RIAN FARISA

Caught in his free time between running a restaurant and preparing his new role in a feature film, Marcel Chandrawinata has no choice but to confess to us about his guilty pleasures as a foodie.

The three siblings from Chandrawinata family are known for their roles in Indonesian showbiz for the past one decade. With a background as a beauty pageant queen, Nadine’s role is currently fixed as a tourism ambassador for Raja Ampat. Meanwhile, Marcel’s twin brother Mischa is concentrating more on soap opera.

Marcel told us that he’s now enjoying the challenge of juggling his time with several activities at once while also keeping it balance for his own me time.

“Presently, I am about to star in Lukman Sardi’s latest feature film ‘Tiga Dara’. After that, I will be helping my dad with our family resort business in Raja Ampat while occasionally I also love being a DJ and an MC as well”, said Marcel.

Apart from those activities, Marcel also drops by at Commune Bistro & Grill – a contemporary style rice bowl eatery where he co-owns it with several of his colleagues. “Four of us who own Commune are still young and we are willing to learn every day. We share our ups and downs together”, told Marcel. It appeared that time that he’s getting ready with our inquisitive nature about his favorite food very soon.

His hard work for a decade now doesn’t make Marcel skipping the joy of having good food once in a while. Despite his strict exercise regime, he always finds an excuse to spoil himself with indulging treats from time to time.

“Ask anyone around and they will confirm me as somebody who never forgets his ice cream after a meal and anything else sweet and sugary for desserts”, he started his confession.

Getting in deeper with what he really likes, Marcel added that he’s fond of noodles also. “You should visit Mekong while in Melbourne. Their pho was insanely delicious!” exclaimed Marcel full of honesty. But when in Jakarta, he enjoys having the homemade noodles made by his girlfriend’s parents.

“They used to be in the business, so that’s why they know how to make good curly noodles, cook it al dente, and then it came with plenty of meat. I never forget to put my favorite kecap manis into it”, he continued.

Like many Indonesians who get homesick too soon when traveling aboard, Marcel is also the type who brings chili sauce as his savior. “In contrast to that, when traveling locally, I will always bring my preferred brand of kecap manis”, he said – a bit secretively.

Since this is a barbecue issue, we did not forget to ask him about his favorite grilled food. “Make no mistake, I love meat but I have limitations naturally. Being an ex vegetarian, I began to love grilled vegetables whenever we’re doing a BBQ event”, explained Marcel. Well, he knows exactly that grilling the vegetables helps to bring out the flavor.

Suddenly, he asked his friend who sat nearby us. “Hey, whenever we have a Korean-style BBQ, which do I like better? The meat or the garlic?”

His friend without any hesitation answered, “Hey man, you like garlic too much!”

“Now you know my guilty pleasure then”, he concluded.

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Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE May 2015 edition

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