Masterchef Asia Live in Malaysia

Hello hello... sorry for being away so long. Just too many things on the family front now :-( can't focus but maybe I should seek solace here? For instant posts on what I cook, eat and drink, do check me up on Instagram on the handle babe_kl.



Anyway, just a quickie... in case you do not know, you can head on to Midvalley Megamall, Ground Floor Centre Court now to check out MasterChef Asia's kitchen. They will be on display till this Sunday 23 Aug 2015! If you wish to fulfill your Masterchef dreams, head on there like now! Don't forget to bring your camera and a photographer along hehe.

On top of this, on Saturday, 22 Aug 2015 from 12 noon onwards... there will be a meet and greet session with the 3 judges, Susur Lee, Bruno Ménard and Audra Morrice; as well as the three Malaysian contestants Jasbir Kaur, Marcus Low and Sophia Zulkifli. I heard Jasbir, Marcus and Sophia will battle it out in front of live audience on my favourite Mystery Box Challenge! So do head on there this Saturday to watch this battle ermm right above on the "balcony"?

The 3 judges for this Asia instalment are award-winning restaurateur and fusion specialist, Susur Lee; 3-Michelin-starred chef and culinary consultant Chef Bruno Ménard; and Audra Morrice, finalist in MasterChef Australia, caterer and cookbook author. How nice if I could meet all three but alas I am not free this Saturday to meet and chat them up :-( however, you can!



I can't wait for the series to begin so that I can root and support my fellow Malaysian contestants! I know one of them could win since *ahem* we Malaysians eat, talk and sleep food!!! Just check out their background... Jasbir, the most senior participant in the season who can whip up Punjabi specialities with ease; Marcus, a banker with an interest in molecular cuisine and unique food pairings; and Sophia, a mother with a passion for food and cooking. So who will win?

The series premieres on 3 September, Thursdays at 9pm on Lifetime (Astro Ch 709). For more information, please visit the official website at msn.com/masterchefasia. Also don't forget to Like MasterChefAsia on Facebook!

MasterChef Asia Season 1 is presented by the Singapore Tourism Board and Knorr, in association with Panasonic, Changi Airport Group, Carlton Hotel Singapore and Air Asia. 

P.S.: There's a chance for you to win a kitchen makeover... check it out here!


** Photos were downloaded from MasterChef Asia's Facebook Page

Casting Call for MasterChefAsia

If you are not aware, MasterChef Asia is in search for amateur cooks in Asia to audition for the first ever MasterChef Asia! The show will be shown over Lifetime channel (Astro Ch 709).

So if you have what it takes to be a MasterChef, do submit your audition video as soon as possible before it ends on 5 March. Check out www.facebook.com/MasterChefAsia for more information or watch the video below.

I would love to sign up but I can't under one of the rules and restrictions :-( So please please give it a go and I am rooting for one of my friend who has submitted his entry *fingers crossed* If you have submitted an entry, do leave in the comments so that I can cheer for you too ;-)

MasterChef Asia is presented by the Singapore Tourism Board and Knorr, in association with Panasonic and Changi Airport Group. Lifetime (Astro Ch 709) is the exclusive Pay TV home in Asia for MasterChef versions from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

MasterChef is represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group. The show was originally revived as MasterChef Goes Large in 2005 by Shine TV in the UK and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

Apply now at http://masterchefasia.com! Good luck!!!

Ramadhan Recipe 5: Zespri Kiwifruit & Lychee Fruit Salad With Konyakku Jelly Cubes

We're down to the last Zespri's recipe for Ramadhan which I'm saving the sweet for last :D

The konyakku jelly that we are familiar with are usually firm and bouncy but now that I know with the addition of some citrus juice, in this case - lemon juice, made the konyakku jelly softer in texture to the extend of something like jello. A fairly simple dessert to concoct and a crowd favourite.

Just make sure your Zespri Green Kiwifruit is slightly chunky to match up with the size of lychees and jelly cubes ;-) I reckon the new variety of Zespri Sun Gold would match up greatly too for a sweet and tangy sensation.

Click on the recipe card above to view a larger version on my flickr album

Thank you Zespri Malaysia for allowing me to post up these beautiful recipes. Selamat berpuasa ;-)

Ramadhan Recipe 4: Zespri Kiwifruit With Sweet & Sour Fish

BoiBoi dislikes sour fruits, hence he won't even touch green kiwifruits with a ten feet pole! Because of this, he wouldn't even eat the Zespri Gold, well until recently... when I sort of force made him try some, otherwise he would have thought it's sour as well. I managed to have him to like the latest variety of Zespri Sun Gold heh... victory for the mommy! Loved his description "it's sweet with a teeny hint of sourness".

Since I know Zespri green kiwifruits have loads more Vitamin C than his fave orange, I have been devising plans to make him have his dose of kiwifruits. So far the easiest was to make iced lollies or smoothie or even "ice cream". For ice cream, I would freeze some sliced bananas, kiwifruits, pineapple etc. Leave it to thaw for about 3 - 5 minutes, then I blend them with a hand blender. If the concoction contains banana, it will turn out to be a creamy and fruity and creamy "ice cream". Without banana, it will become something like sorbet. I usually serve to him straight after blending and I would usually make more so that I can spoon the excess into ice lolly moulds and freeze them. A lot of times, I will stuff in some kiwifruits chunks. Both works fine for me. With the inclusion of other fruits, BoiBoi get to have his dose of green kiwifruits in such ways :D

Background: papaya, pineapple & yoghurt
Foreground: green kiwifruit, apples and chunks of kiwifruits & cherries

This kid of mine expects to have dessert after his meals, my father would just gave him fruits but whenever we're out, he will have his share of desserts of ice cream, cakes or whatever strikes his fancy in the menu. Since he's already on his growth spurt stage, I try to make him eat healthy. So the other way to make him eat fruits that he dislikes is to make a fruit salads hehehehe, yup evil mommy I am! I would just diced the fruits up and serve just like that or days when I have yoghurt, I will top up with a few spoonfuls of yoghurt and sprinkle with homemade granola. This way he will down all the fruits he disliked such as plums, green apples and pineapples.

