MAKAN-MAKAN MALAYSIA

Fancy a culinary whirlwind tour of Malaysia? You can do just that at The Westin Kuala Lumpur’s all day dining  restaurant The  Living Room for its “Taste of Malaysia”  come 4th April 2013. 

Blessed with a fabulous food heritage, The Westin KL will take diners on a plated 'tour' where you can discover varied dishes from all 14 different states in Malaysia. Brace yourself for a surfeit of multi-cultural Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking as well as intriguing ethnic fare from East Malaysia.

Set your tastebuds alight with Straits Chinese or Peranakan/Nyonya specialities such as Chicken Kapitan (Kapitan's Chicken Curry) and Ayam Pongteh (braised chicken in dark soya sauce and local spices) to typical Malay Kelantanese delicacies like Nasi Kerabu (mixed herb rice) and Ayam Percik (grilled chicken basted with spice marinade) from the expansive buffet.

 Local celebrity chef - Dato Chef Ismail will be also conducting a live cooking demonstration at The Living Room. A great chance to watch first-hand how the Malaysian Chef Ismail cook up a storm and share his tips and recipes.

 

Each week will focus on a chosen state, starting with “A Taste of Negeri Sembilan” on 11th April and ending with “A Taste of Borneo” on 24th November 2013.

Don't miss the “Taste of Malaysia” buffet every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday starting from the week of 4th April 2013 at the Living Room based on the following hours:

Every Thursday – “Taste of Malaysia” buffet dinner from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Every Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays - “Taste of Malaysia” Hi-Tea from 12 noon to 4 pm

Price:    RM128++ for dinner

RM98++ for Hi-Tea        

Reservations are highly recommended at 03 2773 8338 or email westindining@westin.com

For further information, visit www.thewestinkualalumpur.com

EATS THE JOY LUCK CLUB

Chinese New Year is a big deal in Asia especially in the world's most populous nation - China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and also in cities with a sizeable Chinese population. 

In Malaysia, the Lunar New Year is a time for family reunions and endless feasts that continue where the Christmas and Georgian celebrations left off. The new spring will see the Snake Year slithering in. Even if you're not Chinese it's easy to join in the merriment with so many buffet-style feasts and lavish set meals available for Chinese New Year at restaurants and hotels in and around the Klang Valley and nationwide.

Thanks to the hospitality accorded by the Dorsett Regency KL team at Checkers' Cafe, here's a list of 'must have' festive dishes that every Lunar New Year celebrant should savour: 

1. YEE SANG 

In Cantonese, the two words mean raw fish but to the superstitious Chinese, it also means easy to prosper or abundant liveliness.

The customary platter consists of 8-12 ingredients that run the gamut from finely shredded carrot, radish, spring onion, Chinese parsley, cucumber, snow pear, pumpkin, pickled ginger, leeks and shallots, deep-fried shredded yam, flour crisps, crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. Toppings of sliced raw fish that ranges from salmon to premium seafood such as scallops and lobster and a dressing of sweet-sour plum sauce, oil, five-spice and white pepper powder are usually added onto the salad prior to serving.

The fun part is really the 'loh hei' ritual where everyone picks up their chopsticks and have a hand in stirring and tossing the colourful salad whilst simultaneously spewing 'loh hei', 'loh hei' (stir up) - a fervent wish for stirring prosperity and good tidings for all around the table.

Our portion of Salmon & Soft Shell Crab Yee Sang had the right equation of colours, textures and flavours that was enlivened further by the attendance of old and new friends. Priced from RM68++ onwards, the Yee Sang from Checkers Cafe can be enjoyed dine-in or for takeaway in half or full portion. 

2. POON CHOY

This basinful of goodies is also known as New Year Treasure Pot and why not? Every scoop that you unearth from a pot that is overflowing with prized catches of prawns, abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, mushroom, dried oysters, roast duck, fish, squid, bean curd puffs and chunks of radish truly befits such an auspicious tag.

Again the Cantonese name for it denotes a Potful of Prosperity...now who wouldn't want a share of such rich pickings eh? Legend has it that the speciality was created for the Chinese emperor when the monarch sought shelter from a storm in a fishing village. The kind and generous villagers decided to contribute and pool together their prized foodstuff into a communal pot resulting in an extravagant dish that became an imperial treat.

3. CRAB MEAT, FISH MAW AND SEAFOOD BROTH 

Thick, unctuous and swimming with chunks of surimi crabstick, spongy fish maw and assorted seafood, this indulgent broth symbolises overflowing opportunities. The inherent sweetness of King Neptune's treasures alone makes it sumptuous enough to savour on its own or perked up with a little dash of black vinegar.

