AT THE age 16, John Filogius left his homeland of Paluaie, Flores Timur, in search of greener pastures in Malaysia.
ON HAND: John working in the kitchen.
The gutsy teenager was so determined to make a new life for himself that he risked life and limb to follow a group of migrants on a dangerous four-hour boat journey from his island village to Flores where he initially planned to look for a job.
From there, he travelled with the group to Surabaya, Indonesia, before landing in Johor Baru, Malaysia. The journey took days but they were all safe.
At first, John grabbed whatever jobs that were available at construction sites in the southern peninsular state.
He worked hard but found staying out in the sun all day quite an ordeal. So he went to look for something better.
“Everytime we went to eat in coffeeshops or restaurants, I would keep my ears and eyes open. I knew even though the pay was not too good, I would not get sun-burnt working in an eatery.”
Soon after, he found a job as a waiter and kitchen helper.
“In all the coffeeshops where I worked, I always observed the workers. I had to do that because I wanted to learn more – to be more than just a waiter or a kitchen helper.”
SPECIAL MENU: The signature dishes of R1 restaurant.
He would never pass up the chance to better himself. And mostly, he learned by watching the experts at work.
“In one of the restaurants where I worked, the chef made me cook. I did not complain because it was good training for me — so that whenever he went on leave, I would be able to take over. I’m grateful for this chance,” he said.
John then went to work for a restaurant in Klang, Selangor. The place is very famous for its bakut-teh, a Chinese herbal meat bone soup popular in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Taiwan.
“People would stop by for lunch and dinner. The place was always crowded and we had to be on our toes at all times,” he remembered.
As the demand for bakut-teh grew, John was kept very busy serving up the dish for customers. Through this, he was able to pick up the finesse of preparing the broth of herbs and spices which had to be simmered for hours.
“There are various ways to cook bakut teh. Some use more pepper, some are saltier with darker soup while others are strongly flavoured,” he explained.
John also prepares ‘dry’ bakut-teh which is very popular in Klang. It has a slightly different taste.
The famous Klang bakut-teh is John’s special offering although he also cooks other foods such as pork in soy sauce, ‘drunken’ chicken, pork ribs and vegetables prepared in very creative and delicious ways.
At 37 now, John is presently working with R1 restaurant in the 88 Kepayan Ridge shopping complex in Sabah.
In fact, he has been working there since October 2010.
His cooking has been well received. Even though he is a Timorese, he serves up food that is authentically Chinese.
“I have learnt the art of cooking well and I’m very proud to say my foods are prepared with real Chinese recipes. I trained under excellent chefs during the course of my work.”
He said this with great conviction and pride — and he is just as determined to compete and succeed as a cook as he was in seeking a brighter future when he first embarked on the journey of self-betterment as a youthful 16-year-old.
On his future, he said he would love to go back to Flores and open a restaurant one day.
But the one thing still holding him back is the lack of cooking ingredients in Flores. He most probably would have to go and shop for the things he wanted in Surabaya.
“Right now, I will just work here and gain more knowledge,” he said, adding that back home, they still did not have the sort of buildings he has in mind for a restaurant.
For now, he will keep working and concentrating on promoting Klang bakut teh in Kota Kinbalu as well as the surrounding areas.