The other thing is, he doesn't like fish except when the fish comes in the form of sweet and sour fish *roll eyes*. He can have that everyday and won't get fed up. So having Zespri Green Kiwifruits to be serve in a sweet and sour fish manner will do me lots of good. I think having kiwifruits pieces in this dish sort of like elevated it to the next level. Other than being a simple dish for breaking of fast with the family, it can be serve as a fancy dish to guests ;-) What say you?

Click on the recipe card above to view a larger version on my flickr album

Ramadhan Recipe 3: Zespri Kiwifruit & Lime Soda With Selasih (Basil) Seeds

The next recipe from Zespri's Ramadhan collection is this Zespri Kiwifruit and Lime Soda with Basil Seeds. Basil seeds is biji selasih in Malay and when soaked, it will plump up looking like frog eggs :p

When I was really young around 8 years of age, there's this junkfood stall outside my school gate. They usually have 2 variety of drinks each day and the multi colour drinks of pink, red, orangey etc fascinates me all the time. I would never know how they tasted like cos my parents who dislike us to eat junkfood never gave us any pocket money. The first time, I see these "frog eggs" floating in the drinks that my friends are drinking, I asked them what they were and they told me "frog eggs"!!! Being the naive one, I really do believe them, yes I do! They spun the story of the drink seller actually scoop up the eggs from the drain and the silly me actually did bought it! Why? Cos I used to climb inside that drain to catch fish and tadpoles hahaha plus it's not helping that we also learnt about the frog's life cycle at that age. In the diagram, there were picture of frog eggs :p

It was only much later in my early teens that my dad bought some of these basil seeds to make drinks for us. He told us to watch some magic show that he's going to perform lol where the seeds will transform into frog eggs! Hey by then, we're not that naive anymore hahahaha. So that was when I know they're known as biji selasih.

For this refreshing concoction, you can see in the photo that there were some kaffir lime (limau purut in Malay) slices as they did not just make the drink looked prettier but added some slight bitter citrusy flavour in this drink. It is advisable not to squeeze in the juice as it will make your drink taste bitter. Try it for breaking of fast to quench your thirst or serve it to your guests during Raya open house.

Click on the recipe card above to view a larger version on my flickr album

Ramadhan Recipe 2: Zespri Kiwifruit & Green Chilli Sambal With Salad Platter

How did you enjoy the Zespri Kiwifruit & Prawn Tom Yum Soup? Yummy huh with the right tang and surprisingly the kiwifruit wedges worked so well in soup.

The next recipe is this Zespri Kiwifruit & Green Chilli Sambal with Salad Platter! I've made this entirely on my own for the shoot of this photo :p painstakingly pounded the green sambal with a mortar & pestle with lots of splatters and love. You can do this with a food processor or mini chopper, just pulse and don't let the blade run continuously as you would want some chunky bits.

Click on the recipe card above to view a larger version on my flickr album

On a side note, there is something very interesting to share here for fans of Rohani hehehe... you see the  platter in the picture? We actually arranged everything nicely and waiting to carry it out for the photographer. Rohani then started eating the extra veggies with the sambal. The next thing you know, all of us in the kitchen did the same hahaha... next, Rohani asked if we have any rice and suddenly it became our quick lunch break!

If you have followed me on Instagram (babe_kl), you should have seen the pic I've posted up in reference to the ultimate Malay comfort food of sambal, fried fish, ulam and masak lemak :D Guess whose hand that was?

Here's to another fabulous day of kiwifruit goodness to break fast with ;-)

Ramadhan Recipe 1: Zespri Kiwifruit & Prawn Tom Yum Soup

First of all, we would like to wish all our Muslim readers "Selamat Berpuasa" in this holy Ramadhan month. In conjunction with this, I've sought the permission from Zespri Malaysia to publish this set of recipes that Rohani Jelani had developed for this year. I've helped her out during the testing and photo shoot for these recipes developed specially for breaking of fast.

With that in mind, these recipes can be done in a jiffy ensuring that meals can be prepared and cooked without spending too much time in the kitchen after a long day at work. It is also to ensure one can fully enjoy the Vitamin C & E and nutrients such as folate, potassium and etc in the Zespri Kiwifruits after a day of fasting. Do check out the healthy information and contents of Zespri Kiwifruits in their website: http://www.zespri.com.my/.

Before I post up the recipe here, many complained that the green kiwifruits that they buy were just too sour or they do not know how to choose green kiwifruits. Since I was involved with Zespri's campaign, we were taught how to identify a ripe kiwifruit. As we know, Zespri Kiwifruits are sold in plastic containers to prevent them from being squashed. All you need to do is, open up the container and use your eyes to judge that the fruits are all nice without any blemished or squashed sign. Try not to poke or squeeze them as you wouldn't like other people to do the same to your fruits that you would want to purchase.

Once you're back home, open the container and place one kiwifruit on your palm. While cradling it, using gentle pressure, press the kiwifruit with your fingers. If they're rock hard, means it's not ripe yet. For the green kiwifruits, this stage would be suitable for salads or cooking as they could be hard and sour. As for the Gold and Sungold (a new variety this year which is sweet with a slight tang), it's still not suitable for eating yet.

If the kiwifruit is slightly soft, you could eat them but if kept for another day or two, you'll be able to taste the sweetness even though if it's a green kiwifruit but if they're Gold or Sungold, go for it!

To ripen kiwifruits, all you need to do is place them together with apples or bananas in a cool dry place (or in the fridge) and they'll ripen hastily. You would be surprised that in our Malaysian weather, read hot and humid, when left with bananas and apples, the ripening process is not as quick we thought it would be! Yup, tried and tested in the kitchen :D

So now that you know how to pick a kiwifruit and how to ripen them, go grab a few packs of them and start with these recipes. Lots of promotional price in the supermarkets I can see as the season has just started!