                                    4. CRISPY ROAST DUCK WITH PAN-FRIED FOIE GRAS
 

Duck is a symbol of fidelity to the Chinese so it's hardly surprising they go quackers over delectable duck dishes. We certainly took to the sublime creation of Crispy Roast Duck with Pan-fried Foie Gras like ducks to water!

5. GOLDEN HAPPINESS JUMBO PRAWNS

'Har', the Cantonese word for prawn sounds like happy laughter (ha ha) so you'd find prawns are very much in demand come CNY. Needless to say, anyone in their right mind would want a joyous start to their new year no? Chef KK Yau of Dorsett KL dished up this jumbo-sized crustacean for our feast thus ensuring that we not only blissfully happy but also look forward to months of golden prospects.

6. FRIED RICE WITH DICED CHICKEN AND PRAWNS

One of the customary rice dishes that you're likely to encounter for the CNY celebrations is lap mei farn, rice cooked with waxed duck, sausages and meat. It's a rich-tasting dish with the deep-seated and sometimes wine-infused flavours fully absorbed into the fluffy rice grains.

However, fried rice is equally popular and an evergreen alternative for those who don't fancy the traditional rice dish. To the Chinese, rice is such a staple part of their daily diet that they even ask 'sek pau farn mei' (have you eaten rice?) as an informal way of asking how you're doing in life.

7. NIAN GAO   

This sticky, sweet treat made from steamed glutinous rice flour, brown sugar and sometimes coconut milk is known as nian gao (Mandarin) or nin koh (Cantonese). According to Chinese beliefs, nian gao is served to the Kitchen God as an attempt to seal his lips so that he is unable to speak and report on each household's shenanigans.

Older folks exhort the young to eat nian gao in the hope that this traditional cake will ensure they attain a higher status in life, realise their soaring ambitions and for those still pursuing their studies, score high in their exams.

For reservations and information, contact Checkers Café, Dorsett Regency Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: +603-2716 1000 (ext. 188) or visit: 

http://www.dorsettregency.com/kualalumpur/restaurant.php

NORTH STAR

Rice fields flash green and gold as far as the eye can see come harvest time

Kedah is the undisputed 'rice bowl' of Malaysia so it's hardly surprising that rice is a breakfast and lunch staple in this northern state.

Gravy party...nasi lemak drenched with various types of spicy gravy in Alor Setar

Despite its scant resemblance to nasi lemak of the central region, Alor Setar's version of nasi lemak is distinctive by the amount and types of gravy that are drenched over each platter of santan (coconut milk) enriched rice instead of the ubiquitous sambal ikan bilis (anchovies in ground chilli and spice paste) that commonly found in the Klang Valley.

We tried the dish at two different stalls and each time no less than 4-5 types of gravy in varying proportions are spooned over our plate of rice. The resultant platter will end up looking messy but packed with unabashedly complex and rich, robust flavours.

Fried chicken add extra substance to one's nasi lemak dish

The spicy gravy ranges from treacly sweet, smoky and spicy to thick, tangy and briny in red, brown and orangey hues, depending on whether it's core ingredient: fish, red meat, chicken or seafood. We discovered the different mix works cohesively well; similar to crossing nasi lemak with nasi kandar if you will.

Just like nasi kandar, you'd find complementing dishes of fried spiced chicken, fish, dry curried beef or mutton, squid and freshwater prawns, omelette or hard-boiled eggs, blanched okra and dalcha (cucumber, onion and pineapple pickles) available to add substance to one's rice serving.

Edible goodies are sold in abundant at this centrally located market in Alor Setar

For some edible souvenirs to take home, head over to Pekan Rabu, a local market with a congregation of food stalls and small enterprises proffering food, clothes, souvenirs and basic necessities under one roof.

Best things to buy for city slickers like us? Serunding, Malay-style beef, chicken or fish floss perked up with exotic spices that's sold by weight. Samplings are permitted the minute the trader senses your interest. It goes superbly well with nasi impit (boiled and solidly pressed rice cakes), lemang (glutinous rice cakes cooked in long tubular bamboo containers over wood and charcoal fire) or even plain steamed rice.

Certain shops bake and sell dainty egg sponge cakes called bahulu on the spot

Baked in sturdy metal moulds, the spongy cakes look similar to French madeleines albeit lighter in texture

Tidbits galore...take your pick of dried, pickled and preserved fruits, nuts, candies and crackers

We also bought some kuih bahulu, dainty baked egg sponge cakes that look like French madeleines with a lighter, airier texture and packets of rempeyek, fried local crackers studded with fried peanuts and anchovies.

A local speciality that caught our eye is kuih karas, a sweetish snack made from overlapping wisps of sweetened rice flour batter, fried to golden brown. It takes patience and dexterity to make as this lady demonstrated.

