Follow the sounds of laughter and story-telling to Straits Kitchen, where the gregarious and affable author, actor and food show host Chef Wan is serving up authentic Malaysian cuisine from now to 19 Nov as part of the Asian Masters 2011. 

Wan has been busy coaching the chefs at Grand Hyatt Singapore in the fine art of his cuisine. The oxtail soup, for instance, met his approval on the second day, as the flavours had more time to come together. A fantastically rich and wholesome dish, Wan's signature soup boasted meaty chunks of oxtail in a sweet, savoury simmer of herbs including cumin and coriander.

You'll find this dish, alongside about nine for lunch and a different set of nine for dinner, in his newly published cookbook from Penguin, The Best of Chef Wan, which shares his best collection of 138 recipes. The other dishes we sampled were the stir-fried four-angled beans with sambal, sambal udang tumis, black pomfret cooked with calamansi, and beef curry; alongside other staples of the Malay/Peranakan section at StraitsKitchen buffet: satay, rojak, and various kuehs. The two outstanding dishes were the grilled beef with mango, an appetising salad with perfectly charcoal-grilled beef in a tangy chilli dressing; and herb rice salad known as nasi ulam - the chef usually infuses more herbs into this rice, but it was perfect as served, with dried ground ikan bilis giving it a punch.

Chef Wan's special dishes are available for lunch and dinner, from now to 19 Nov. The buffet is priced at $44 per adult for lunch, and $50 for dinner. During our weekday lunch tasting, Wan could barely keep up with his fans' requests for autographs, photos and chitchat as he made his way from table to table - one of the most obliging celebrity chefs we've met. The Best of Chef Wan is also available for sale.

10 Scotts Road, G/F Grand Hyatt Singapore, 6732 1234

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