The rustic dining area makes the dining experience intimate and simple. — Photos by Sarah Ngui
SPECIAL occasions more often than not conjure up spectacular imagery — fireworks, candlelit dinners and champagne, glitz and glamour — and rightly so, as they are moments to be remembered.
However, simplicity is an underrated matter when it comes to special occasions, and at Razzmatazz, simplicity is anything but.
The bistro and pub, comprising a rustic bistro which provides a warm and inviting casual dining area and an adjacent bar, started operations one year ago, and proprietors Frieda Ngui and George W Germann aim to provide the utmost authenticity with their food.
“We make everything ourselves to ensure the quality is always there. I like to be totally authentic when it comes to our food,” said Germann.
He led quite the illustrious life before this latest venture in Kuching. Born and trained in Switzerland as a patissier-chocolatier, he completed special training in all aspects of the trade at various top pastry shops and hotels in Europe, starting in England and Spain, before moving overseas to South Africa and the US and embarking on years of working on luxury liners.
He later opened his own business, specialising in chocolate, then expanding to a patisserie, catering and cafes before seeking new challenges.
Garlic and cheese ciabatta bread (forefront) and garlic pizza.
Germann got into consulting with a stint all over Africa in airline catering, then to Jeddah where he was in the chocolate business with a Swiss brand before joining Saudi Airlines Catering.
“I met Frieda in Saudi Arabia after working there for nine years, and I then visited Kuching. At the time, the Saudi Arabia government changed the retirement rules for expats and they didn’t renew my work permit so I gave my three months’ notice and came here.
“After 47 years in the business, you cannot just do nothing — I need to be busy, so we started looking for premises for the bistro which took six weeks.
“We looked at many different properties and you need to find the right place — we finally decided on this location which we think is good — and most importantly, it has adequate property,” he said.
Why the name Razzmatazz? Germann noticed that a trend in restaurants nowadays was to have one-word, two-word or three-word names, so he decided on Razzmatazz because it brought back fond memories (there is a night club in Barcelona also named Razzmatazz).
This bistro and pub is non-halal as the speciality is pork, the basic food in Europe, according to Germann.
“Not many western places here serve a lot of pork dishes. I have travelled widely, so I can sort of see the need when people from Europe leave and they get a craving, so I want to try to fill that gap here,” he said.
The theme of simplicity runs through the menu, which features the most popular dishes, and if one were to peruse the bill of fare, one would notice that fusion food is distinctly lacking.
Smoked pork chop.
“We don’t serve fusion food here because too much fusion can become confusion,” Germann chuckled when the matter was pointed out to him.
To further preserve the authenticity and quality of the food served, Razzmatazz ensures ingredients from their suppliers are of the highest quality. It even makes the bread and pastry in-house.
“I feel hygiene standards can be updated, especially since Kuching is in a tropical country, and I learned all about hygiene standards when I was executive chef for Saudi Airlines where large quantities of food would come in and the quality had to be there because each gram and kilogramme used was needed to produce the same food.
“At any one time, we would have five hygiene guys checking everything and we couldn’t receive any food without the hygiene department’s approval,” Germann explained.
He also takes the time to talk to customers as certain items on the menu may seem foreign to some Kuchingites.
“In the beginning, we had to know the customers — this is, in fact, an ongoing process. We would enlighten them on some of the dishes because they wouldn’t know what these were.
“But now, we have a steady clientele that know what they want. We’ll just explain to our new customers and let them taste for themselves,” he added.
With Valentine’s Day just round the corner, why not venture out of your comfort zone to have a simple, quiet dinner at this rustic bistro.
Razzmatazz is located at Lot 16784 & 16785, Block 11, MTLD, Tabuan Tranquility Commercial Centre, Jalan Canna, Kuching.
Check out its Valentine’s Day menu on its Facebook page (Razzmatazz Bistro, Pub & Lounge) or find out more at razzmatazz.kuching.
A sampling of the desserts at Razzmatazz — a nice finish to a hearty meal.