatown. I find the layout of your city interesting; it’s so vast that people don’t care to walk long distances. There is also a lot of greenery. I’ve seen a lot more of the ‘local life’ here compared to in Singapore or Bangkok.
You have Christian and Jen to thank for that. Do you get a strong sense of Malaysia’s Muslim culture?
Taku Sekine: Seeing pork and non-halal goods sectioned off in supermarkets might feel normal to you, but such small differences are, to me, very jarring. Even he [gestures at Christian] is making pork-free pastry…