FRESH FACETS

Asian Angus Beef Tartar Crostini

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur heralded the arrival of its new Executive Chef Darrell J. O’Neill with a preview cocktail themed An Evening Under The Stars; giving a group of specially invited guests (yours truly included!) a taste of what's to come under his stewardship.

Chicken Satay Slider with Mango and Coriander Chutney

Held at the hotel's lushly landscaped poolside, we were plied with an interesting platter of four appetisers - two of which were shown in the pixs here. Trust me, these images don't do the food ample justice! :/

Having honed his skills under Nobu Matsuhisa and an avid fan of Japanese cuisine, O'Neill showed his artful balancing of delicate flavours and textures in the Edamame and Mint Gazpacho with Hand Dived Scallops, and Cauliflower Espuma with Citrus Lobster and Caviar.

The first was superbly memorable; sweet, tender scallops (hand dived means they're sustainably harvested) perked up by a cool, slightly nutty-beany gazpacho...I will never underestimate my snacking staple of those green soya beans ever again! The latter was simply to-die-for with the frothy cauliflower foam lending an effervescent touch to the sweet lobster meat (spiked with hints of yuzu) and briny caviar globules.

Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with Shimeiji Mushrooms, Micro Greens and Citrus Dressing

If you're averse to raw beef, perhaps the chef's ingenious wagyu carpaccio will make a convert out of you yet. Served with a scattering of tiny shimeiji, tendrils of purple seaweed, asparagus spears and micro greens, and drizzled with a sublime citrusy dressing, I certainly had no beef with the speciality and licked the plate clean!

Black Cod with Sweet Potato and Ginger Mousseline, Baby Beets, 
Broccolini and Bonito Foam

Taking a leaf out of his previous 'sifu's' (master's) book, O'Neill went all out to fish for compliments with a second main course that had a slab of black cod fillet laid out on an impossibly light sweet potato and ginger mousseline. The fish's inherent sweetness was enhanced further by the baby beets while crunchy stalks of broccolini lent textural contrast. Definitely a dish that we fell for hook, line and sinker.

Modern Coconut Tartufo with Kahlua

Bringing the curtains down on a high, the chef whipped up a potent three liqueur Sabayon (teetotalers don't know what they missed!) for his Modern Coconut Tartufo (a typical Italian ice cream dessert). Believe me, coconut ice cream and diced mango haven't tasted sooo good before! A wafer-thin disc of chocolate flecked with gold accents just made it a luxurious treat to round off the amazing chef's debut!

Bravo! Encore!

YAMMY-LICIOUS!

I love yam cake! So do my family and countless friends who share an ardent love for this simple, traditional delight.

When Babe KL invited me to be part of her virtual 55th Merdeka Open House themed Uniquely Malaysia, I thought yam cake fits the bill. After all, I haven't seen yam cake sold in any other country except perhaps in Singapore?

I first learned to make it in 2009 after my Mom revealed her yearning for this humble but tasty treat. You can buy yam cake from certain stalls in the local pasar (market) and a handful of restaurants but we found that most of them barely have any yam in it. Don't know about you but I prefer my yam cake with just the right consistency studded with visible yam dices. I also hate it when the topping is bare frills at best with a stingy sprinkling of chopped spring onion, chilli and fried shallot.

So I resorted to make yam cake at home and it turned out to be easier than I thought! For those of you who want to try your hand at making it - here's the recipe which I have adapted slightly from Rohani Jelani's recipe book called Hawker's Favourites.

Last year I made pans of yam cake for sale, to raise funds for a friend's Climb of Hope where all proceeds went to National Cancer Society. Hmmm...perhaps it's time I make some in celebration of our 55 years of Merdeka.

For what's being served for Babe KL's Merdeka Open House, check out:
http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2012/08/announcing-7th-merdeka-open-house-2012.html

YAM CAKE

800g yam
6 shallots
2 tbsp dried prawns
2 tsp salt
2 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
200g rice flour
5 tbsp tapioca flour
800 ml water
1/2 tsp alkali water

Garnishing
5 tbsp fried shallot
1 tbsp fried dried prawn
3 stalks spring onion (chopped)
2 red chilli (sliced)
1 tbsp choy poh (sweet preserved vegetable)

Sweet & Savoury Bean Sauce
2 tbsp taucheo (salted soya bean paste)
2 tbsp sugar
100 ml water
1/2 tbsp oil

Peel skin from yam and cut into dices. Steam yam dices over boiling heat for 20-30 minutes until soft. Once ready, remove and set aside.