  Tied to a baton-like rod, this coconut shell scoop has holes pierced into its base to let streams of the batter through

Moving the hanging scoop in circles, fine streams of the batter flow into the oil-filled wok

The intersecting wisps eventually solidifies as they cooked

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden brown pieces of ready to eat kuih karas

Domestic tourists also cart bags of cashews and pistachios, perkasam (moist, salted fish), wrapped  up balls of tamarind pulp, dodol (sticky and sweet confection made from rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar), traditional biscuits and chilli crisps.

RICE THAT SHINES

Curried crab...the gravy's rich and tasty

Are you drooling already at the sight of the above curried crab pix? I'm happy to say it tasted as good as it looked. Besides this delicious delicacy, we also had several other simple but superbly yummy lauk - main dishes to go with some plain rice at this humble, no-frills and no name nasi Padang shop in Tanjung Malim.

Nasi Padang is a speciality of Padang, an Indonesian town in the island of Sumatra. Renowned for its rice meal, plain white rice is eaten with assorted savoury dishes of meat, fish, seafood, vegetable (usually in the form of curries or simmered in spice and coconut based-gravy) and spicy dipping sauces known as sambal.

View of the glass display cabinet where the assorted lauk-pauk were displayed

It was brought over early migrants from the Indonesian archipelago who settled in the peninsular. Now this popular delight can be found at countless roadside stalls and simpler restaurants in nooks and crannies throughout the country.

When we stumbled upon this eatery via our GPS, lunch was already in full swing and the place was filled to the brim. We managed to snag a table and noticed that all the diners were relishing their food with gusto, oblivious to their surroundings.

The old-school setting made lunch even more memorable

This crispy fried fish fired up our tastebuds with its piquant, roughly pounded chilli paste

Since most of the tables had fried chicken, we ordered a portion from the cook too. One bite of the skinless, lean ayam kampung (village bred free range chicken) with strands of sweet sliced onion made us realised why it was such a hot seller here; we literally picked the bones clean!

Chicken licking good!

We also selected some crispy fried fish that came with some coarsely pounded chilli, fried brinjal with chilli paste, chicken rendang and red sambal to complement our plates of white rice.

Aromatic spices and rich coconut milk give this chicken rendang its bold, deep-seated and complex flavour

Soft but creamy, the brinjal comes slathered in pounded garlic and chilli

More freshly pounded sambal to perk up our meal

I can't recall the exact amount we paid but it was a ridiculously affordable price that left us heartily satisfied and grinning from ear to ear.

MESTI MAKAN IN MALAYSIA

"Mesti makan" means 'must eat' in Malay. For first-time visitors to Malaysia, these local delights should be on their list of things to savour. 

Nasi Lemak

Steamed rice enriched with coconut milk accompanied by sambal ikan bilis (spicy ground chilli with anchovies), sliced cucumber, a wedge of hard-boiled egg, fried crispy anchovies and additional side dishes such as rendang (dry chicken curry with dry-fried grated coconut)
 

Roti Telur

This pan-fried South Indian bread requires the bread maker to 

flatten, stretch and toss the dough several times before it hits the griddle. Sometimes an egg 

is added to make it richer. Once cooked, it becomes fluffy and flaky.

Best enjoyed dipped in lentil curry. 

Sweet & Sour Crab

 This dish of crustacean slathered in sweet, tangy and subtly spicy sauce thickened with wisps of beaten egg gives the Singapore chilli crab a run for its money. Best enjoyed with slices of toasted bread and glasses of ice-cold beer.

Banana Leaf Rice

A South Indian speciality comprising a heap of steamed rice served on a piece of fresh banana leaf accompanied by assorted dishes: spicy meat or seafood curries, fried fish, chicken or squid, mango chutney and side dishes such as rasam (tangy tamarind soup), papadum (fried crackers), pickles, raita (cucumber yoghurt salad), fried bittergourd chips and lentil gravy.

Hokkien Mee

A favourite staple with the Chinese Hokkien community in the Klang Valley, fat yellow egg noodles are gently braised in dark and light soya sauces with choy sum (flowering mustard leaves), seafood and diced pork cracklings to viscous perfection. Ideally the dish should be cooked using high heat from a traditional charcoal stove to give it a deep-seated smoky tinge that connoisseurs refer to as 'wok hei' or the wok's breath.

 

Satay

The Malaysian equivalent to Turkish kebabs, these skewers of chicken, beef or mutton are first marinated in an aromatic marinade of turmeric, galangal and local spices before they are grilled over an open charcoal grill. Ubiquitous condiments include wedges of cucumber 

and onion with chunky peanut sauce.