KUCHING: Four acclaimed chefs are embarking on an eight-day culinary journey across Sarawak as part of the Magnificent Sarawak: Gastronomy Adventures tour.
It will be made into a six-episode documentary reality show to be streamed on the Youku platform under the Alibaba Group.
Curated by MULU Global Media, a Beijing-based Sarawakian-owned cultural content provider under the MULU Group, the tour aims to showcase the state’s diverse flavours, indigenous ingredients, and rich culinary heritage.
Led by Ipoh-born Chef Addison Liew, he will be joined by his celebrity chef colleagues from China and Peru, namely Chef Tam Kwok Fung, Chef Xu Jingye and Chef Eduardo Vargas.
The tour will take the chefs through Miri, Sibu, Mukah, and Kuching, offering hands-on experiences such as learning belacan-making in Miri, sampling empurau and semah fish in Sibu, and discovering sago plantation and Melanau delicacies like umai and linut in Mukah.
In Kuching, the chefs will explore Bidayuh and Chinese cultural influences, taste local favourites like Sarawak Laksa and kolo mee, and to source unique ingredients such as wild durian, midin, enkabang butter, buah engkala.
They will visit pepper plantation, nipah palm for gula apong and empurau farm for a more in-depth understanding of what Sarawak has to offer.
The journey will conclude with an exclusive event, “Tok Panjang Sarawak,” where the four chefs will prepare a dinner for 30 guests using ingredients gathered during their Sarawak adventure.
The dinner will be graced by Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The initiative aims to promote Sarawak as a premier eco-tourism destination in Asia, while introducing the rich cultural and gastronomic diversity of Sarawak and Malaysia to the Chinese market and global audiences through people and food.
It also seeks to strengthen the longstanding friendship between Malaysia and China by fostering deeper cultural connections through gastronomy.
Having worked at various Michelin-starred French restaurants in France and across Asia, Addison, who is also co-owner of MULU Group and Chef Patron of MULU Hutong, is known for his own “Nanyang-French Cuisine” – transforming the freshest locally-sourced produce into the finest delectable courses, where dishes are cooked with superb attention with Southeast Asian home recipes passed down from generations, perfecting with French techniques.
He earned Michelin Recognition for Brasserie 1893 at Waldorf Astoria Beijing which he headed for four years.
Meanwhile, Cantonese master chef Tam Kwok Fung continues to redefine Cantonese cuisine through his award-winning restaurant, Chef Tam’s Seasons, inspired by the 24 solar terms of Chinese tradition.
Blending global ingredients with modern techniques, Chef Tam celebrates seasonality in every dish.
Under his leadership, the restaurant has earned two Michelin stars, “Highest Climber Award” with a ranking of #72 in the extended list of World’s Best 50 Restaurants, ranked #9 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, also named “Best Restaurant in Macau” and one Black Pearl Diamond.
Chef Tam was also honored as “Chef of the Year” by the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide (2023) and SCMP’s 100 Top Tables 2025.
Fourteen years after starting as a small private kitchen in Foshan, 102 House found a new home on Shanghai’s Bund in 2021.
Led by chef-owner Xu Jingye, the restaurant is dedicated to reviving traditional Cantonese banquet cuisine with a modern, seasonal touch inspired by Japanese kaiseki.
It earned a two Michelin stars within 12 months of opening and ranked #29 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025.
Chef Xu applies meticulous techniques to seasonal ingredients, creating dishes that honor tradition while incorporating subtle modern interpretations.
Peruvian chef and founder Eduardo Vargas discovered his love for food early on, inspired by the lively family gatherings in his native Peru where talented home cooks turned every meal into a culinary experience.
He later pursued business studies in the United States before honing his culinary skills in Canada.
After gaining international experience in Hawaii, the Seychelles, and Singapore, Vargas arrived in Shanghai in 2002. A year later, he opened his first restaurant, Azul, which has since evolved into a multi-restaurant group featuring popular names such as Colca, Azul Italiano, Xouk, and Bhacus, among others.
This program will become a one-of-the-kind multifaceted publicity for Sarawak as the tour also was joined by influencers from China, Russia, Italy and South Korea, with over 3 million followers added. World-renowned travel media Conde Nast Traveler production crew also participated in this program. This project is also supported by ASEAN-China Center under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs China, Embassy of Malaysia in Beijing, Royal Brunei Airlines and China Natural Resources Investment Company.
The initiative aims to promote Sarawak as a premier eco-tourism destination in Asia, while introducing the rich cultural and gastronomic diversity of Sarawak and Malaysia to the Chinese market and global audiences through people and food. It also seeks to strengthen the longstanding friendship between Malaysia and China by fostering deeper cultural connections through gastronomy.