Slice shallot and saute with dried prawns until shallot turns slightly brown. Add in yam dices and stir-fry quickly. Add salt, five-spice and pepper powder. Stir evenly and remove from heat.

Mix rice flour, tapioca flour and water in a pot until mixture is lump-free. Add in alkali water and stir evenly. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring frequently until batter thickens into custard-like consistency.

Add in yam dices into the batter and mix everything thoroughly. Pour into a metal cake pan and even out the surface. Steam yam cake over high heat for 30 minutes until cooked.

Once ready, turn off heat and remove yam cake from steamer to cool. Sprinkle garnishing ingredients on top of yam cake once it has cooled down completely. Cut into diamond-shaped squares to serve.

To make sauce, mix taucheo with sugar and water. Heat a little oil in pan and pour in mixture. Bring to boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved and remove from heat. Serve with yam cake.

EIGHT'S A CELEBRATION

Eats A Celebration! Savour chef Frankie Woo's special menu to mark Gu Yue Tien's 8th Anniversary

Time flies when you're having fun...it sure seems that way for chef turned restaurateur Frankie Woo whose Gu Yue Tien restaurant will be celebrating its 8th year in our local cut-throat Chinese restaurant scene.

Having left the safe confines of employment of international hotel chains all those years ago, Frankie has worked tirelessly to carve his own niche in the F&B business and succeeded to some extent; drawing a loyal clientele (including luminaries such as Datuk Michelle Yeoh and fiance, Datuk Jean Todt in the past) who return time and again to sample his culinary masterpieces.

To mark Gu Yue Tien's 8th anniversary, Frankie has drawn up a nostalgic menu priced at RM88++ per person which will run from August until end September, taking his customers on a retrospective culinary trip down memory lane.

Old is gold...one of the unexpected dishes that Frankie may woo you with

Instead of the ubiquitous four seasons platter that raises the curtain for most banquets, Frankie pulls out the stops by serving eight types of appetisers in keeping with the auspicious occasion. In order to derive full satisfaction from them, he recommends starting with the Salad Cucumber with Chicken Floss first.

Cool cucumber discs topped with mayo & chicken floss

Perked up with warm mayonnaise speckled with tiny celery and carrot dices, the crunchy cucumber

discs came adorn with mounds of crisp chicken floss. Popping each thickly cut disc into our mouths, the cucumber's crunchiness melds nicely with the accompanying smooth, creamy and feathery textures.

Rolls of desire using tender pork slices and cucumber julienne

Ramping up the flavour quotient a little is Sliced Pig's Neck Meat Rolled with Shredded Cucumber and Hot Bean Sauce; another irresistible pairing that has tender slices of thin pig's neck meat and julienne of crunchy cucumber livened up with a little dollop of robust hot bean sauce.

Foie gras mousse on toast

Moving on, the Foie Gras Mousse on Toast bears testimony to the chef's fondness for global influences in his own culinary endeavours. Happily devouring the crispy toast pieces topped with velvety smooth slices of foie gras and nectar-sweet mango dices, we certainly had no complaints about the rich, dense and indulgent combination.

A tribute to the roaring 1960s

If you have parents who grew up in the 1960s, they'd tell you that hai chou or crab meat dumpling is all the rage then in Chinese restaurants. Now diners will get a chance to relive that nostalgic treat as Frankie has included Deep Fried Crab Meat Ball into his celebratory repertoire.

I love sinking my teeth into the crackling crisp outer skin and sampling the milieu of ingredients within: shredded carrot, celery, water chestnuts and crab meat - all subtly scented with five spice powder. So yummy!

Cold chicken slices with jelly fish to leave you clucking with approval

 A piquant chilli paste accentuated with fresh kalamansi lime juice adds a fiery dimension to the slices of Cold (poached) Chicken and Jelly Fish. This was a popular offering for many banquet appetiser platters in the 1970s so it was a delight to relish it again after so long.

Delectable parcels of prawns in sui kow skin

Springy succulent prawns filled the crunchy parcels of Deep Fried Prawn Dumplings; a perennial favourite that few diners would ever tire of.

