By now the gay couple seated to my left have the attention of all the nearby diners. The younger one, blond and green-eyed, delicately wipes a tear and smiles simultaneously. The older one, gray-haired, distinguished with a paisley foulard impeccably in place, looks on indulgently. Eugenia Tai Ye Liew, known to all well-heeled diners in Adelaide as Gina, knows exactly what to do. A sympathetic hand is lightly placed on the young man’s shoulder. Tongue firmly-in-cheek, she delivers deadpan, “Wait till you eat the main course.” A dramatic pause. Then “Sir.” Saying ‘Sir’ comes easily to Gina. She grew up hearing that word many times a day. Her father was employed in a Greek restaurant and Gina used to sneak in through the back door to watch Daddy cook. Daddy would, in 20 years, become one of Australia’s top five chefs. Daddy is, it’s time to tell you, Cheong Liew.

It’s impossible to guess which planets shone favourably on Liew back in 1995. Maybe his sadde satti cycle got over. So after seven years of heading the Regency Hotel School, he decided to quit. He joined the five-star Hilton in Adelaide as executive chef.
Surely, Jupiter flashed its brilliant smile in his solar chart. Liew’s life changed dramatically. As did that of the Grange restaurant. As did that too of daughter Gina, who is also a chef but now officiates as restaurant manager. “Just to round off my education”, she clarifies, “and then who knows, I might give Daddy some competition!”
On a really cold and wet Friday night in June, a friend and I are in the Grange. Liew joins us with a superb Merlot made by Robert Johnson in the Barossa Valley. He watches our faces as the waiter places before us the same starters that had earlier caused the young man to experience a culinary orgasm.

Salvador Dali once famously confessed, “At six, I wanted to be a cook. At seven, I wanted to be Napoleon. My ambition has been growing steadily ever since.” Liew may not have known what he wanted to be at age six , but he already was spending quality time in the kitchen. “At six I used to help my grandmother cut and chop chicken. At age 10, I finally got the nerve to do what my aunt would do to the live chicken.” He makes a wringing motion with his hand, says ‘click’ just in case you missed the point and then takes another sip of the excellent Merlot.

If you haven’t been to South Australia on a gastronomic visit so far, a few points. About 70 per cent of Australia’s total wine production of over 120 million cases is made in South Australia. Like Australians themselves, most Aussie wines are outgoing and unpretentious. Reflecting this attitude is the Aussie chef’s approach to food. Unpretentious and adventurous.
Can we use these adjectives to express delight at what we are eating ? It’s called The Four Dances of The Sea. Four artistically arranged morsels of seafood have to be eaten clockwise. Liew watches intently as we follow his command. Soused snook first, delicate. It’s a do (as in do-re-mi-fa), I think. Next, raw calamari placed on squid ink noodles. Yes, it’s a re. The slice of giant octopus marinated in aioli (pounded garlic) and smoky olive oil skips a mi and goes straight to fa. The prawn sushi has been doused in Malaysian sambar and placed on glutinous rice cooked in coconut. Which takes my palate right to the top of ti-do. I stand up and start singing in this chi-chi restaurant voice! Ok, just kidding.

Travel and leisure magazines were not kidding when they voted Grange restaurant one of the World’s Top 10 restaurants. America’s prestigious magazine, Food & Wine calls Liew one of the hottest chefs alive. Awards and accolades have piled up. Every year he is guest celebrity chef at the prestigious Cherry Blossom Gourmet Festival in Tokyo where a thousand VIPs give him a standing ovation. The icing on the cake? The OAM (Medal of the Order Of Australia) conferred in 1999.
Not bad going for a man who migrated from Kuala Lumpur to study electrical engineering! He also toyed with accountancy studies. Did the world lose a genius engineer or accountant? Hungry rail workers got hearty steak and sandwiches in a rail café and pubs, where Liew got his first job. There he sharpened his chopping skills. In his next job in a Greek restaurant he learned about Mediterranean herbs and sauces. His Greek boss also gave him a book on French cuisine. Ambition grew. Liew now wanted to be the next Gaston Lenotre, the next Joel Robochon. Fate led him to a French Australian steakhouse!