AK Ramakrishna. Photo: Michael Phelan.
Who are you?
AK Ramakrishna. I’m a chef with 27 years of experience. Former owner and chef at XO, and now I run AK’s Diner.
Tell me about AK’s Diner
I used to joke with Kent (Nahn, XO co-owner) that XO was Mama’s food on steroids. AK’s would be the opposite of that, stripping away all the things that are not related to the food: no expensive fit-out, no fancy wine … it’s just Mama’s food on a plate.
How did you get involved in the hospitality industry?
Mum was a great cook, but my grandfather was a great chef. I was raised in the back of his restaurants; he would let me taste things and that was my opening into cooking and hospitality when I was young. My mum was also a nurse, which meant she worked weird hospital hours so I cooked a lot for my brothers.
Did you have a dream job as a kid?
My other option was music. But coming from a classic Malaysian Indian family there was an expectation you would be a doctor, lawyer, engineer or teacher, so a chef was already a big change! But I always make sure there’s music where I work. The first thing I did at XO was to put speakers and volume control in the kitchen. Music and food go together. There’s always music playing outside AK’s.
What is your food philosophy?
Simple, humble, and tasty AF. Food should be clean and tasty without too much processed stuff.
What is your favourite ingredient when cooking?
Banana leaf, pandan leaf and ginger. All three work for savoury or sweet. My rice cooker and bain marie are lined with banana leaf, the rice is always cooked with pandan leaf and there’s ginger in all my pickles.
What’s an underrated Canberra venue that you love?
Vietnamese House in Dickson. It is run by a small family and has about 10 tables. I like them a lot.
Rebel Rebel owner and chef Sean McConnell (L) with staff Sophie Schiliro, Liam Hannay, and Yuhun Kim (R). Photo: Rohan Thomson.
Who do you admire in the Canberra food scene?
Sean McConnel and Ben Willis, both who I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside. I’ve always used Sean’s food to benchmark how I put together a menu.
Also Andrew from Miss Van’s – that’s another crazy blood sweat and tears story. It’s really hard to accept when that blood, sweat and tears is just not enough. There’s too many local legends falling down because it’s hard to compete or you’re draining your battery too hard because you’re doing everything yourself.
Where’s the best place for a coffee in Canberra?
A new place to venture for coffee is Recess in Griffith. They blend and roast their own coffee.
And what about for a drink?
Bar Rochford has always been my favourite spot, and I have a lot of respect for Nick Smith and Josh Lundy. We were just about a month apart opening Rochford and XO so we always celebrated milestones together.
Who is your dream dinner party guest, and what would you make them?
My parents. The last time they came to Australia to visit me was before I had my own business. So I’ve never fed them my food in my venue before.
I would probably cook XO’s interpretation of some of my mum’s dishes so they know what I do and how I do it. How I funk Mama’s food and take staple Malaysian foods and turn them into signature dishes.
Tuckshop Tamada has three generations of restaurant experience. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
What is your current food obsession?
Cheaper, roadside, hawker style food. It’s really easy to impress foodies with ambiance, fit-out, music, and a fancy plate but it’s harder when the food has to speak for itself. Like Tuckshop Tamada, they have three generations of women running a Thai takeaway. That’s gangster. And the old Burmese Curry House was a Canberra institution so I really like the fact that some customers have said that my food reminds them of that.
What’s a food that reminds you of your childhood?
Everything at AK’s diner! It’s Mama’s food, it’s my childhood and it’s how I grew up eating. I’m proud that AK’s has come out of those memories.
What’s a normal breakfast for you?
Three eggs scrambled, nothing else. But my favourite breakfast is a breakfast wrap. If I see this on the menu I always get it.
Where do you shop for groceries?
I’m very big on local markets and supporting local growers. I think Canberra can amp up its local market scene a bit more. I went on a trip to Tassie earlier this year and I was blown away by their food markets. Aside from that I swing by Supabarn in Kingston; it’s a generic supermarket but with a little extra finesse.
When you can’t be bothered to cook for yourself, what do you eat?
I would still cook. But it would be rice or Indomie Mie Goreng with fried egg, crispy chilli, Maggi soy and fried shallot.
AK’s Diner has enjoyed long lines of diners keen to get their hands on the Malaysian street eats of the former XO chef. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Where are you travelling next?
I’d love to go back home and surprise my dad for his birthday next year, and we’re overdue to see my in-laws in Lithuania. My wife loves Malaysia, and I love Lithuania. She really loves the fruits in Malaysia; she even likes durian! I’ve got to shout out my wife for being so patient with me. I told her I was done with hospitality and then I opened something else!
Tell me something you love about living in Canberra?
I love how well paced it is. It has everything you need in a city or town but you’re not stuck in a traffic jam, the snow is two and a half hours away, the beach is two and a half hours away and Sydney is three hours away. You can’t go wrong with Canberra.
What’s next for AK’s?
I’m going to do some evening pop-ups, maybe just one dish. And I should tell people who miss Kent that he’s still a lot in the background of AK’s and he’ll make some guest cameos when I do my special pop-ups.
An easy one to finish – what’s your go-to coffee order?
Picollo. A short black is over too fast, so I just need to stretch it out a bit more, but a double latte is just too much.
Follow AK’s on Instagram.
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