Ryan Chung Kah Mun – Calle Taco
In this interview, Ryan Chung Kah Mun, chef and owner of Calle Taco, shares his introduction to the industry and his love of tacos.
What do you do?
As the owner of Calle Taco, I try my best to keep it a sustainable business in almost all aspects, including areas in which I am not good at, mainly marketing (which I can proudly say I do outsource for because if I were to handle it, we would go nowhere). The boring parts are the accounting and paperwork. Still, the fun part of being a business owner is trying to convert the constant wave of stress into positive stress, such as making last-minute decisions that benefit all parties.
As a chef/foodie, I try to bring a marriage of Mexican and Malaysian cuisine in terms of flavour and techniques. It is a niche idea, but there is a clear connection between both cuisines. We both (Mexicans and Malaysians) love our spice (heat) and our fatty/lemak flavours, and we both have such complexity and diversity of flavours and ingredients in rural and urban cooking. It is my job to bring forth this connection and inspire others to see it and expand on it.
How did you get into the industry?
I started this journey when I was still studying halfway for my BA in Psychology. Something clicked in me, and I just kind of locked in that I belonged in food and beverage. That’s when I started working part-time for some restaurants and cafes as the front-of-house service crew to learn the ins and outs of the business.
At that time, I was pretty much hooked on Milo and the concept of Malaysians just enjoying Milo at any given time really intrigued me, so I thought that it would’ve been a fun and pretty cool business idea to make an adult-ish version of Milo by selling customisable cocoa beverages whereby anybody can add-on herbs, spices, or even fruits to their cocoa drink (yes, currently this concept is present by the name of Chocc in Petaling Jaya). Yet, for some reason, after a few months of selling in bazaars, this concept still seemed too bland for me, so I decided to push it by learning about Malaysian cocoa by working in Chocolate Concierge as my first professional kitchen job. From then on, it was basically entering a new world, just riding the food and beverage wave wherever it took me, and it was at ChoCha Foodstore where I really pushed my culinary skills and knowledge and to them, I am forever indebted.
Share with us a story from behind the scenes.
We recently had one of those unforgettable grinds, very typical in the food and beverage scene, but it was nice that we actually managed to go through it so early on. It was one of those moments where the schedule was packed to the brim, and after surviving prepping for one event on the second of September, a part-timer and I had to spend the whole night preparing for another big event the next day, surviving with only one to two hours of sleep/nap with the help of the never-disappointing late-night mamak fuel and the highs of the pressure to get everything done before the event started.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
I can always remember this dish from Macau, which is the main inspiration for our beef tacos. Ultra-comfort beef stew, with no noodles, just beef spare parts and meat cooked to perfection with a glutinous stew, which was perfect on a winter in Macau. I take that memory with me, and I always find that setting to be the perfect scenario to enjoy a bowl of beef noodles (also one of my fav dishes) – best on a cool/rainy day.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
The best part of my job, since I am the chef, is being able to come up with random things in my research and development (usually for events) and always having customers willing to try and actually enjoy it. It is usually new dynamics that excites me, and that includes working on events and collabs because it’s always different no matter how safe or crazy we play it.
The worst part is stressing on the business side and keeping the financials in line every month whilst still trying to pay fair wages and compensation to our part-timers. Even worse still is knowing that F&B workers, in general, deserve more and that a lot of times I can’t afford to pay them the wage that they deserve.
What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
Prepared nicely, any mamak that does Teh Halia Ais and Nasi Goreng Kambing just seal the deal for me.
What’s one of the wildest or scariest things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
As a tenant in Triptyk, a sustainable bar housed in a very old-school colonial-esque building in Kampung Attap, I often have to do prep for the next day alone, usually staying up and burning the midnight hours.
