One-starred Michelin chef, Auntie Gaik Lean, on her collaboration with Peppermint & what keeps her going

In a world where newly minted Michelin chefs are celebrated for making the lists at increasingly younger ages, Beh Gaik Lean, 71, or Auntie Gaik Lean as she is affectionately known, stands out.

As she tells us, it’s not everyday that you get your first Michelin star at the age of 69. “When I got the award, I was in seventh heaven,” she says. 

Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery won its first Michelin star at the inaugural Michelin Guide for Malaysia in 2022. The eatery retained its star in the subsequent 2023 edition. 

Beyond being highlighted among the ranks of fine-dining restaurants, Auntie Gaik Lean says: “For nyonya food to be on the international platform (of Michelin), I think that’s awesome.” 

Good news for us in Singapore — this “awesome” nyonya food’s going to be on our shores for the next month, till Aug 11, at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay’s Peppermint restaurant, as part of its lunch and dinner buffet spreads. 

Meeting Auntie Gaik Lean from Penang

Accolades aside, this septuagenarian from Penang, Malaysia, is one of the kindest, down-to-earth chefs, if not people, you could possibly ever meet.

We were midway through the interview, talking about one of Auntie Gaik Lean’s classic dishes — the brinjal sambal — when she recalls it’s not on the menu for the day. Once our chat draws to a close, she promptly heads to the kitchen to get a small portion prepared, just for us. 

She tells us the dish reminds her of mother and her childhood. When they were younger and less well-to-do, it was a simple, appetising dish that went well with rice, or could easily be elevated with fried fish or egg, depending on how much they had to go around back then. 

The affable chef has been cooking all her life — at the age of 21, she began cooking at a factory canteen for American company Motorola, which she credits for being instrumental in her ability to handle, and cook for, big crowds at her restaurant today. 

She then found her way to Kuala Lumpur, teaching chefs there how to cook Peranakan food, before her son, Adrian Tan, found a place for her to set up shop back home in Penang.

Despite being well into her golden years, Auntie Gaik Lean doesn’t show signs of slowing down. 

When asked if she’s in the kitchen every day, Auntie Gaik Lean doesn’t skip a beat: “Of course.”

Her son, Adrian Tan, 52, picks her up at 9.30am every morning for breakfast before they head off. Their mission? To personally collect food items that can’t be sent directly to the restaurant.

She adds: “It matters to me that I have to be purchasing certain things from the market myself. It’s very important.”

Next, Auntie Gaik Lean and son arrive at their restaurant in Georgetown, Penang, by 10.30am to prepare for service. 

She usually leaves at around 10.30pm, but not without first preparing lor bak (five-spice chicken roll) for the next day. (Yes, she hand rolls all 250 portions of it!)

There have been requests to open her restaurant in other locations, even Singapore, but having her hand in the marketing, preparation and cooking is important. 

“The quality control will never go away,” she quips. 

Bringing Auntie Gaik Lean’s homely fare to Peppermint

Perhaps it’s a relief then that Auntie Gaik Lean has even crossed the Causeway to serve up her one-starred delights to the Singapore crowd, given her watchful eye over the food that leaves her kitchen.

This is the second collaboration with Peppermint at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, with the first last taking place in March 2023, right after she earned her first star. 

When asked why she has decided to return, she says: “Most of (the chefs at Peppermint) are very young chefs. Nyonya cooking is very tedious and the preparation can be a lot. It’s very heartwarming that these young chefs want to learn, so why not share?”

This year, Auntie Gaik Lean is expanding the menu with three new dishes, but one is more special than the others — the cincaru rempah (hard-tail scad fish stuffed with turmeric and lemongrass sambal), which isn’t available at her restaurant in Penang. 

She was sure that when she returned to Singapore this time, it would not be without something new. 

Auntie Gaik Lean tells us that the recipe is from her mother and it makes use of an inexpensive fish that is elevated through the rempah stuffing. Making the rempah is easy, but what sets the dish apart is the careful stuffing of the fish. The rempah stuffing must not come out during the frying process and taint the oil. 

While she and her son were only here for the buffet launch on July 12, the busyness of the day’s activities didn’t stop her from getting her hands deep into the action in Peppermint’s open-concept kitchen.

She says: “If you’re not hands-on, you cannot teach. Nyonya cooking is different from other types of cooking. You have to be so well-versed with the different ingredients — it’s not that easy.” 

Peppermint’s Peranakan spread

For those new to the world of Peranakan cuisine or to her cooking, Auntie Gaik Lean recommends starting with the nasi ulam (rice tossed with freshly hand-chopped herbs and spices), egg belanda (egg in tamarind sauce), sambal udang (prawns in sambal sauce), and of course, the brinjal sambal.

True to what Auntie Gaik Lean promised, every dish was simple, approachable and delicious —  it felt like we were invited right into her home to dine at her own kitchen table. 

While we hadn’t been to her Penang eatery yet, if this spread is anything to go by, you best be certain I’ll be making a reservation the moment I find myself heading to Penang again. 

Auntie Gaik Lean’s fare, as well as Peranakan highlights by Peppermint’s chef de cuisine Leon Yee, will be available at Peppermint at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay till August 11, which coincides with the National Day weekend. 

The dishes are on a daily rotation, so it’s really dependent on the luck of the draw to see if you’d get to try some of the dishes we’ve mentioned above. 

Buffet prices start from S$72 for a weekday lunch for adults, to S$128 for a weekend dinner, which we highly recommend, since it comes with free-flow durians. 

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article stated that Auntie Gaik’s lor bak is made with pork. This has been corrected to chicken.

This was a hosted tasting. 

For National Day-themed treats, read up on Swensen’s cereal-themed menu and McDonald’s newest satay burgers. 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine Out service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Peppermint at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay.