PETALING JAYA, June 8 — Before the dish arrives at your table, you can already smell its delectable, smoky aroma.

Then you see your server approaching with skewers of charcoal-grilled pork that are still surprisingly juicy and full of flavour.

You can barely wait to snatch a stick of this Melaka-style pork satay up, if only to dip into the spicy-sweet satay sauce.

There is an unexpected tang to go along with the requisite nuttiness; you uncover tiny chunks of pineapple in the gravy and thank the genius who thought of adding them.

This is not an uncommon scene at Kampung Dining, a Peranakan restaurant in Section 17, PJ. The eatery is owned by Derson Tan, who has nearly eight years of food-and-beverage (F&B) experience.

Tan was studying in Taipei in his 20s when he first entered the F&B industry by working part time in restaurants there. He explains, "It was mainly to earn my pocket money while studying in Taipei under scholarship. To be honest, I did not attain a proper ‘degree’ culinary certificate.”

The now 35-year-old had, in fact, pursued a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering but his part-time jobs in numerous restaurants — from Chinese restaurant chains to smaller family-run local eateries — showed him where his passion truly lies.