To start off, the first in the series is this ever popular Zespri Kiwifruit & Prawn Tom Yum Soup. Forget about using instant tom yum paste as it's soo sooo easy and quick to prepare a fresh tom yum soup. What more when it's packed with an unexpected ingredient like Green Kiwifruits!

Click on the recipe card above to view a larger version on my flickr album

Have a blessed Ramadhan filled with lots of kiwifruits nutrition ;-)

Lithuanian Cuisine, An Experience With Plate Culture

I've won a prize from BFM 89.9's Feeding Time with Fay Khoo recently via the Facebook page recently. I was excited as I've heard so much of Plate Culture in the past couple of weeks and never imagined that I was offered an experience to taste Lithuanian cuisine. The person Fay had interviewed was none other than Plate Culture's founder Audra Pakalnyte. If you wish, you can listen to the podcast here.

Plate Culture plays the match maker for diners and their hosts. You can find a variety of cuisines offered by different hosts as stated in the website ranging from Mauritian, Chinese, Malay, Indian and so forth. You can be a diner or a host at Plate Culture.

As a diner, you select which host you wish to visit on the dates the host is available. Plate Culture will give you the information and contact of your host. On the date, go to the host's home and enjoy the home cooked goodness. To be a host, just submit your request to Plate Culture. Eventually, the Plate Culture team will come by to check your place out, your cooking, making sure you're clean and tidy, dishes are delicious :p You'll noticed the words "Vouched by Plate Culture" if the host has been verified. Simple as that.

When I arrived, I was told that Audra is not around and had gone to a neighbouring country. So Vita & her brother entertained us instead. I made friends with the 3 other local diners and it was fun exchanging notes on the different cultures and customs.

We started off with carrot sticks served with a smooth Hummus dip. Not exactly Lithuanian but it's so good that the almost the entire bowl of Hummus is cleared off. Got a bit adventurous too as we tried it even on our mains.



Next we checked out how our first course is made in the kitchen. We saw a large bowl filled with pink liquid, hehe looked like strawberry milk but it's not. Got walked through the process of making the cold soup Saltibarsciai which is very popular during Summer. In the soup there are cubed beetroot, grated cucumber, chopped hard boiled eggs, spring onions and dill. The liquid part is usually made with sour cream but Vita said the supermarket they went to had ran out of it so yoghurt was used as a substitute. It was thinned down with a little milk.



Saltibarsciai is served with boiled potatoes and there's a ritual in serving this soup. We first squeeze in some lemon juice and was asked to give it a taste before adding some white vinegar. Mmmmm, my first spoonful was so delightful. The next spoonful with the added vinegar gave a different perspective to it. As we slurped through we were told that every Lithuanian family will serve this during Summer months even though Summer in Lithuania is rather short. I have so say, I really like this soup... seems refreshing but we were forewarned that it can be quite filling.



For our mains, out came the tummy warming parcels of goodness. We were introduced to Balandeliai (aka little pigeons) which are cabbage parcels filled with minced beef, chopped onion and carrots. The light gravy flavoured with tomato paste.

We topped our cabbage parcels with yoghurt and had more boiled potatoes. Vita informed us that they eat a lot of potatoes and there are many dishes are made out of potatoes. Not sure how they made the boiled potatoes but they're darn nice! One of the diner wiped out the entire bowl of potatoes cos it's just so good. Quite simple I would say to make this and I've told Vita that I will attempt it one day but it will be my own interpretation of this dish :p

Next, for dessert... a log of Tinginys (lazy pal). I can hear the mmmmm around the table as we bit into the slices. It was so delicious that everyone asked what it is! 

As Vita's brother (oops my bad, I'm not sure in spelling his name but it starts with O) explained that there are just 3 ingredients for this dessert. I managed to guess digestive biscuit first; after the second slice, out came condensed milk from my mouth. Somehow I just can't get the third ingredient!!! Nothing is impossible with the wonderful existence of the world wide web hahaha it was cocoa powder! Didn't taste much of cocoa but this reminds me of our kek batik made from Milo.

In the middle of our dessert, out came a bottle of Millers' Bitter which is a kind of herbal liquer. Someone commented tasted a little like Jägermeister. Wow this stuff is strong with 50% alcohol! We had little sips and seems like Tinginys tasted a little different after a sip of this.

I have enjoyed myself tremendously with this new dining experience that Plate Culture had offered. It's a great way to discover a new cuisine and it's wholesome since it's an intimate dinner together with the hosts. We get information of the new cuisine, culture, language, the country straight from the hosts. The plus point is, you can round up your friends to enjoy the dinner together taking it as a private dinner or on the other hand is meeting new people. Well you'll never know what's going to turn up after the dinner, perhaps it was a start of a beautiful friendship?

When you check out Plate Culture's website, don't be surprised to see our pretty Kelly Siew as one of the hosts. I know Swee San is planning to host too! My buddy blogger Chao Kar's Transparent Apron is listed too! I was asked when I'm going to host hahaha ok I did thought of it but it's kinda far now for diners to travel all the way to our home where my friends always teased they needed to bring their passports to visit us. Hopefully one day ok ;-) promised *fingers crossed*

If you're intrigued, please check out www.plateculture.com.

I would like to thank Audra & Fay for such a wonderful experience!

Balik Kampung Feast @ Paya Serai, Hilton Petaling Jaya Hotel

**Halal**

Whenever Ramadhan bounds, I can't wait to sample the traditional Malay dishes served at Paya Serai, Hilton Petaling Jaya. I have to vouch that Paya Serai serves one of the best Malay buffet spread in town. The only thing is that the restaurant will be packed to the brim and you'll need to make a reservation way way way ahead otherwise, don't even think about it.

This year, I heard they are going back to the kampung (village) style cooking with some new dishes to keep up with the newly refurbished Hilton Petaling Jaya such as Sup Gearbox, Mee Rebus Tulang, Lamb Shank Beriani, Udang Goreng Daun Kari and Ikan Patin Bakar Tempoyak. 

