Dining///Chef Singh
menu as the reason for the restaurant’s success. “There’s Indian food here of course, there’s some Japanese, some Thai and Middle Eastern,” Singh says. “From what I’ve seen Middle Eastern food is growing, you see it everywhere.” According to Singh, a successful restauranteur can’t just identify trends to be successful. You also have to understand which markets are buying into those trends.
“They ate healthy food here [Kebab & Curry] and they felt good and that makes me happy. I can’t change 140,000 people, but I can have some influence” Photo by Wayne Chargualaf
“From 18 years old to 26 or 27 — those are mostly the shawarma customers. After 25 all the way up to 60 or 70, they typically want curry. They’re very different markets and we have both of them,” Singh says. Singh also proudly points to his restaurant’s emphasis on serving healthy food, saying that people have told him that their own health has improved as a result of eating regularly at Kabab & Curry. “Of course it isn’t really about our food, it’s that they changed their habits. They ate healthy food here and they felt good and that makes me happy. I can’t change 140,000 people, but I can have some influence.” Another thing that makes Chef Singh happy is Hard Rock Café’s commitment to giving back to the community. Inspired by Hard Rock Café’s motto of “love all, serve all,” Singh is heavily involved with Hard Rock’s long-running partnership with Kamalen Karidat to serve food to the homeless every third Tuesday of the month and to make a special feast for them on Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Guam’s given me a lot of things,” says Singh. “My kids were born and educated here, they have good jobs and they’re doing well. Because of Guam, I have a lot, so that’s why I feel I have to give something back.” Photos courtesy of Chef Kotwal Singh
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