Nibble on these briny crunchy white bait coated in salted egg yolk

 The Fried White Bait with Salted Egg Yolk presented in a fine filigree vermicelli nest is wickedly addictive; we find ourselves hooked the minute the first briny, crunchy morsel passed our lips.

Toothsome wedges of century egg

Dark and smooth with firm jelly-like texture, Century Egg wedges complemented with Japanese pink ginger pickles complete the starting appetiser line-up. A time-honoured method of preserving duck (and sometimes chicken and quail) eggs, the eggs are preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime and rice hulls for several months. You either love or hate them; the dark grayish-green yolks yield a sulfuric nuance while the whites take on a translucent, brownish-black hue and bouncy texture.

Look Ma...no fins

Conscious of these politically correct times, Frankie has done away with sharks' fin soup and opted instead to feature Braised Seafood Soup with Crab Roe. The viscous broth tastes just as good, chockful with assorted shellfish, wisps of beaten egg and diced beancurd.

Frankie's signature dish that sets tastebuds alight

One of the dishes that made Frankie famous is his Charred Rack of Lamb; a meaty, slightly sweet and smoky delight that will have you picking the bone clean. For those who prefer something porcine, there's Salt Baked Iberico Spare Ribs in place of lamb.

Sweet prawns of mine

It's difficult to decide which aspect of the Fried Fresh Water Prawns with Spicy Sauce we like more - the inherent sweetness of the crustaceans themselves or the lusty, complex sweet, tangy sauce that they were bathed in. Don't worry about letting the superb sauce goes to waste; the dish comes which a plate of thin, rectagular toast slices for you to mop up every drop of the delectable gravy.

Smooth, silky steamed fish to go with blanched rice vermicelli

Bright, robust Hunanese flavours dominate the showpiece of Hunan-style Steamed Seasonal Live Fish. Despite the pungent pairing of minced chilli and garlic, the natural sweetness of the hybrid fish (cross between patin and pak sou koong, a specie of catfish) remains discernible. The doneness is spot on too and to soak up all the flavourful fish jus that's pooled in the plate, we had some blanched bee hoon (rice vermicelli) to soak up the delicious liquid.

Chilling treat to conclude dinner

Dinner finishes on a light, sweet and cool note - a glass of Chilled Sea Coconut with Longan and Sliced Lime to cleanse the palate and round up the meal on a high note.

Here's to another eight and more years in the Chinese culinary realm, Frankie!

Gu Yue Tien’s 8th Anniversary special menu is available from now until September 30. For reservations, call 03-2148 0808. The restaurant is located at Lot 5A Chulan Square, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

THE WIZARD OF SAUCE

Xinfully, cottony soft and light as air...deep-fried egg white souffle

Rarely can I recall a Chinese meal that finishes on a high when it comes to dessert. Most of the time, it's either wholesome sliced fresh fruits, hot or cold sweet broths or in the case of wedding dinners, the ubiquitous crispy pancake with red bean or lotus paste.

This is where Xin Cuisine stands out from the rest. Thanks to new Chinese Chef Alfie Hoh's inspired creation of Deep-fried White Soufflé with Red Bean Paste (RM6++ per piece, minimum order of 6 pcs), you'd be floating home on a happy high once you have sampled those unbelievably airy, puffy balls.

The dragons' domain where Chef Alfie Hoh reigns

This confection alone lends ample testament to the veteran chef's culinary wizardry. After four decades in the business and a career that spanned Zhuhai, Shanghai, Ningpo, Wuxi, Romania, Indonesia and Singapore, Alfie's akin to the Dumbledore of Chinese cuisine, a masterful wizard when it comes to conjuring up potent sauces and weaving fresh ingredients together to create captivating dishes that keep you enthralled.

Here's looking at you...Chef Alfie Hoh

What drives this 'sauce-rer' of Chinese cuisine? Apparently books and street food are the key secrets to his unrelenting drive. Citing beef noodles at the old school Lai Foong coffee shop in KL as his perennial favourite, Alfie admits that he loves giving a new lease of life to classic 1970s recipes melded with subtle Northern Chinese accents.

Don't judge a dish by its looks...this Szechuan Smoked Fish is mildly sweet with a stealthy albeit pleasing bursts of spicy heat that numbs your tongue

Years spent in China have drawn Alfie to the Northern Chinese penchant for cold dishes to prime the appetite prior to the main meal. Hence you'd find light, stimulating nibbles such as the crispy, almost jerky-like Szechuan Smoked Fish (RM18++) and Cold Cucumber Tossed in Black Vinaigrette and Garlic (RM15++) included into Xin Cuisine's latest appetiser line-up.

