Midsummer Nights Feast 2011 Master Chef of 5 Elements Master Chef Jason Koppinger CEC, CCE (United States)

Meet the dashing Chef Jason Koppinger from US!

A man who absolutely adores Asian food & is head- over- heels crazy about chillies!

I had the honour of initiating him to our chilli pan mee last week & he sampled both Kin Kin & Super Kitchen for lunch on the very same day. He had a blast loading his bowl with Kin Kins legendary dry chilli & didnt break a sweat chowing down the whole bowl!
While he loved Kin Kin for the heat; like me he much preferred Super Kitchens version.
Both of us agreed that though Super Kitchen chilli doesnt pack that much of a heat, it was a much better bowl of pan mee overall, in terms of the flavours from each of its component (the minced meat, the soup, the sauce ) & the noodles texture was just beautifully chewy with a bit of bite. Its cheaper too, at RM4.80 versus Kin Kins RM5.80 per bowl.

On another occasion, he & his wife Laura sampled char kuey teow, laksa, curry chee cheong fun, oh! chien < em>(fried oysters), claypot pork rice, roast belly & char siew, ice kacang, sugar cane drink & lean chee kang (a sweet chinese dessert) and he pronounced his favourite hawker fare to be our wok-fire, charred flavoured char kuey teow! That man has got great taste!

Hence keeping in theme to his passionate choices of fiery cuisine, Chef Jasons menu for Midsummer Nights Feast 2011 is the FIRE menu. Each dish in his FIRE menu features a different type of chilli & its going to be fascinating to see how he explores each chillis flavours & incorporate it into his dishes.

Element: Fire

Celebration of Culinary Passion.

Master Chef Jason Koppinger CEC, CCE (United States)
Certified Executive Chef
Autodome Chain of Restaurants, Malaysia

A Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and Certified Culinary Educator (CCE), Master Chef Jason Koppinger has proven his creative skills and expertise in all aspects of the culinary arts and food & beverage service in the international hospitality industry. His acclaimed Wine Dinner Series of 7-course fine d! ining pa ired with various winemakers were featured in Food Networks Food Finds and Iron Chef America shows, leading to affiliated programs as a celebrity chef hosting local television shows in the United States.

His culinary passion has taken him from being a lecturer at the University College on Culinary Arts to acclaimed dining destinations in worldclass resorts at Cayman Islands and Hawaii to Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago to the Royal Carribean Cruises.

Among other accolades include Chef of the Year at the Grand Cayman in Cayman Islands; Gold Medal Award Winner of Culinary Competitions in Puerto Rico; and the youngest Executive Chef in the Royal Carribean fleet from the Carribean to North & South America, Mexico, Alaska and Europe.

Now for the first time in Malaysia, Chef Koppinger will create a special menu of new world cuisines as a personal expression of his culinary passion across cultures, exclusively at Starhill Gallery, Midsummer Nights Feast.

I never forget to attribute much of my culinary skills to spending so much time with my grandmother, mother and aunts in the kitchen. Cooking was always the center of every family gathering not with just small pots and pans but cauldrons and huge vessels that could feed 40 50 people at a time!

In professional cooking I believe that every one in the team should have an understanding what we are setting out to achieve. The Chefs vision and what he expects his diners to have, taste and experience must be communicated to everyone from the stewards to the Chef de cuisine.

Last but not least, fresh ingredients will yield a fantastic result.

FIRE MENU

Amuse Bouche

Lobster arancini, furikake, habanero tomato relish

******

Duo of

Oolong Smoked Duck Tacoavocado uni crema, melon jalapeo salsita
&
Chevre & caramelized onion stuffed! < strong>pequillo pepper, salsa verde, micro cilantro

******

Togarashi brle of diver scallop carpaccio, aji amarillo pepper ponzu, crisp edamame, ginger caviar, watermelon radish

******

Wasabi crusted halibut, fingerling potato, pearl onion, asparagus, cherry tomato, szechuan shitake tea, pepper drizzle

******

Intermezzo jalapeo watermelon granite

******

Peppercorn dusted loin of lamb, cranberry fried orzo roasted peaches, thyme pepperonata jus, pepper gelle

******

Ancho chile chocolate timbale, passion fruit cream, maple drizzle, smoked berry sea salt

I cant wait to taste his menu! Even his dessert is intriguing ancho chile (yes, it is a type of chilli!) with creamy DARK chocolate, coupled with a bit of tang from the passionfruit & then a savoury saltiness from the smoked salt. Dont tell me youre not drooling already!

__________________________________________________________________________________

For further enquiries and reservations, please call +603-2782 3855.

