Spanish chef Alejandro Sanchez, who earned a Michelin star with his restaurant Alejandro, and Thai chef Wijannarongk “Amoo” Kunchit cook Avant Thai cuisine together at NAMO in Hong Kong.
Alejandro:
My Spanish roots will always shape the way I live and create food. I am Alejandro Sanchez, a true Spanish chef.
I was lucky to be born into a cooking family. My family is in the restaurant business, so from childhood I absorbed all the quirks and secrets of kitchen life.
After graduating, I moved to Madrid to take a sommelier course. I wanted real experience, so I took a job as a waiter in a restaurant. That was my first real step on the long road to becoming a chef.
At 24, I set convention aside and opened my first solo restaurant, “La Chumbera” (“The Cactus”). It was as extreme as it could be. But soon after that, I managed to open “Alejandro”, and I was bold enough to earn my first Michelin star after one year of operation. Can you imagine?
Though I have cooked Spanish food for almost all my life, I have always found Thai cuisine complex and exciting. It always attracted me as a real challenge to my professional skills. After I had been in Hong Kong for some time, I was told about NAMO’s Avant Thai concept. They did not have to ask me twice: I took it as a chance to finally venture into Thai cuisine with the help of Chef Wijannarongk Kunchit.
I do believe my new stars are all ahead of me. I can’t say for sure which cuisine they will come from. You see, I am a cosmopolitan man.
But I am sure of one thing: when you are truly on your way, doing your life’s work, you are happy, and you need no motivation or push. I wish everyone could feel this in their life. And don’t be afraid to change country, style, habits or team when your real goal is calling.
The dish I have chosen is the Chiang Mai Ribs: “Hang Lay” Iberico pork rib in a mild Northern Thai curry sauce, served with pumpkin puree and Thai baby cabbage. I like this dish because it sums up what we offer at NAMO. Notice its modern look; yet when you bite into it, the flavor is still distinctly Thai.
Wijannarongk Kunchit:
I was born in a wonderful place where bright colors and aromas create a unique blend of life. Thailand has always been a place to visit and to stay, and I am proud to be part of this country.
I am Chef Wijannarongk Kunchit. OK, just call me Chef Amoo. I have always been in love with food, and that love began in my childhood. As I grew up, my passion for cooking grew too, and it developed into a long relationship with the Master Chef project that lasted almost a decade.
Being a curious person, I traveled to Hong Kong and stayed far longer than a trip. After the move, I joined a leading restaurant group as their Head Chef of Asian Cuisine. Together we launched the elegant Sukho Thai restaurant in Stanley; it was not awarded a star, but it received mentions in the Michelin Guide.
In 2007, I traveled to Hanoi in Vietnam. I’ve already told you that I am a curious man. So I trained at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel under the renowned Chef Didier Corlou before opening “Saigon” in Stanley.
Over the years, my profession has let me travel and learn new things, which is what I always wanted. I had unique opportunities: a stint alongside celebrity Chef Bobby Chinn, a year at “La Soleil” in the Royal Garden Hotel as their premier Chef of Indo-Chinese Cuisine, and many others.
Today I am starting another chapter in my career with the opening of NAMO. Teaming up with Chef Alejandro, we have begun a collaboration between the traditional and the contemporary approach. We want to impress! We want our guests to say “wow” at the ingenuity, because AVANT THAI cuisine deserves every positive emotion.
I picked the Siam Fish Mousse Cake as my dish because it often surprises our guests. Unlike the typical fish cake served in most Thai restaurants, ours takes the traditional Thai dish to a new level of “luxe”, easily recognized by a touch of salmon caviar and a pickled cucumber relish.
