Food Explorer & Home Chef
In the sweltering afternoon heat, Moët Hennessy Diageo (MHD) Malaysia further raised temperatures when it ushered in the Year of the Rat at Plaza Arkadia with a lion dance performance by one of the best troupes in the country. In conjunction with the CNY festivities, …
I was making my way to Nuromen, one of my favourite Sarawak beef noodles joints, as I haven’t been there for a while. Was surprised to see a burger stall in front as I entered. Turns out, it was The Burg, which used to be …
It’s not even officially Chinese New Year yet, but festivities are already full on.
A grand lion dance performance regaled guests and shoppers at the fountain area of Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City in Kuala Lumpur with acrobatic stunts on high poles, ushering in the Year of the Rat.
Starting Carlsberg’s Chinese New Year campaign 2020 with a bang, the “Double Cheers, Double Winnings” launch offers consumers a chance to double their joy when they win a limited-edition 3L bottle of Carlsberg, along with other prizes such as a Carlsberg mini bar and glassware.
Just for the CNY season, all Carlsberg and Carlsberg Smooth Draught festive cans and bottles are adorned with a special label with a drawing of a fish and lion dance, symbolising abundance and prosperity.
A 350-strong crowd made up of trade partners, media and other invited guests joined in the revelry as managing director Stefano Clini got the ball rolling with a speech and auspicious Yee Sang toss.
Thereafter, it was party time as guests feasted on steamboat and barbequed skewers, and drank up on ice cold Carlsberg and Smooth Draught.
Customers who purchase 640ml Carlsberg or 580ml Carlsberg Smooth Draught at participating coffeeshops and food courts can check their bottlecaps for a chance to win the limited-edition bottle as well as other smaller prizes.
Also, the popular “Probably The Best CNY Shopping Experience” was back again at supermarkets and hypermarkets whereby grand winners got to take home groceries worth up to RM800 paid by Carlsberg.
It’s already the Lunar New Year in a few days so have a grear Year of the Lau shu, everyone!
With Christmas barely over weeks ago, the season of the Rat is already on the way with shouts of ‘Huat ah’ already ringing in the air on Jan 1, if not earlier. It’s double the Huat (prosperity) this Chinese New Year with Tiger Beer as …
Update: Skohns has consolidated with its Damansara Heights Restaurant so the Ttdi branch has closed. After being abroad for a few days after Christmas, I had a hankering for spice and wholesome Malaysian food. Some good old-fashioned value for money grub. One of my latest …
Well, hello 2020! It’s been a nice long break, but let’s not make it any longer lest you forget to eat with me!
Seeing how Chinese New Year is just around the corner, let’s start with a bang with The Regent Chinese Cuisine, which styles itself after a private kitchen, serving authentic Cantonese food.
The open kitchen is headed by Hong Konger chef William Kwok who used to helm The Elegant Hong Kong Cuisine Restaurant in Cheras in the late 1990s, and Malaysian chef K.K. Lee, and together, they serve up healthy, authentic Cantonese cuisine sans MSG, choosing to let the natural sweetness of the ingredients flavour the food instead.
The brainchild of owner Frankie Tan who was inspired by the many private kitchens and supper clubs he had visited, the restaurant may be a slightly larger set up with 15 tables but maintains a similar cozy vibe with particular attention paid to the quality of ingredients, many imported from various countries, especially Hong Kong.
Kim Leong, Tan’s wife, brought out the dried shrimps (har mai) and dried scallops to drive home the point, and I must admit they looked a lot more luscious than the ones we have here.
Our lunch date began with the Typhoon Shelter Style Deep Fried Fish Skin, with skin from wild unagi (eel), cooked together with large luscious pieces of squid. Crunchy, salty, yet not oily at all, this triple fried addictive cracker was my kind of comfort food and I can feast on this forever.
You might be wondering, why would people want to eat boring basic chicken rice at a fancy restaurant like this? Well, if you tried the succulent and tender Crystal Chicken, then you would know it makes perfect sense and even if you’re avoiding carbs like me, it would be hard to resist the fragrant and flavourful stock-cooked chicken rice. Tan brought out further reinforcement by introducing a special Grade A soy sauce homemade by his father-in-law to go with the chicken.
This, he said, was usually only produced in very small quantities as it would be too expensive to sell on a mass scale. He explained how complicated it was to sun the soy beans properly and how the most minute weather changes for the day would have to be noted. When I tried the sauce, there was a distinct sweetness to it rather than pure saltiness. Diners can purchase a bottle of this special soy sauce only at The Regent.
We also savoured Iberico Pork Ribs, marinated with black pepper and rosemary. The meat was fall-off bone tender and juicy, though a little salty eaten on its own without any rice.
The other protein we tried was a familiar dish using imported beef – Stir Fried Australian Angus Beef with Black Pepper. This was an absolute showstopper as the beef was a-mah-zing! Tender, juicy, flavourful, there are not enough words to describe this ordinary Chinese dish made extraordinary.
Since we were already on a roll, why not try the Sweet Sour Pork which Tan insisted was one of the best in town? Offering a nice balance of flavours without being too sweet, the generous pieces of meat had a nice crunch to them despite being coated with sauce. And yes, they were very, very good!
Somehow, a bowl of rice seems too indulgent but a bowl of noodles leaves one feeling less guilty. It’s all in my mind, of course, and the Braised Hong Kong Yee Mee with Black Truffle and Mushroom, liberally sprinkled with truffle specially imported from Italy, made it worth the extra calories. The Yifu noodles are specially imported from Hong Kong and only available at The Regent.
