AUSSIE MEAT ACADEMY ULTIMATE BUTCHERS' CHALLENGE

 

EZ Meat (Taiwan) emerged as the Grand Champion Butcher, walking away with cash prize of RM2,000, a trophy and award certificate. The team also won Most Innovative Meat Display & Presentation at the Aussie Meat Academy Ultimate Butchers Challenge held recently.

Aimed at advancing the butchery profession by enhancing participants' expertise in meat knowledge, cutting techniques, and essential cooking skills, the Aussie Meat Academy 'Ultimate Butchers Challenge’ is geared towards uplifting professional butchery standards and to reinvigorate and grow the profession in Malaysia.

Supported by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Investment New South Wales, the competition also sets a new platform to promote the butchery profession and professionalism in support of the foodservice and retail industry.

 
Professional butchery is more than cutting meat; it also showcases the butcher’s skill in deboning, portioning, displaying creative and practical applications, reducing wastage and increasing yields.

A strong butcher’s resume includes cutting and de-boning meat, preparing displays, weighing and labelling products, reducing waste, and increasing yields. In addition, a competent butcher should be familiar with all beef and lamb cuts for various cooking methods and share this knowledge with customers. Precision cutting skill also helps maximise yield, minimise waste, and improve eating quality for shoppers.

Hosted at UCSI University, a total of 16 teams from Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia competed in the event. Participating butchers are from the 40 years old and below age group with at least a year’s professional experience. 

Each two member team comprised of at least one professional butcher. Teams had to work on one chilled Australian beef and one Australian lamb for judging and tasting.

 

 
Khairul Anuar Muhamad who’s a Lambassador and Senior Lecturer II at Taylor’s Culinary Institute, Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management was the Head Judge for the Ultimate Butchers Challenge 2025.

 
Other judges included Adrian Chong, Aussie Beef Mate and Executive Chef of Hyatt Regency Kinabalu; Ridzwan Rasit, Lambassador and Executive Sous Chef, Hilton Kuala Lumpur; Eric Siew, Lambassador and Owner/Executive Chef of ABANICO Your Deli Restaurant; and Richard Tay, Aussie Beef Mate and Head Chef at CALIA, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

First runner-up of the Ultimate Butchers Challenge was Central Food Wholesale Ltd (Thailand). The team received RM1,000 along with a trophy and award certificates while second runner-up, Butcher Box Pte Ltd (Singapore), bagged RM800, a trophy and award certificates.

There were also RM200 cash prizes each for Best Meat Display Ideas, Best Value Added Meat Ideas, Best Ultimate Tasting Dish and Best Presented Dish. 

CHALET RETURNS WITH GOURMET SWISS-EUROPEAN CLASSICS

 

The unmistakable scent of Raclette Valaisanne — molten Swiss cheese paired with tender new potatoes, tangy cornichons and pickled pearl onions — heralds the triumphant return of Chalet to Sabayon, EQ Kuala Lumpur, from 14–30 August.

 
Dining is as much theatre as it is indulgence with Chalet’s signature show-stealers of Fondue au Fromage — a molten pot of velvety cheese and the majestic Canard à la Presse where a whole roast duck is dramatically pressed tableside in a gleaming silver duck press, making for an unforgettable performance of sorts.

 
Our preview begins with the alluring Raclette fresh from the grill, followed by sumptuous Beef and Cheese Fondues, the latter crowned with shaved truffle.

Pan-seared to perfection and paired with apple, port wine, brioche and endive, we take to the curtain-raising Foie Gras like proverbial ducks to water.

 
A luxurious hug in edible form best describes the silky Crème de Champignons Sauvages, wild mushroom soup served in a crusty bread boule.

 
Quality produce meets culinary technical expertise shine the spotlight on the timeless flavours of stellar mains such as Saumon Atlantique, pan-fried salmon with potato fondant, vegetables and a chive-kissed lemon butter sauce, and Carré d’Agneau Provençale, an unbelievably tender 30-day grain-fed Tasmanian lamb rack in herb crust with Provençale jus, asparagus and carrots.

 
Dessert is a grand finale in itself. The Notre Chariot à Dessert rolls in, an old-world trolley laden with sweet temptations: Saint Honoré avec Choux (shortcrust pastry piped with whipped cream crowned with caramelised choux puffs), Fruit Tarts, Almond Galette (flaky, buttery pastry filled with almond paste), and Apple Tart — each vying for attention.

Also, the pièce de résistance: Chalet’s flamboyant spectacle of Crêpes Suzette, flambé Cherries Jubilee, and the spirited Sabayon is memorable to behold, injecting a dash of delightful drama to the Chalet pop up experience.

 
For reservations, please contact EQ Kuala Lumpur, tel: 03 2789 7839, WhatsApp +60 12 583 5319 or email: dineateqkl@kul.equatorial.com
 

MICHELIN-STARRED GUEST CHEF XABI AT SABAYON

 

Savour stellar Basque cuisine by Executive Chef Xabier Goikoetxea (Chef Xabi) of Barcelona’s Michelin-starred Oria Restaurant at EQ Kuala Lumpur’s Sabayon now until 9 August 2025.

A protégé of the legendary Martín Berasategui—Spain’s most Michelin-decorated chef—Chef Xabi brings with him over 15 years of refined expertise. His culinary signature at Oria lies in the seamless interplay between time-honoured Basque traditions and vivid, contemporary Catalan and Mediterranean flavours.

 
His distinctive tasting menu opens with a quartet of exquisitely crafted amuse-bouches:

 

• Leaf-shaped Comté crisps crowned with smoked eel and Cantabrian anchovy
  
  
  
  

• Salt-cured prawn on savoury seaweed tempura crisp
  
  
  
  

• A bright tomato emulsion macaron with trout tartare and calamansi-ginger gel

• Cured then sous vide scallop with smoked hollandaise, mussel broth, orange, and chervil.

A luxurious San Sebastián seafood broth, enriched with prawns and cured egg yolk follows, reels us in with its soul-warming and deeply umami nuances. Spanish olive oil and crusty bread amp up the irresistible offering.

 
That sets the stage for an impeccably executed turbot, glazed in pil-pil sauce (a rich emulsion of gelatinous fish collagen, oil and garlic) resulting in buttery-tender fish, wrapped in a sheen of silky, flavourful sauce. Accentuated by celery cream and caper gel, fried quinoa and caviar levels up its textural interest.

 
Mains offer a choice between roasted sirloin and boneless lamb rack, cooked with precise finesse. The masterstroke comes from the inclusion of medjool date jus and delicate date chutney, bestowing the dish with an understated touch of sophisticated sweetness.

 
Desserts surprise and delight, beginning with a basil water and raw almond cream, whimsically augmented by lemon peel frozen pearls. This is a refreshing prelude to the finale of of chocolate and tonka bean textures; a subtly indulgent finish to the gastronomic affair.

 
Chef Xabi’s limited-time residency promises a culinary journey of finesse and discovery, available nightly from 6.30pm to 11pm. The exclusive dinner menu is priced at RM888+ per person.

Reservation for the Sabayon X Oria dinner at Sabayon, EQ Kuala Lumpur is recommended by calling tel: 03-2789 7839, email: dineateqkl@kul.equatorial.com or WhatsApp: +6 012 583 5319.