However, Paya Serai's ever green dishes like Daging Rendang Tok, Bubur Lambuk, Ayam Perchik, Ikan Terubuk Panggang and Nasi Bokhari Ayam will not be sidelined. Very happy to say that the menu will be rotated on a daily basis.

Hilton Petaling Jaya’s Ramadhan promotion is priced at RM109++ per guest on the first week while RM129++ per guest on the following days. Children below 12 years old is at half price. Make your reservation starting now until the 1st of July to enjoy an early bird discount. 

Our previous Ramadhan feast at Paya Serai

Hilton Petaling Jaya Hotel
No 2 Jalan Barat,
46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: (+603) 7955 9122 (Paya Serai extension 4567/4261/4096)

Hilton PJ F&B blog, www.ZestPJ.com

Photos courtesy of Hilton Petaling Jaya

Part 2 - Sweets: A Taste Of Guinness In The Kitchen This St. Patrick’s

This is the second installment of A Taste Of Guinness In The Kitchen This St. Patrick’s. The first was all about savouries and today it will be on sweets. I quite like using Guinness in cakes as it gives a tinge of bitterness of a stout. On top of that it make the cake really moist.

I've made Chocolate Guinness Cake which later was made known as Black Velvet and in cupcake size. From this base recipe, I further jazzed up the cake into Arthur's Dream by layering the cake with peanut butter, banana slices, more chocolate and finished off with some crunchy almond pralines. I've also turn Guinness into ice cream!

So can you imagine what other sweets you can do with Guinness and here are some of them...


Guinness Chocolate Brownies
Serves 12

100ml Guinness
185g dark Chocolate
50g Milk Chocolate
185g Butter
3 Eggs
275g Caster Sugar
Vanilla Essence
85g Plain Flour
20g coco powder
50g White Chocolate buttons

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and sprinkle white chocolate buttons in tray.

Melt the Guinness, butter, dark and milk Chocolate together, remove from heat when melted.

Whip eggs sugar and vanilla essence (until figure of 8) and fold into the chocolate mix. Sieve in flour and coco powder, folding in 3 stages. Pour into tray and spread out bake for 20 – 22 minutes at 160C.

Serve warm with Vanilla ice cream.

Guinness Chocolate Cupcake

10 oz flour
2 oz coco powder
6 oz castor sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
3 oz butter
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
4 fl oz Guinness

Butter icing:
6oz butter
12oz icing sugar

Preheat oven at 170C.

Cream butter and sugar. Combine all the dry ingredients; add egg, Guinness and vanilla slowly until the mix comes together. Place into 12 cupcake papers and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

For the butter icing beat the butter and icing sugar till soft and creamy. When cupcakes are cold pipe the butter icing on and serve.

Guinness Chocolate Mousse
Serves 6

10 egg yolks
10 egg whites, whisked
350g dark chocolate
1/4 lb butter
100g caster sugar
100ml GUINNESS® draught

Melt the dark chocolate and butter in a bain-marie and add in the GUINNESS® draught.

Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the melted chocolate mixture in with egg yolks and slowly fold in the whisked egg whites until everything is smooth. Transfer the mousse to serving glasses and chill.

Serve with fresh raspberries or other seasonal berries.

Guinness Chocolate Truffles
Makes 25 Truffles

1 kg dark chocolate in small chunks
400ml cream
100ml GUINNESS®
Zest of 1 Orange
Cocoa or coconut powder

Add the cream and GUINNESS® to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the chocolate and grated orange zest. Mix together until the chocolate is fully melted.

Leave the chocolate mix until it is cool to the touch, but not set.

Take generous tea spoons of the mixture and roll in your hands to form small round truffles, dust in cocoa powder or coconut powder.

Set in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours.


Buckwheat Pancakes with Guinness Original
Makes 2 pancakes

1 cup of milk
60g butter
½ tsp salt
½ sugar
6 tbsp buckwheat flour
170g plain flour
½ tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
8 tbsp GUINNESS® Original

Heat milk gently with butter until it melts. Cool.

Sieve dry ingredients together and gradually add the milk and butter mix, and the GUINNESS® Original.

Whisk eggs and oil together and gradually add the milk and butter mix and the GUINNESS® Original. Pour the liquid into the centre of the bowl and beat together gently until amalgamated. Leave covered for up to two hours.

Very lightly butter a non-stick pan and heat the mixture. Cook pancakes in the normal way, piling one top of the other as they cooked. Fold when ready to serve.

To Serve:

Fold each pancake in half and half again. Drizzle with butter and sour cream and caviar, smoked salmon or marinated salmon, heat in warm oven until just beginning to crisp at the edges.


Guinness Cake

8 oz butter
8 oz soft brown sugar
4 eggs (lightly beaten)
10 oz plain flour and 2 leve tsps of mixed spice sieved together
8 oz seedless raisins
8 oz sultanas
4 oz mixed peel
8-12 tbsps of GUINNESS®
4 oz walnuts

Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy and gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour and mixed spice. Add the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel and walnuts and mix well together. Stir 4tbsps of GUINNESS® into the mixture and mix to a soft dropping consistency.

Turn into a prepared 7 inch cake tin and bake in a very moderate over at Gas Mark 3\325f for 1 hour. Reduce heat to Gas Mark 2\300f and cook for a further 1 ½ hours and allow to cool.

Remove from cake tin and prick the base of the cake with a skewer and spoon over the remaining 4-8 tbsps of GUINNESS®.

Keep the cake for 1 week before eating.

Thank you Guiness Anchor Berhad and G2 Public Relations for the recipes.

Part 1 - Savouries: A Taste Of Guinness In The Kitchen This St. Patrick’s

**Non-Halal**


As part of St Patrick’s Day celebration this year, Guinness Stout have kicked off A Taste Of Guinness In The Kitchen This St. Patrick’s campaign so that we can cook up a feast using Guinness by sharing with us some recipes. Some of these recipes were developed by Guinness' in-house chef, Justin O’Connor, while some were unearthed from Guinness archive.