Other popular choices here include the Deep Fried Soon Hock, cooked in a simple manner with just salt and pepper rather than the conventional steamed version, Pig Stomach Pepper Soup, and Lobster.
Well, they all have to wait for another day as I couldn’t fit in another morsel.
Come Chinese New Year, there will be Lunar favourites such as Lap Mei Fan (waxed duck rice) and other goodies available on the menu, so that will be a good time to check this place out again. Prices are generally a little higher compared to conventional Chinese restaurants but you can be assured of quality dishes and come away feeling you’ve been feted by the best.
Add: Lot A-0G-01, Block A, No. 2, Jalan Kiara, Plaza Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 012 273 8688/03 6211 3331
I was brought up in a household where the men were treated like demi gods; my father couldn’t even boil water or make a drink for himself. I swore to myself that my boys would not be like that. That they would be just as …
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A rare whisky; a chef’s inspiration; specially sourced homegrown ingredients laid out for a night of culinary exploration.
Such was the dinner affair mapped out by Johnny Walker Blue Label recently, heralding the collaboration with chef James Won who designed a “discover rarity” culinary journey. The specially crafted four-course menu, paired with the highly sought-after Blue Label at Enfin by James Won in Kuala Lumpur, brought diners to further depths of enjoyment while appreciating the unique character of the whisky.
The Blue Label is generally described as having a dash of raisin sweetness on the nose, with notes of almond, slight bitter aftertaste of herbs, richness of dark chocolate and wispy tobacco on the palate, ending with a long finish.
According to chef Won, the general attributes of the Blue Label struck him as definitive and masculine, and so, to give a balance of flavours, he focused instead on the softer, feminine side of the brew.
Many of the ingredients he used championed social enterprise, with due respect to the environment. From the Long Semadoh settlement in the Lawas division of Sarawak to the interiors of Pahang, you get Borneo Heirloom rice grain and Semai cocoa, and there’s also Job’s Tears from Sarawak.
“For example, the dessert is based on single origin cocoa, obtained from Semai orang asli plantations, which gives a different degree of sweetness to the chocolate.
“You get different textures, aroma and a different sort of sweetness,” he described, adding that he always manages to find something new and different about the Blue Label each time he drinks it, and it is these little nuances that have inspired him to come up with his menu that highlighted notes of sweetness, saltiness, sourness and bitterness.
To kick off the night’s dinner, amuse bouche was an interesting trio of Nigiri that was aloe vera stretched over Borneo heirloom rice, prized for its light and chewy texture, beautiful colour and exceptional fragrance, dotted with tropical sturgeon caviar on top, which effectively tasted like a very healthy sushi; a recreation of the egg with parmesan tofu and sea urchin for the yolk – unusual but not too jarring on the palate; and a tartlet consisting of scallop chip, hazelnut and creme fraiche that easily disappeared in a pop.
The entre was all about texture play – briny and buttery Malaysian Tropical Amur sturgeon caviar, with daikon (Japanese radish) and kombu dashi (kelp) puree and brioche.
It’s not a well-known fact, but Malaysian caviar harvested by T’lur Caviar, is quite highly rated in the world. Hopefully, its source stays a best-kept secret, known only to discerning chefs and connoisseurs who appreciate its quality, otherwise once it’s openly thrown out there, before you can say fish eggs, it’ll be over-fished and gone!
There was also roasted Hokkaido scallop and yam bean puree, which slithered down the throat smoothly, leaving one surprised and trying to decipher the subtle flavours. The scallop was torched on one side and kept raw on the other. It was a novel way to experience scallop for sure, though I’m not quite convinced about the icy jalapeno granita. Me thinks the cold, icy tart contrast was probably meant to be a palate cleanser, except that it came with the scallops so everyone was a bit thrown off by the duo!
When chef announced the main course, he said that it was akin to fatty pork, so to expect the rich Omega 3 oils to subtly coat and and lubricate the protein.
The Malaysian sturgeon fish truffle meumere with sturgeon skin collagen sounded like it would plump up my skin immediately, given its unctuous description. It came sitting on a shallow pond of rice kouji, Bario wine sauce and exotic mushroom. It was a pretty solid block of protein, and the wine sauce provided a unique creaminess for a balanced flavour.
I always tell myself that I won’t eat dessert, but chocolate is pretty hard to resist, and especially since it’s Semai single origin cocoa mousse, Johnny Walker Blue savoiardi with Batang Kali single origin cocoa coated Job’s Tear’s, an ingredient which chef Won was using for the first time. Known as Dale Kerukub locally, it is a native heirloom grain cultivated for generations by the Lun Bawang community.
What I liked about it was that the sweetness wasn’t paralysing as some desserts are, and the avant garde plating dressed it up perfectly.
At the end, it wasn’t really the end, because there was plenty of Blue Label to keep the party going!
Thank you, Johnny Walker, for a chance to discover rarity!
The Discover Rarity degustation menu by Johnnie Walker Blue Label is available at enfin by James Won from January 1 to March 31, 2020, at RM688++ and additional RM268++ for pairing with Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
Any excuse to party, really, and Guinness’ Flavour by Fire Festival at Gasket Alley, PJ over the weekend was precisely that! But no one’s complaining as who doesn’t love a cookout, and especially if it’s a big time outdoor-sy barbecue with Guinness to quench our …