 

Mildly sweet yet robustly spiced, the former catches you by surprise with its subtle, 'slow-burning' bursts of tongue-numbing heat whilst the latter helps to cool things down; the finger-thick, crunchy yet slightly soft cucumber strip teases the palate with its deep-seated tartness, having been marinated in some premium Xinjiang black vinegar.

Save the sharks and dive into this superbly viscous soup instead

Now that more diners are opting to save the sharks by omitting shark's fin soup from their list of 'must have' treats when dining out, we reckon the chef's Shredded Duck, Yellow Chives and Seafood in Thick Soup would be the perfect substitute. This retro Cantonese soup of bamboo pith, crabmeat, black mushroom slices and fried crullers certainly boasts similar deep-seated hearty flavours and multi-layer textures to that of the pricey original.

Porky please...a dish that even mothers would approve of

If you prefer some home-cooked fare, Alfie's a dab hand in that aspect too. Just sample his Braised Spare Ribs with Mui Choy Beijing-Style (RM30++ per portion) and you'd be seized by a fresh perspective on how this homely Hakka staple can indeed be taken to the next level. 

Alfie's mui choi pork is oh so salubriously saucy!

Even more staggering is how simple it is...instead of the usual soya sauce base, Alfie just tweaks it with some tomato paste, giving the dish a faintly tarty nuance that balances the omnipresent beany brininess.

Palate pleaser...chicken with shredded mango salad and a tantalising sweet-sour-briny-spicy sauce

If you're averse to fiery hot bird's eye chilli, tread carefully as you dig into the Deep-fried Boneless Chicken with Pattaya Sauce (RM32++ small, RM48++ medium, RM64++ large) lest you get caught in the line of 'fire' once you bite into a sliver. You'd find the lethal chilli bits studded in the light sweet-sour dressing (a mixture of fresh juice of small limes or kat chai, 7Up and preserved plum sauce) that complements the crispy boneless chicken. Crowned with a heap of shredded mango salad, this is one addictive dish that leaves you wanting more.

The chef also looked east to liven up his repertoire of seafood specialities. Instead of ginger and soya sauce, the Wok-fried Cod with Japanese Sauce (RM26++ per 100g) receives a splendid boost with his own concoction of sake, mirin, Japanese shoyu and dashi stock.

More saucy magic emerges in the prawn dish

The wizard of sauce keeps up the pace by whipping up shoyu, sake and margarine into a sublime sauce to elevate his Baked Sea Prawns with Japanese Wine (RM55++ small, RM75++ medium, RM110++ large) up to new gustatory heights.

Green is in...as long as the leafy greens are doused in this yummy sauce!

Instead of the tried and tested 'siong tong yin choi' (spinach in superior stock) that has been flogged to death in most Chinese restaurants, I urge you to try the Wok-fried Seasonal Vegetable with Crabmeat and Salted Egg Yolk (RM30++ small, RM45++ medium, RM60++ large). Again it's the sauce that steals limelight and rightfully so.
 

Alfie tells us that in the good old days, a lot of crab roe was used to make the rich sauce but nowadays salted egg yolks prove to be an adequate and easier to obtain substitute. Mixed with freshly extracted crab meat in addition to some soup stock to lighten the viscosity, the combination imbues the dish with ample colour and superb flavour. 

Delicious ties that bind...Yee Fu Noodles with Dace

Rustic, earthy but scrumptious best describe the substantial dish of Braised Yee Fu Noodles with Dace (RM28++ small, RM38++ medium, RM55++ large). We can't get past how well the noodles soak up the hearty brininess of black beans and fried dace, resulting in such Xin-fully great taste.

Kudos to Alfie Hoh - the wizard of sauce!
 

For reservations at Xin Cuisine, please call (03) 2144 8750 or 2144 2200 ext 2338. The restaurant is located on the lobby level of Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

 

LEND A HAND

Time to be a do-gooder folks! 

Hospis Malaysia is having a Charity Bazaar to raise funds, to fund its charitable efforts that offer professional palliative care to patients who are suffering from life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease, organ failure etc.

The poster says it all...so show up and lend your support for every ringgit means a lot and helps to sustain its noble existence.