Before this incident, I would usually keep the light to the bare minimum, usually dark, and the only lights open would be in my kitchen, where I would be prepping. However, one day, on a windy day, staying in the kitchen until 1 am with the outside corridor lights off, one of the doors nearby just closed with a deafening bang! I attributed it to the wind pushing that really old-school heavy door shut, or maybe not? Who knows. It was an eerie feeling regardless, with the winds howling. I just cleaned and packed up the messy spots and got out of there quick. After that incident and after talking to some of the Triptyk staff about it, I now take the precaution to turn on at least a few lights (sorry for eating a bit more electricity bill, Triptyk!)
The perfect day off would be …
Waking up at 12 pm just in time for lunch, then depending on whether it may be the usual lazy-chill mood or an inspired mood that will dictate what kind of food I eat, then come back home to play video games and then, if lucky, slot in a two-hour badminton session at 8 pm-10 pm and have a simple dinner after.
A day in the life of Ryan Chung Kah Mun is …
Sometimes, I wake up early (8–9 am) due to poor planning to buy certain ingredients I forget to purchase beforehand. I often get lunch as well. Then, I arrive at Triptyk at 12 pm to start the day, usually with prep work included whilst doing service. Usually, service without any prep is the fun and chill time. Then, I close the kitchen with cleaning around 10–10.30 pm, go back home around 11 pm, eat dinner, and generally catch up on my computer until 1–2 am and end the day.
What does Ryan Chung Kah Mun do for fun?
I would never say no to badminton if I could, but generally, most of my free hours are spent on my computer playing video games with friends and catching up on my anime, TV series, and movies as well. If the stars align, I may even enjoy a karaoke session or two, but that hardly happens due to F&B and other people’s timing.
What’s something you’d like guests to know about Calle Taco?
We would love our guests to know there shouldn’t be a ‘Best Taco in Town’, even if we appreciate it. The taco culture is still in its early stages, and we always have to thank the OG’s like Curbside Cantina, Taco King, or even Taco Bell for creating the platform here and paving the way for people like us to come and share our interpretation of tacos.
How have you grown in your profession? What are your key learnings from your start in the industry until now? Any misconceptions?
The general misconception I am personally experiencing is that people often assume chef-owners have more time for themselves. That is not the case, at least in the early stages. There is much more hustle compared to working in a position in any restaurant, with many more responsibilities as well.
One more key point that might be a misconception is that people would assume that if the food is good, I would have thought that people would naturally just flock to the restaurant, and it would be smooth sailing. This is not the case again, especially now when there are thousands of choices to choose a meal. The power of social media marketing definitely plays a huge role depending on the business scenario.
What do you want people to know about being a chef-owner as a profession?
Don’t do it alone; if you do it alone, give it your all and hope people are inspired to follow you and help you along and then build a team from there. A considerable amount of mental and emotional strength and grit is needed to survive the demanding environment of the F&B scene.
What’s your view on the F&B scene in Kuala Lumpur?
It’s always confusing to see that the things I’d thought would do well somehow close down or that I never expected to survive suddenly flourish. The same goes for the pricing and cost of food and ingredients, which sometimes is highly frustrating. We are used to the generally cheap pricing structure. Still, it’s slowly becoming impossible to maintain these prices and stay at a healthy profit margin with the cost of goods constantly increasing. In my heart, I still believe good food will always be the cement that keeps Malaysians coming back, so sometimes it is disappointing that so many now just chase food trends for the sake of being inclusive.
What can guests look forward to in the upcoming months?
Expect more events and, hopefully, more collaborations as well. Triptyk, MyMex (local corn tortilla producers), and we will be hosting a monthly party named ‘LaPachanga’ with a slightly different theme each round. Still, few things are certain for that party, “Good food, Banging Music, and Good Vibes” all day. We will be in Triptyk officially until the end of 2023, but do check up on us to see what our next phase will be!
Read more interviews similar to this one with Ryan Chung Kah Mun here, and stay up to date with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations here and here.
Malaysian-Mexican fusion? Interesting!