The Datai Langkawi is a paradise of its own—a luxurious resort set within a 10-million-year-old rainforest, overlooking the azure waters of the Andaman Sea. Lounge by the beach with a cocktail in hand and you might catch a glimpse of mischievous otters by the bay, or embark on a leisurely rainforest walk where you can spot flying lemurs and, if you’re fortunate, a rare sight of red-cheeked squirrels that elicited even the resident naturalist’s barely contained excitement.
For two nights only, the five-star resort welcomed two extra stars in tow, graced by the presence of chef Jordi Artal from the two-Michelin-starred Cinc Sentits in Barcelona for The Datai Langkawi’s 2025 edition of The Chef Series. The Canadian-born chef with a Catalan heritage had a successful career in Silicon Valley. Today, he stands as proof that it’s never too late to chase your dreams after spending more than a decade working in the high-tech industry before plunging into the culinary world.
“My real passion has always been food, and the joy of sharing it with family and friends. When the first dot-com bubble burst in 2002 and I moved home to Barcelona, I was burnt out and wanted a break from high-tech,” Artal said. “While living in Silicon Valley, my sister and I would often host friends for extremely elaborate multi-course tasting menus, and the meals would often end with them saying how good everything was and that ‘you should open a restaurant!’.” The chef believed it to be nothing more than a funny comment, but couldn’t shake off those words after returning to Barcelona. “It didn’t seem so crazy a year later to make the jump, along with my sister, Amèlia, and mom, Rose, to open Cinc Sentits,” he reminisced. “None of us had formal culinary training or professional restaurant experience, but we more than compensated with passion for the project and a clear vision of what we wanted to create.”
View more photos
Over at The Beach Club, I joined a cooking demo led by Artal, framed by a spectacular backdrop of The Datai Bay. The chef showcased a delectable summer dish that consisted of grilled mackerel, roasted peppers, coca bread, and a savoury roasted pepper sorbet with a traditional Catalan romesco sauce and picada paste. Simple enough to replicate at home, yet complex enough to reflect the chef’s creativity.
Artal’s approach to his creations is to deliver a palate-tingling experience in every bite. “The first bite is usually amazing, the second is good. But after the fourth and fifth bites, you know what’s coming,” he explained. “What we’re looking for here is the first bite effect. When you have a change in contrast or texture, every single bite is different. It makes you relive that initial experience again.”
View more photos of the delicious food
The following evening, we truly experienced his vision come to life. Every dish featured a juxtaposition of opposing elements. Savoury flavours were met with sweet accents, while soft textures were layered by something crisp. Like the silky foie gras mousse that paired perfectly with smoked fish, then lifted by a touch of sweetness from the longan berry. The most surprising part to the dish was the rustic touch from the crunch of the carquinyoli cookie (a Catalan almond cookie), accompanied by a vi ranci jelly (a Catalan dry, oxidised wine turned into jelly) that added a slight acidity to tie it all together.
“The thing that we (the team at Cinc Sentits) love most, that makes us feel joy, is to do the unexpected,” Artal said. The chef applies this concept not just to his menus, but also to his restaurant. There isn’t a door handle in sight and, as guests step inside, they will find neither waiters, tables, nor a dining room. “The idea is to create intrigue in the minds of guests from the very beginning of the experience.”
According to Artal, the dishes featured in this exclusive Chef Series menu were selected from some of Cinc Sentits’ greatest hits throughout its 20-year history. “We like to bring a bit of Catalonia with us to each event and incorporate some local ingredients whenever possible,” he explained. With seafood playing a big part in Catalan cuisine, the prawn tartare was served with a chilled coconut ajoblanco soup (a popular chilled Spanish soup), infused with fragrant pandan oil for that subtle Malaysian twist.
“The food I make is very personal. I grew up bugging my mom and my grandmother in the kitchen. They taught me how to cook,” Artal said. Deeply influenced by his family background, the chef dedicated the final dessert to his grandmother Sofía. “I have a soft spot for that one,” he said, sharing a piece of his childhood, recrafted and encased in a small tube. Blending the flavours of his childhood snack—Maria cookies dunked in Cola Cao hot chocolate—Artal crafted a playful dish, which he encouraged to enjoy by squeezing it all into one mouthful. It’s a berenar (after-school snack), as grandmother Sofía called it. It was a unique finale to the meal, one that evoked a surprising wave of nostalgia I never even knew I had.