Using Guinness as an ingredient is nothing new as I've used it myself in some of my cooking. For a savoury dish, I've my version of Beef & Guinness Stew. You'll be very surprised that other than the usual usage in stews, it can also be used in sweets. For a start, I'm going to share the savoury dishes courtesy of Guinness Anchor Berhad. The following Friday, I'll share the sweets.

If you're in for cheap cheap Guinness by the pint, we discovered that The Beer Factory have extended their happy hour promo till June! It's just RM12 per pint, I guess the cheapest in town so far we have paid ;-) yum seng! (Disclaimer: We do not own The Beer Factory nor know the owners or their PR agency. We were just customers hehe...)

To find out all the exciting happenings and participating outlets, visit www.facebook.com/guinnessmalaysia for more information!

Beef & Guinness with Puff Pastry
Serves 4

 

200ml of GUINNESS® Foreign Extra Stout
400g stewing diced beef
100g pearl onion
1 large carrot - diced
100g sliced button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic crushed
½ Litre of thick beef stock
Sprigs of fresh thyme & rosemary chopped
Small sheet of puff pastry

In a pot seal the diced beef and brown all over. The vegetables are then added and cooked out for 4 -5 minutes. Add the herbs and beef stock. Now add the Guinness. Slow cook the beef over a stove for 1- 1 ¼ hour. Add a little water if needed at the end.

Cut the puff pastry into 8 even pieces. Egg wash each piece of pastry.

Using one piece of pastry place it on top of another piece of pastry to form a double case. Do this with the rest of the pastry to form 4 double pastry cases. Using a knife score the top of the pastry to give the effect of a vol au vent. Now bake at 200C for 14 minutes.

When cool cut the top of to form a lid. Core some of the pastry out for the centre of each case. Spoon the hot beef into each case and serve.


Lamb Kebabs with Guinness Marinade
Serves 4

 

1 x Loins of lamb trimmed
Olive oil
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
1 small red onion peeled and quartered

Marinade:
50ml Guinness extra stout
1 tbsp natural yogurt
2 cloves garlic crushed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of chopped coriander
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ red chilli chopped

Slice the loin into 8 pieces and place in the Guinness overnight in a fridge.

Dice up the peppers and wedge the onions, season and coat in olive oil.

Add the rest of the marinade in on top of the lamb and continue to marinade for 2 – 3 hours. Now skewer the lamb and vegetables evenly onto 4 skewers. To cook place in the oven for 8 minutes at 180C or char grill until evenly cooked.

Serve with a minted yogurt.


Stuffed Guinness Barley Risotto & Green Cabbage Leaves
Serves 4



8 oz pearl barley
2 lt vegetable stock
200ml cream
8 oz fresh mushroom
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
4 oz grated Parmesan cheese
4 large leaves of Savoy cabbage

Blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling salted water for 3 – 4 minutes and cool in ice water.

In a pot sweat of onion, mushroom and garlic with a little olive oil for 4 -5 minutes without colouring. Pour in the stock, barley and thyme in on top. Cover with a lid and slow cook till barley is tender, add more stock if needed. When barley is cooked add the cream and parmesan cheese and cook out for 2 -3 minutes. Season to taste.

Using 4 small teacups line them with cling film and place the drained cabbage leaf in side to cover leaving some cabbage leaf over the edge. Now fill the cup with the cooked barley risotto and cover with the overhanging cabbage. Using the cling film take out of the cup and twist the cling film around the risotto to form a ball.

Serve while hot or let it cool and reheat in the microwave.


Guinness Marinade Corned Beef, Champ Potato & Cabbage
Serves 6

 

1.4 kg of corned beef soaked in pint Guinness overnight.
1 onion chopped
5 cloves
3 bay leaves
9 – 10 black peppercorns
1 head of Savoy cabbage
Kg peeled potatoes (this was the recipe given without the amount, perhaps it could be 1 kg)
150g butter
400ml cream
3 sliced spring onion

Place the beef and Guinness into a pot and cover with cold water. Add onion, cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cook for 2 – 2 ½ hrs or until tender.
Cook the potatoes in salted water, drain and mash. Add 100g butter, ½ the cream and spring onion. Season potato to taste.

Boil the sliced cabbage in salted water for 5 minutes and drain, add a knob of butter and season.

Take 100ml of the cooking stock and place in a pot, add the other 200ml cream and simmer for 2 minutes whisking in 50g butter.

To serve:
Carve the corned beef onto a plate with a scoop of champ potato, boiled cabbage and finish with the cream sauce.


Rack of Lamb with Guinness and Mustard
Serves 2 

 

1 French trimmed rack of lamb (ask your butcher to do it for you)
Herb breadcrumbs (you can buy them ready made)
½ can of GUINNESS® Draught
Dijon Mustard

Put the lamb and the GUINNESS® into a bowl, cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for 6 - 8 hours. Take the lamb out and coat it with the mustard. Then press the lamb into the herb breadcrumbs. The crumbs will stick to the mustard and make a nice crust. Then simply roast in the oven at 200° C for 20 - 25 minutes.

Serve with roast vegetables and champ potato. Delicious.

Tip:
GUINNESS® is the only beer that really makes this work. The glaze on the lamb is as rich as you'd expect from red wine.


Irish Lamb Stew
Serves 4-6

 

1kg Diced neck or shoulder of lamb
Bouquet of parsley, thyme and bayleaf
3 large onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3-4 carrots diced
2 sticks of celery chopped
1 small turnip diced
Small leek diced
Kg of peeled potatoes diced (no amount stated in original recipe but I'm guessing 1kg)
Finely chopped parsley
1 ½ lt of chicken stock
2 tbsp pearl barley

In a pot put the meat, bouquet of herbs, barley, onions, carrots, celery and turnip and cover with chicken stock. Simmer gently for one hour. Skim off the scum on top. Add the potatoes and continue cooking for ½ hour. For the last 5 minutes add in the leek. Remove the bouquet for herbs.