Many see life as a great challenge, but death is another big challenge by itself. Oblivious to many, terminally ill patients are suffering a great deal emotionally and physically. The pain of battling with worsening health condition and hovering death can never, be understood by us healthy ones and we are only doing what we can to help them out in their last leg of journey on earth.

It is an endless advocacy, but not a thankless one. In order for this non-profit organization to survive, Hospis Malaysia needs funds to pay the bills, every year at least RM3 million to sustain the cost of operation, with over 1600 patients under their care. Services are provided at no cost to patients.  

So help spread the word, show up for the event and donate to the cause. Your money will help to save lives!

iGO FORWARD

Star Power at the iGO Launch...Ian Ong (SuperModel), Issac Ong (Movie Actor), Alan Yun (SuperModel/Actor), Josiah Mizukami (Emcee/TV host), Peter Davis (Actor/Supermodel)

Clueless when it comes to looking for directions when you're driving? Wanna hunt down the newest, hottest eateries in town but dunno how to get there? 

Never fear, iGO primo app SEA edition is no here! Available at a promotional price of USD$9.99 for a limited time only, the navigation app is popular among iPhone and iPad users for its reliable route planning, intuitive interface and impressive 3D visualization. Download of community maps is FREE and users can also extend their navigation experience by purchasing speed camera databases and other  services. The community mapping portal and forum is open to public, ensuring its extensive maps are continuously updated and self-verified by MFM and NavNET contributing members, providing reliable navigation to the app users.

(Left to right) Handy app...Imre Dózsa, Head of Marketing Communications, NNG LLC, Lester Neil Francis, Group COO and Executive Director for M3 Group of Companies, Roger Huang, Vice President of Asia, NNG LLC

Other plus points include a wide range of advanced and mobile-optimized features such as Google local search, calling of POIs (Points of Interest) from within the app, Realistic Junction Views and 3D landmarks for easier orientation.

“South East Asia attracts millions of travelers every year, although the local traffic can be a challenge for first-time visitors. By launching the iGO primo app Southeast Asia edition with community-based maps on-board, we are offering quick help in one hand for the most popular holiday destinations such as Singapore and Malaysia,” says Roger Huang, Vice President of Asia at NNG LLC.

NNG’s wireless navigation solution for Southeast Asia is also available to network providers and smartphone manufacturers on Google Android and Microsoft WinCE operating system.

Ian Ong (SuperModel), Issac Ong (Movie Actor),  Roger Huang (Vice  President of Asia, NNG LLC),Imre Dózsa, Head of Marketing Communications, NNG LLC, Nadia Heng (Miss World Malaysia 2010/11), Alan Yun (SuperModel/Actor), Josiah Mizukami (Emcee/TV host), Peter Davis (Actor/Supermodel)

GUERLAIN MAKE-UP MY DAY

Guerlain hosted an exclusive Bloggers Get-Together with its international make-up artist from Paris, Maxime Poulin recently at Alexis, The Gardens one sunny morning.

Maxime, who works and trains directly under Guerlain’s Creative Director, Olivier Echaudemaison showed attendees the art of make-up using the brand's sizzling summer collection, Terra Azzurra.

Karen Tan welcoming Maxime to the Guerlain event

After showing how to gently massage and apply acupressure to our delicate peepers' area, he proceeded to explain in length about each Guerlain products, highlighting their key benefits such as the inclusion of natural ingredients, water-based primer that reflects light but gives a matte finish and Guerlain's meteorites highlighting powder that makes skin look flawless under all lighting conditions.

Maxime also regaled us with the creative collaboration between Guerlain and Emilio Pucci's daughter for the Terra Azzurra range. Apparently, the dazzling colour palette was drawn from Mother Nature especially the brilliant blues of the sun and sea, and vibrant corals and pink hues in Portofino, Italy.

Emilion Pucci's famous print design is featured on the packaging

Polished walnut case with magnetic lid and Emilio Pucci's print pouch complete this sleek blush powder case

Maxime touting the exquisite eye shadow shades from the current range

Guerlain's ingenious mascara case comes with a tiny pop-up mirror!

As Maxime took us through each of the products used, we were given first-hand feel of their textures. We were also taken by surprise by the sheer ingenuity of certain packaging like in the case of Guerlain's mascara and lipstick casings.

After plying us with drinks and finger food, every attendee trotted happily home with little gift bags containing a Guerlain eyeshadow set and lipstick in each.