Some guest chef appearances are fleeting: a few dinners, a handful of signature dishes, then the kitchen returns to its usual rhythm. Chef Louis Han’s return to ATAS at The RuMa Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur takes a different approach. Following his inaugural collaboration in 2025, the MICHELIN-starred chef returns for a four-month residency with GU:UM, his contemporary Korean steakhouse in Singapore.
The extended collaboration forms part of ATAS Key Tables, The RuMa’s culinary series designed to foster meaningful exchanges between acclaimed chefs and Kuala Lumpur’s dining community. Rather than treating an international chef appearance as a one-off spectacle, the initiative gives visiting chefs and the hotel’s team time to develop an experience together.
“A one-night event can create excitement, but I think a longer collaboration gives you much more depth,” says Michel Bachmann, The RuMa Hotel & Residences’ General Manager. “Chef Louis has already introduced his cuisine to our guests through his first collaboration with ATAS, so this residency allows us to build on that relationship rather than starting and ending in one evening.”
For Han, the additional time offers an equally valuable opportunity. “A four-month residency gives us the opportunity to build a longer relationship with guests in Malaysia,” he says. “We have more time to understand the local market, receive feedback, and see how people connect with our food.”
A TABLE FOR TWO CULTURES
Born and raised in Seoul, Han has built his career around a contemporary interpretation of Korean cuisine rooted in tradition. His experience includes Singapore’s two-MICHELIN-starred Meta and Seoul’s three-MICHELIN-starred MOSU, before opening NAE:UM, which earned a MICHELIN Star and the MICHELIN Guide Young Chef Award in 2022.
GU:UM represents another side of his culinary identity. Named after the Korean word for grilling or cooking over fire, the restaurant centres on charcoal, premium ingredients and the conviviality of gathering around a table.
That philosophy finds a natural connection in Kuala Lumpur. “Sharing food with family and friends is a big part of both Korean and Malaysian culture, so I think there is already a natural connection,” Han says. “The food may be different, but the experience of gathering around the table is very similar.”
“We are not simply bringing another restaurant concept into Kuala Lumpur. We want to create an exchange” – Michel Bachmann
“This combination of heritage and accessibility made GU:UM a natural fit for The RuMa”, Bachman tells us. “What stood out about Chef Louis is how he respects Korean heritage while presenting it in a very contemporary way,” he says. “That resonates with what we try to do at The RuMa as well—having a strong sense of identity, but expressing it in a way that feels relevant today.”
The residency menu reflects that balance, moving from contemporary interpretations such as Yukhwae Jeon and Mulhwae to charcoal-grilled Hanwoo Lower Loin and Woodae Galbi Short Rib, before returning to the comforts of home with Uncle Lulu’s Fried Rice, Cold Japchae and Doenjang Jjigae. Desserts including Hotteok and Mandarin Bingsu provide a lighter finish.
Han is careful not to let reinterpretation overwhelm tradition. “Many of our dishes stay true to their traditional flavours,” he explains. “Where we like to be creative is in the ingredients we use, the combinations we create, and the way the dishes are presented.”
BEYOND THE PLATE
The value of a longer residency extends beyond what reaches the table. For The RuMa’s team, it creates an opportunity for an exchange of knowledge and techniques that a single evening cannot easily provide.
“It also gives guests time to discover GU:UM properly,” Bachmann says. “They can come once, come back again, bring friends or family, and experience more of what Chef Louis is trying to do. For our team, there is also a real exchange of ideas and techniques.”
That sense of discovery is central to Han’s approach. While Korean cuisine has become increasingly familiar to Malaysian diners, he sees GU:UM as an opportunity to reveal a less conventional side of it. “A restaurant concept like GU:UM is not very common even in Korea,” he says. “Bringing it to Kuala Lumpur gives us the chance to share a different side of Korean food to a new audience.”
For Bachmann, that exchange also speaks to Kuala Lumpur’s evolving dining landscape. He sees a city with an established food culture and an increasingly curious audience, while The RuMa can act as a meeting point between international chefs, local diners and its own culinary team.
“A four-month residency gives us the opportunity to build a longer relationship with guests in Malaysia” – Chef Louis Han
“We are not simply bringing another restaurant concept into Kuala Lumpur. We want to create an exchange,” he says. That philosophy extends to Bachmann’s view of contemporary luxury. “Luxury should never feel intimidating. It should feel comfortable, personal and connected.”
It is a fitting sentiment for The RuMa, whose name means “home”. And perhaps it captures what distinguishes this residency: not simply the opportunity to experience Han’s cooking, but the time to return, linger and discover it from a different perspective.
For Bachmann, the ambition is ultimately simple: to give guests a reason to return, discover something new and experience dining through a different perspective. In that sense, ATAS Key Tables is less about the arrival of celebrated chefs than what happens when they are given the time to connect—with the kitchen, the city and the people around the table.