Stir in the chopped parsley. Serve in deep bowls with soda bread

Goulash with Guinness 

1 ½ pounds of stewing beef
Margarine
3 onions
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp of tomato puree
6 tomatoes
1 dessertspoon of paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper and salt
½ bottle of GUINNESS®
8 small potatoes
Cheese to taste

Cut the beef into 2 inch cubes and brown in margarine together with the diced onions and finely chopped garlic. Add the puree, the peeled and sliced tomatoes, paprika and a little cayenne pepper and salt. Pour over the GUINNESS® and cook in the oven until the meat is tender.  45 minutes before serving add the potatoes. Skim off the surplus fat and serve with a little grated cheese.

Pork Fillets in Apple and Guinness
Serves 4

1 large pork fillet slit in half, flattened with a meat mallet and cut into four portions (or four pork escalopes)
2 oz butter
1 tbsp flour
1 pint of GUINNESS®
2 large cooking apples
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the butter with the oil in a frying pan, brown the pork quickly on both sides, remove and keep warm. Add the onions to the pan and cook until starting to go golden (do not allow them to burn). Add the flour, stirring and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add the GUINNESS®. Add diced apple and replace pork with mustard and seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Check seasoning before serving pork with brown rice and vegetables.

Thank you Guinness Anchor Berhad and G2 Public Relations.

Chef Rob Rossi's Opening: Bestellen Is Now On Asian Food Channel

I am sure by now, you would have catch up with some episodes of Opening: Bestellen on Asian Food Channel (AFC). Opening: Bestellen showcased how Chef Rob Rossi putting in all his effort to open his dream restaurant situated in Toronto, Canada; from designing the menu, managing the construction right down to the opening. If you check his profile, one of it "doughnut sprinkler" caught me in a tickle. I would love that job too but I'm so afraid of having to keep licking my fingers hahaha...

Ryan Sarfeld & Rob Rossi (photo grabbed from http://bestellen.ca/)

If by any chance you do not know who is Rob Rossi, he came second on Canada’s Top Chef! He became the co-owner and Head Chef of Bestellen with his business partner Ryan Sarfeld back in February 2012. Chef Rob prides himself on making sure that everything served is made in-house.

To capture his commitment to opening a quality restaurant, the process of opening his restaurant was captured on camera and made into the series, Opening: Bestellen.

I was given the opportunity to pose some questions to Chef Rossi and this was his humble reply ;-)

1. What do you do to stay informed about new trends?

To keep up with the latest trends, I eat, read and travel as much as possible. Watching food programmes on channels such as AFC helps to get the mind working and creative juices flowing! The world of food evolves everyday and to be successful in this industry, it’s a must to keep up with the times!

2. What are 3 tips for running a successful restaurant?

1. Challenge your restaurant’s food and service. By doing so, you pinpoint areas which have room for improvement and then make an effort to better it!
   
2. Make sure that you know and love the numbers. The restaurant game is all about numbers. A lot of dreams and passion gets lost in the restaurant business by not being profitable. Even I struggled with this issue with my own restaurant, which you can see in Opening: Bestellen on the Asian Food Channel.
   
3. Be passionate with your food, your staff and the service! Every aspect is just as important. And treat your guests like gold! It’s all about the love.

3. What do you cook for yourself and your family at home?

I love cooking pasta at home! It’s something that is cheap, simple and still very comforting. My favourite would be Spaghetti with Anchovy, Chilli and Parsley.

Rob Rossi Trivia 

• As a child, Chef Rob already aspired to be a chef. His mother’s Italian-inspired cooking and visiting his uncle’s restaurant were his driving forces. 

• Did you know Chef Rob came out of the first season of Top Chef Canada as a finalist? He was a fan favourite, winning 4 challenges in total. 

• A milestone in every chef’s career is opening a restaurant that they can call their own. For Chef Rob, he named it Bestellen, which means ‘to order’ in German! You can catch all the nitty and gritty action in Opening: Bestellen on the Asian Food Channel! 

• Chef Rob has listed Chef Daniel Boulud, another fellow celebrity chef who has appears on the Asian Food Channel’s original production, One Night in Singapore – Daniel Boulud, as one of his culinary idols. What a small world! 

• His cooking philosophy is to use the best ingredients and apply complementary techniques that will make inspiring dishes. 

• Everything he serves up at his restaurant is made there. ‘If I can’t make it, then I’m not putting it on the menu.’ 

• Chef Rob started working in the culinary industry at the age of 15 with a less-than-glamorous job; washing dishes at Pizza Hut. Everybody has to start somewhere! 

• Chef Rob became a chef the old fashion way: by learning the ropes through hard work and determination in restaurants and slowly climbing up the ranks. 

• Chef Rob lives by the motto: “Always happy; never satisfied!’ 

• What does Chef Rob love to do as much as cooking? Fly-fishing! He also wonders why so many chefs love to fish and hunt, perhaps, it is so they can get in touch with and better understand their ingredients!

Do catch Opening: Bestellen (8 episodes of 30 minutes each) every Tuesday at 9.30 pm (Malaysian time). Repeats are on Sunday 4:00 pm; Tuesday 1:30 am; and Wednesday 3:30 pm.

Epicurious Brunch @ Bangsar Shopping Centre (27th - 28th October 2012)

Public service announcement for all foodies like me... I got to know about this Epicurious Brunch event from Ivan of The Potong. It's happening this weekend, so if you're not going away over the long weekend, do pop by. You might spot me there on Saturday checking out the stalls, cooking demonstrations, baking classes and even activities for children (yes I'm bringing BoiBoi along).

Details of the Epicurious Brunch:

Date: 27th - 28th October 2012
Time: 10.00am - 6.00pm
Venue: Concourse, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre

Btw, do catch my fave baker, Nigel from Just Heavenly in action. He'll be conducting baking classes on these 2 days. Click on the link Epicurious Brunch for all the activities lined up for the 2 days.

The Potong will also have a stall at this event.

See ya there!

