DUBAI: Filipino chef Mark Calbay grew up as a picky eater. So his parents would buy ingredients and let him experiment in the kitchen, and that was how he started cooking for himself.
“Music and drawing have always been my passions. Cooking eventually became another creative outlet, allowing me to express myself through food,” he told Arab News.
Most of his culinary knowledge comes from hands-on experience in professional kitchens, including La Tablita and Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. Today, he is co-founder and chef patron of LahKee, an Asian-inspired restaurant in Dubai.
“When I started creating LahKee’s menu, I drew inspiration from the food we grew up cooking and eating at home,” he said. “Seeing guests enjoy those familiar flavors and keep coming back is what makes it all worthwhile.”
When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?
Fish definitely taught me patience. Coming from a Southeast Asian family, I grew up around good food, but learning techniques from different cuisines was another story. Every ingredient needs a different approach, and fish gives you very little room for error. A little too long on the heat and dinner has other plans.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?
Put your heart into cooking, but learn the science too. Understanding why something works makes a huge difference. Keep the dish simple, get the technique right and let the ingredients do their thing.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
I’d say MSG, monosodium glutamate. Salt already gets plenty of credit, but MSG deserves some love too. It still has a reputation that makes people hesitate, even though glutamate, which gives it that savory flavor, is naturally found in foods like tomatoes, mushrooms and meat.
When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?
I try to understand what the chef is going for before judging a dish. What I notice more is consistency. Sometimes a menu is so big that the kitchen spends all day trying to get through the prep list. At that point, everyone is just trying to survive service. A clear recipe book and a menu the team can realistically handle make a big difference. I also love service that feels natural. Have a conversation with me. You don’t need to sound like you’ve memorized a script to make me feel welcome.
What’s your favorite cuisine to order?
I love burgers. But my wife and I often end up at a cafeteria having shawarma and karak. That’s our reset button. It reminds us of where we started and why we’re doing all this. Like so many people in the UAE, we’re working toward a better life for our families back home. Hopefully, as we grow, we can help others reach their goals too. Sometimes those conversations happen over a very good shawarma.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
Fried rice with meat or stir-fried noodles with meat. We love meat and, apparently, we’re very consistent about it.
What customer behavior most annoys you?
When someone calls a preference an allergy. We’re happy to leave out something you don’t enjoy, so please just tell us. An allergy means taking extra precautions with ingredients, equipment and preparation to avoid cross-contact. We take that seriously. There’s no need to say you’re allergic just because you and onions aren’t friends.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
Eggs, without a doubt. My family had a bakery, so fresh bread and eggs were always on our breakfast table. Then one of my first stations at a five-star hotel in Dubai was the egg station: omelets, fried eggs, eggs Benedict… I’ve spent a fair amount of my life asking, “How would you like your eggs?”
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?
Getting the rice portion right for nigiri. It looks simple until you try doing it consistently by hand. My wife trained in classic Japanese cuisine with Japanese chefs for seven years. She can portion 30 grams of rice 10 times in a row. We thought the scale was broken until the rest of us tried. The scale was fine. We were the problem. That kind of precision comes from doing something repeatedly, understanding it properly and practicing until your hands just know.
As a leader, what are you like?
I’m not sure what to call my leadership style. I coach the team, give them room to think and let them learn through small mistakes. Sometimes I can see one coming, but if it’s something they can safely learn from then I don’t immediately jump in. I want them to understand their decisions, build confidence and develop their own identity while keeping LahKee’s standards. Part of my job is spotting problems early and being ready to help. The other part is knowing when to step back and let them grow.
Chef Mark’s deconstructed turon
Caramelized banana, crispy spring roll layers, cream cheese frosting and jackfruit
Banana and crispy spring roll layers
Banana — 1kg
Brown sugar — 200g
Salt — 2g
Spring roll wrappers (7.5 x 7.5 inches) — 20 pieces
Neutral oil, for frying — as needed
Cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese — 500g
Whipping cream — 300g
Condensed milk — 70g
Jackfruit in syrup — 1 can (565g)
Method
Prepare the bananas: Peel the bananas and season with salt. Arrange them in a foil container and bake or air-fry at 180°C for 15 minutes. Gently mash, then refrigerate until completely chilled.
Prepare the spring roll layers: Cut each wrapper into four equal squares. Shallow-fry until golden brown and crispy. While still hot, coat with brown sugar and set aside.
Prepare the jackfruit: Drain the syrup from the jackfruit. Cut the flesh into thin strips and set aside.
Prepare the frosting: In a mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, condensed milk and cream cheese. Whip until light and fluffy and roughly doubled in volume. Cover and refrigerate.
Make the banana cream: When the mashed bananas have cooled to about 5°C, gently fold them into the chilled frosting until evenly combined.
Assembly
Place 1 teaspoon of the banana cream in the center of a serving plate.
Top with one sugar-coated spring roll square and spread about 1½ tbsp of banana cream over it.
Repeat to build four layers, like a traditional mille-feuille.
Finish with thin strips of jackfruit on top.
Assemble just before serving to keep the spring roll layers crisp. Keep the banana cream refrigerated until assembly.
