The Stoveside Stories Podcast

Growing up in Malaysia's Petaling Jaya, Chef Darren Toh was raised in a mixed-heritage family. His mother with an Indian background and his father a Chinese one.

 

Since he was young, he has always loved food and experimenting with them. So, after graduating from secondary school, he enrolled in culinary school.

 

After working in various restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore, Chef Toh became a culinary teacher in Taylor's University and KDU University College. 

 

While completing his MBA in Europe, he also staged briefly in places like Noma in Denmark and Restaurant Amador in Germany.

 

In 2015, he opened Dewakan, a fine-dining restaurant that serve indigenous Malaysian ingredients on the ground floor of KDU University College campus in Shah Alam, Malaysia. He then relocated the restaurant to Kuala Lumpur in 2019.

 

Dewakan was the first Malaysian restaurant to enter Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. It also obtained the first Michelin star in the first Malaysia Michelin Guide in 2022. They garnered the second Michelin star in 2023.

 

In this episode, Chef Toh talks about the national rivalry of chicken rice, his favorite food, his thoughts on theatrical restaurants and more.

 

Don't miss these Stoveside Stories - and bon appetit!

As a native who was born-and-bred in Singapore, Chef LG Han did not originally plan to become a chef despite coming from a family that boasts 3 generations of restaurateurs.

 

He studied finance at the London School of Economics and worked as a banker in Singapore. However, the culinary bug eventually caught him. So, he quit the banker's job and threw himself into the kitchen.

 

After gaining experience all over Europe and Singapore, he eventually opened Labyrinth in 2014. The menu at the time emphasized local ingredients and using them to create elevated Singaporean street food.

 

In 2017, his restaurant was awarded a Michelin star and in 2021 it was recognized amongst Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

 

Chef Han has since updated his approach to one that infuses different products around the world to highlight the Singaporean way of cooking.

 

Even with all the changes, he has kept the restaurant amongst the best in Asia for both critics and diners. That includes being ranked #97 in the 2025 World’s 50 Best list, #40 in the 2026 Asia’s 50 Best list and maintaining the one Michelin star rating.  He has also opened new concepts like Milli Sky Dining & Bar.

 

In this episode, Chef Han talks about the importance of joy in cooking, pacing a menu, the memories of his grandma, why chefs travel and more.

 

Don't miss these Stoveside Stories - and bon appetit!

Born in Johor, Malaysia, Chef Johnson Wong saw an ad by chance about Le Cordon Bleu from a magazine and decided that it was something he wanted to do. 

 

So, he traveled to Australia to study at the prestigious institute. After graduating, he worked at various fine-dining kitchens in France and Denmark as well as those located in Macau and Singapore.

 

Upon his return to Malaysia, he decided to open his own restaurant Gen in Penang in 2018. He focuses on translating "our Malaysian story" into an edible experience by cooking his take on Malaysian cuisine, with local ingredients that are often under-the-radar outside of the country.

 

Thanks to the diligent work of himself and the team, Gen won a spot on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2021, while Chef Wong won the Young Chef Award 2024 by Michelin Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

 

In this episode, Chef Wong talks about being a young person in the kitchen, the challenges of the restaurant business, putting too much faith in a recipe and more.

 

Don't miss these Stoveside Stories - and bon appetit!

Born in Perth, Australia, Chef Dave Pynt has worked with a host of legendary chefs like Tetsuya Wakuda (Tetsuya’s in Sydney; Waku Ghin in London), Rene Redzepi (Noma in Copenhagen), Fergus Henderson (St John and St John Bread and Wine in London) and Nũno Mendes (Viajanteand The Loft Project, London). 

 

It was at Bittor Arginzoniz's Asador Etxebarri in Axpe Achondo, Spain, however, that he truly transformed himself. There, Chef Pynt started to realize the true potential of cooking with fire and wood.

 

He then started a pop-up restaurant in London in Spring of 2012. It was hugely successful and served up to 350 guests a day on weekends.

 

After the pop-up ended, he traveled and keep learning around the world, before settling down and opening Burnt Ends in Singapore. It entered the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list at #30 in 2014 and has held a Michelin star since it was first awarded in 2018. The restaurant has continued to climb to new heights: as high as #15 in Asia's 50 Best and #68 in World's 50 Best. In 2026, it was named #9 in World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list.

 

As the accolades and customers came piling in, the location soon outgrew itself. So, in 2022, Chef Pynt moved Burnt Ends from Chinatown to the historic 40-hectare site known as Dempsey Hill.

 

In this episode, Chef Pynt talks about being cussed out early on in his career, cooking with fire, opening a restaurant in a completely foreign place and more.

 

Don't miss these Stoveside Stories - and bon appetit!

Born and grew up in Mumbai, India, Chef Varun Totlani has always loved food and all things related to it. He spent a lot of time watching cooking shows and internet videos for fun.

 

His dreams took on a more professional tone as he began to stage at a 5-star hotel in the city then moved to Hyderabad to study at the Culinary Academy of India, and later graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

 

When he returned to India in 2016, he joined the Masque opening team as a Commis, and rose through the ranks from being the Sous Chef in 2021, to the Head Chef in 2022. He is focused on showcasing the diversity of India’s produce and carrying the cuisine forward into the future.

 

After Chef Totlani took over the rein in 2025, the restaurant was ranked as No.19 in the 2025 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list. In 2026, it jumped to No. 15 and also won the prestigious Art of Hospitality Award.

 

In this episode, Chef Totlani talks about defying the naysayers, the complexity of Indian food, his life philosophy and more.

 

Don't miss these Stoveside Stories - and bon appetit!