Fellow Krug Ambassades, Chef Nurdin Topham and Chef James Won
Charting a new course for Hennessy X.O, the new Hennessy X.O Odyssey brought diners on a whole new culinary experience at Enfin by James Won last November. To showcase each of the seven tasting notes of the spirit, culinary masters James Won and Nurdin Topham, worked together to craft a seven-course dinner, celebrating Hennessy’s heritage and provoking palates of the most discerning of gourmands.
Malaysian-born Chef James, who trained in Paris before returning to open the sophisticated Enfin by James Won, led this enticing affair, further shaping Kuala Lumpur’s food scene. Joining him is Nurdin Topham, founder of one-Michelin-starred restaurant, Nur, in Hong Kong. Chef Nurdin previously trained at Nordic Food Lab, an establishment by Noma’s world-acclaimed head chef, Rene Redzepi. Chef Nurdin especially champions the field-to-table philosophy to deliver the freshest dining experience.
Hennessy X.O
For this particular culinary journey, both chefs traversed to East Malaysia, straight out into the unknown to source for exotic herbs and local ingredients before putting together a menu that was exciting and enticing.
“This time round, there are no rules and no structures. We are just going with the flow,” James muses. “Working alongside with Nurdin is a refreshing change because he has a different view on the things that we Malaysians are so used to seeing.”
As for Chef Nurdin, he was thrilled to embark on unfamiliar territories with James. “I was skeptical of the idea initially. It has been strange tasting and developing a dish from ingredients in Sabah together with Hennessy. Hennessy is very versatile and it has worked exceptionally well with Asian food. The local spices and herbs really brought out a whole new dimension of the spirit,” said Chef Nurdin.
Peek the gallery below for some of the chefs’ creations. BAZAAR can’t wait for the 2017 edition already—who’s in?