The First Malaysian Week of Taste 2012

Visual from Week of Taste website

If you're a foodie like me, there seems to be quite a number of food related events around Klang Valley this October and November. Do they excite you as much as they did to me?

One of them that pique my interest is this Malaysian chapter of the Week of Taste which is supported by Embassy of France, Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce (MFCCI) and so forth. Week of Taste started in 1990 in France where school going children are being educated on food. It is also for adult to discover the benefits of cooking and the pleasures of eating and drinking. It has since spread to over 20 countries and the latest landing - Malaysia!

From the website, the Week of Taste is about:

Enhancing the diversity of tastes and food cultures
Promoting exchanges between food related professionals
Educating the younger generations to the pleasure of the taste
Making consumers aware of the quality and seasonality of products
Showcasing the craft skills
Promoting health through a varied and balanced diet
Promoting the discovery of high quality products
Preserving tradition and encouraging culinary innovation

It is designed for children, teenagers, families, teachers and all those who love to eat, who want to discover quality products and take time to savor and enjoy, and to all those who care about their environment as well as their health.

For a gastronomical affair at restaurants, do check out the participating restaurants or should you prefer to attend cooking related workshops, click on the schedule here. There will be a gourmet bazaar over the weekend (19th - 21st) at Publika in Solaris Dutamas with some 20 exhibitors of over 30 brands as well as artisans taking part. So if you wish to engage with the producers and sellers around, this is it!

The Week of Taste starts on 15th October 2012 and ends on 21st.

For more information, click on the Week of Taste official website.

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Serawa Durian

Saving the sweet for last... the final recipe shared by Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur is Serawa Durian. Omigosh Serawa Durian is one of my fave Malay bubur, well only for durian lovers I guess. If you have not tasted this... imagine the 3 Heavenly flavours of durian, gula kabung (a type of palm sugar) and coconut milk meld together.., yeaaaa it's super yum!

I wish to thank Chef Fazli and Chef Zul of Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur for being so generous in sharing these traditional recipes with us. It's great to share a part of their heritage with us so that such traditional dishes will continue to thrive in Malaysia.

Serawa Durian
Resipi oleh Chef Zul, Malay Sous Chef, 
Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur



Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
300g Isi durian/paste durian
70g Gula kabung, di parut
10g Gula perang (optional)
100ml Air
300ml Perahan santan
15g Garam
10ml Perisa pandan
2nos Daun pandan

Cara cara memasak:

Campurkan kesemua bahan di dalam periuk yang sederhana besar dan renih dengan api yang perlahan. Renih selama 10 minit atau sehingga kesemua bahan sebati dan menjadi pekat.

Hidangkan bersama roti jala atau pun pulut yang telah di masak.

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Roti Jala

Roti Jala is always a hit dish for the foreigners and locals alike at my work place. Whenever the hosts wanted to showcase local cuisine to their foreign guests, we tend to have this dish to go with Chicken Curry. Instead of making the lacy crepe to be laid out and served, we actually prepare the hot plate and all the necessary utensils to let the guests have a go in making the roti jala. It's always a very fun process that even the young guests are delighted at it.

This is Chef Zul's recipe and from the photo, I can see there's a greenish version where most likely pandan juice is added for the colour and fragrant, and do omit the serbuk kunyit (turmeric powder) for this version.

Roti Jala
Resipi oleh Chef Zul, Malay Sous Chef, 

Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
300g Tepung gandum
2nos Telur
2 tsp Minyak jagung
1 tsp Serbuk kunyit
300ml Air
150ml Santan
35g Garam
10ml Minyak masak

Cara cara memasak:

Campurkan kesemua bahan di dalam mangkuk bancuhan dan kacau hingga sebati.

Panaskan kuali yang leper dan sapukan sedikit minyak masak.

Tuang sedikit bancuhan tepung ke dalam bekas acuan berjaring dan layarkan bancuhan tadi di dalam kuali leper sehingga menjadi jaring.

Apabila telah masak, lipat jaringan tadi menjadi dua dan seterusnya lipatkan lagi sehingga menjadi tiga segi. Ulang proses ini sehingga kesemua bancuhan tadi habis di masak.

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Kambing Bumbu

I've never tasted this dish before but from the pic, it does look delish. The unique point to me is the addition of crushed peanuts. Thank you Chef Fazli for this recipe.

Kambing Bumbu
Resipi oleh Chef Fazli, Executive Junior Sous Chef, 

Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
1kg kambing (di potong kiub)
90ml Santan
40ml Air (Optional)
40gm Kacang tanah (di kisar)
3nos Serai
20gm Serbuk ketumbar
20gm Serbuk jintan putih
20gm Serbuk jinta manis
100ml Minyak memasak

Di kisar halus:
70gm Bawang merah
20gm Bawang putih
30gm Halia
20gm Lengkuas
10gm Cili kering

Perasa (secukup rasa):
Garam
Lada sulah
Serbuk perasa
Gula kabung (Optional)

Garnishing:
1nos Tomato, di belah empat
1nos Cili merah, di hiris
10gm Daun kunyit, di goreng (Optional)

Cara cara memasak:

Panaskan minyak dan tumis bahan yang telah dikisar sehingga kekuningan. Masukkan kesemua rempah dan tumis sehingga naik baunya. 

Masukan daging kambing dan di kacau sebati. Masak selama 10 minit dan masukan air. Renih sehingga daging kambing menjadi empuk.

Masukan santan dan kacang tanah, renih sehingga kuah menjadi pekat. Tambahkan bahan perasa mengikut kesesuaian. Hidang di dalam mangkuk dan di hias dengan cili dan tomato. 

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Ayam Masak Merah

Ooooo I love Ayam Masak Merah! If I visit the Malay nasi campur stall, this would be one dish that I can never resist. I love the sweetish and tangy taste of the gravy. The only downside is sometimes the chicken are over fried and we tend to know at times they use their unsold fried chicken from the day before for this dish :(

Worry no more when I can make this now with Chef Fazli's recipe, hurrah! His recipe is a bit unique with the addition of chick peas (kacang kuda).


