Zulfakha bin Ruzlan

Sous Chef Zulfakha Ruzlan delivers the authentic taste of local gastronomy at The Olive, Modern Malaysian Cuisine, Resorts World Genting. The 37-year-old chef from Perak joined Malaysia’s most popular mountain resort in 2021, where he cut his teeth on the flavours of the Indian continent at Spice Garden restaurant, Highlands Hotel, where he saw action during the Bollywood star-studded Indian Film Festival Awards.

He went on to hone his expertise in Indian cuisine at Resorts World Genting Hotel’s Kampong restaurant for seven years. He then moved to Coffee Terrace at Genting Grand where he was responsible for the high volume all-day dining outlet, and over a thousand functions.

In 2017 he was handpicked as one of the opening team members for Medan Selera, the first halal restaurant in SkyAvenue, before moving on to his latest position at The Olive. In this modern Malaysian restaurant, Zulfakha is in charge of curating culinary experiences which will introduce the richness and complexity of Malay cuisine to diners new to this food heritage, while also ensuring the continued commitment to authenticity to those familiar with these dishes.

Much of traditional Malay cooking is guided by the innate knowledge of a cook of their ingredients. The challenge of delivering food that tastes as if it has come out of a beloved relative’s kitchen lies in both technical accuracy, and skill. Says Zulfakha, “Anyone who has watched their mothers, aunts or grandmothers cook will probably be familiar with how they appear to ‘magically’ guess the amount of spices required. Our older folk cooked by feel – a pinch of salt, handfuls of chillies, thumbs’ widths of ginger and lemongrass. At Resorts World Genting we go to great lengths to ensure consistency, which is why the use of accurate measurement of ingredients is part of our operating procedures. However, at the end of the day, when dealing with natural ingredients, there is always a certain aspect of guesswork involved, and that is when us chefs come in. A dish may be prepared exactly to the recipe, but it may so happen that the ginger that day was less potent than usual, or the chillies are hotter than expected. That is when our taste buds are called in, and our recipes tweaked in order to deliver a dish that consistently tastes the same, and evokes the same positive feelings that they used to.”

The appetite-whetting menu at The Olive features some well-known Malaysian favourites like chicken and lamb satay, and freshwater catfish in preserved durian (ikan patin tempoyak), while also introducing authentic regional tastes to diners. Among the dishes presented by Zulfakha and his team are a variety of biryani (lamb, lobster, tiger prawn), claypot lobster, honey roasted ox tail, grilled tiger prawns, and mango salad with mackerel. “Even in the dishes known to our guests, we try to incorporate something different and special. For instance, our satay does not come with the usual pressed white rice cubes, but a special type of ketupat which uses black glutinous rice and is wrapped in palas leaves,” shares the chef.

Zulfakha’s hope when diners come to The Olive is that he and his team will be able to elicit memories of their guests’ old days, or, that the food savoured will become a memory worth reliving even when guests leave the restaurant or country.