Ayam Masak Merah
Resipi oleh Chef Fazli, Executive Junior Sous Chef, 

Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
600gm Ayam (dipotong)
80gm Minyak sapi
60gm Bawang merah (dikisar)
30gm Bawang Putih (dikisar)
15gm Halia - (dikisar)
2 batang Serai (di ketuk)
10gm 4 sekawan (kayu manis, bunga cengkih. bunga lawan &, buah pelaga)

400gm Tomato pes
400gm Cili boh
300gm Bawang (potong bulat)
4 tangkai Cili Hijau, cili merah (di potong dua)
2 biji Tomato (di potong 6)
50ml Susu cair
5gm Serbuk Kunyit
150gm Kacang kuda (di rebus)
Garam & Gula, secukup rasa

Cara-cara memasak :-

Panaskan minyak sapi ke dalam periuk. Masukkan bawang merah, bawanh putih dah halia yang di kisar. Kemudian masukkan cili boh dan tumis sehingga masak (pecah minyak).

Masukkan tomato pes ke dalam tumisan (sedikit sahaja). Tuangkan air and kacau. Setelah mendidih masukkan ayam ke dalam (masak dengan api perlahan).

Selepas sebati masukkan cili merah, cili hijau dan tomato dan kacang kuda. Setelah itu, masukkan susu cair ke dalam dan tambahkan bahan perasa. Akhir sekali setelah masak, boleh di hidang.

Tips:

• Tumiskan serai dan kayu manis terlebih dahulu 
• Gunakan serbuk kunyit untuk menaikkan lagi warna masakan 
• Nisbah bawang yang betul akan membantu menaikkan lagi rasa masakan 
• Susu cair digunakan untuk memberi sedikit rasa lemak ke dalam masakan 
• Kacang kuda di gunakan sebagai penambah bahan, boleh juga di gantikan dengan kacang peas atau sebagainya mengikut citarasa

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Rendang Daging

Since my work place, Bayan Indah, is famous for it's local cuisine, Rendang Daging (a dry curry dish) tend to be one of the most requested dish to be served in functions. I can eat that very often and don't feel bored with it all because the aromatics used for this dish made the rendang very flavourful.

Chef Fazli had shared this recipe out generously. You can replicate this dish using chicken if you don't take beef. Just cut your chicken into fairly large pieces and the time to cook chicken is wayyy shorter.


Rendang Daging

Resipi oleh Chef Fazli, Executive Junior Sous Chef, 

Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
1kg Daging lembu (di potong dadu)
90ml Santan
40ml Air (Optional)
60gm Kerisik
5gm Daun kunyit (di mayang halus)
5gm Daun limau purut

Di kisar halus:
80gm Bawang merah
20gm Bawang putih
40gm Halia
20gm Lengkuas
40gm Cili kering
70gm Serai
20gm Kunyit hidup

Perasa (secukup rasa):
Garam
Lada sulah
Serbuk pati (Optional)
Gula kabung (Optional)
Kicap soya pekat (Optional)

Garnishing:
1nos Cili merah, di hiris
10gm Daun kunyit, di goreng (Optional)

Cara cara memasak:

Di dalam periuk yang sederhana besar, masukan bahan yang telah dikisar beserta daging, santan dan dimasak dengan api yang perlahan. Renih selama 30 minit dan kacau sentiasa.

Masukkan kerisik, daun kunyit dan daun limau purut dan direnih selama 45 minit atau sehingga daging empuk. Sentiasa kacau untuk mengelak dari hangit.

Masukan bahan perasa mengikut kesesuaian dan jika perlu tambahkan dengan sedikit kicap pekat.

Hiaskan dengan daun kunyit yang telah digoreng beserta cili sebelum di hidangkan.

Festive Raya Recipe Courtesy of Makan Kitchen: Nasi Briyani Kambing

We're done with the 6 recipes from Bazaar Ramadhan and let's continue with the rest that are usually served on Raya Open House itself. I think this Nasi Briyani Kambing is a great dish for that as one does not want to sweat out on the festive day itself. So this one pot wonder briyani is the way to go.

Nasi Briyani Kambing

Resipi oleh Chef Zul, Malay Sous Chef, 

Makan Kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Ramuan dan bahan-bahan:
50ml Minyak Sapi
50ml Minyak Masak
300gm Daging Kambing
1kg Beras Basmathi - direndam dalam air 

10gm Jintan Putih
5nos Daun Bay
5gm Bunga Lawang
5gm Buah Pelaga – Hijau
5nos Buah Pelaga – Hitam
5gm Kulit Kayu Manis 

200gm Bawang
5gm Cili Hijau
10gm Tomato
15gm Bawang Putih – dikisar
10gm Halia - dikisar
15gm Serbuk cili
10gm Serbuk kunyit
5gm Garam Masala
100gm Daun Pudina – dikisar 

2 liter Air
secukup rasa Gula & Garam
10gm Bawang Goreng

Cara-cara memasak:

Panaskan minyak dan minyak sapi ke dalam periuk yang besar. Masukkan rempah (jintan putih, bunga lawang, buah pelaga hijau, buah pelaga hitam dan kulit kayu manis ) dan daun bay. Tumis bahan-bahan tersebut dan masukkan bawang, cili, bawang putih dan halia yang dikisar, kacau sehingga sebati.

Masukkan serbuk kunyit dan serbuk cili, kacau and tunggu sehingga minyak timbul. Masukkan tomato, daun pudina yang dikisar dan daging. Masak selama 10 minit dan masukkan garam masala. Masukkan garam dan gula secukup rasa.

Tapiskan beras yang direndam tadi dan masukkan ke dalam kuali, kacaukan. Tuang air sehingga sama rata dengan beras tadi. Kemudian tutup kuali dengan kertas aluminum dan masak selama 10 minit. Kurangkan api dan masak selama 5 minit. Tutup api setelah nasi sudah masak.

Akhir sekali taburkan bawang goreng sebelum dihidang.