In summary, here are the dates for each of the Chefs dinner:

1 July Chef Jason Koppinger (FIRE MENU HER E )

2 July Chef Wai (SPACE MENU HERE )

3 July 5 Elements Brunch from 11.30am to 3pm

4 & 5 July Chef Moshik Roth

6 & 7 July Chef Benoit Vidal (7th Jul FULLY BOOKED) (EARTH MENU HERE )

8 July 5 Elements Gala Dinner (CORPORATE NIGHT non bookable)

1-7 July Chef Manabu Special ala carte menu-Gonbei San (AIR MENU HERE )
(** this is the AIR Menu & its available all 7 days)

For an idea on Midsummer Nights Feast 2010, check out my experiences below:

Starhill Gallery presents Midsummer Nights Feast 2010 (2 July 9 July 2010):

Link Here

Starhill Midsummer Nights Feast 2010 Shook!, Jakes, Jogoya, Gonbei, Village Bar, Pak Loh Chiu Chow & Luk Yu Tea House Special Menus:

Link Here

Best of Shook! menu commemorating the launch of Starhill Gallery Midsummer Nights Feast 2010:

Link Here

Midsummer Nights Feast @ Starhill Gallery 2010 Celebrity Chef Stephen Mercer showcasing modern Australian cuisine:

Link Here

Sevenspoons

7atenine has refurbished its mezzanine dining hall, rebranding it as Sevenspoons.

Vine-ripened momotaro tomatoes, tossed in honey truffle emulson & topped with buffalo mozarella cheese. An exquisitely luscious version of a Caprese salad, flooded with flavor & fragrance; one of the top 10 things we've tasted this year.

Pan-seared foie gras with berry compote & kumquat jus. Serviceable, but not stellar.

Raw yellowtail & avocado with momo sauce. The buri sashimi would have worked well enough with the avocado, but the garlicky Tibetan sauce _ while delicious _ seemed to overwhelm the delicate taste & texture of everything else.

Atlantic oysters with vodka calamansi. Slurp-worthy succulence.

Slow-cooked 78.9-degree lamb rack with yam brandade croquette. A hearty slab of medium-rare meat for caveman-esque appetites. The croquette was interesting, stuffed with yam instead of potatoes and salted cod emulsion to replace the more typical minced meat.

Can't go wrong with the cocktails here, among the tastiest in the city center. These are the signature 7 Anise (a cinnamon-laced martini) & Muskmelon Mojito.

Terrazas Malbec (Argentina).

Seven Spoons (7 Spoons),

7atenine,

Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur.

Chilis Grill & Bar treats Asia to a taste of the American Southwest! Global Culinary Roadshow to Introduce 3D Food in Malaysia and Taiwan

Chilis Grill & Bar embarks on the brands first Asia media culinary roadshow in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chilis Midvalley Megamall

The bar area that prepares your all time famous Presidente Margarita

A big private party room available when you need it. You can have the great food, booze and fun!

Showcasing Chilis bold American Southwest flavors and recipes, the roadshow will show media how to prepare some of Chilis most popular dishes like the savory Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers

and the mouthwatering sauce that goes with them, the Honey-Chipotle Sauce, along with the recipe for the brands famous signature drinks.

rich homemade ricotta

A few years ago, I made ricotta for the first time. I suspect a good lot of you just read that the part where I made cheese/played cheesemaker/fiddled with curds and whey in my shoebox kitchen, not because I maybe forgot about a carton of milk for a few weeks in the back of the fridge and conducted an unintentional science project, but just for a good time inched your cursor to the little X of your browser tab and navigated away. Clearly, this wasnt the act of a sane person, though that does seem to be the theme this week. The thing is, a good amount of cheese that we eat mozzarella, goat cheese, paneer, cottage cheese come down to milk plus acid. What you do from there is your art. Except my first ricotta wasnt particularly artful. It was a little dry and coarse. We spread it on pizza with jammy caramelized red onions and ate it happily, but it wasnt the kind of ricotta you dream of. I moved on.

But then I fell in love with ricotta again. I discovered Salvatore Ricotta, made in small batches in Brooklyn, and frustratingly hard to find anywhere else as I want everyone in the world to have a taste just a couple months ! ago and Im sure, years after everyone who pays attention, and sadly, for anyone around me who is not my equally ricotta-besotted husband, have spoken about little else since. [You've got to watch the video, okay?] Ive never had ricotta like it; its nothing like the store bought stuff. This is very strained ricotta, almost whey-free, and it spreads almost like cream cheese but with a richness suggestive of whipped cream or crme frache. Its not easily forgotten.

... Read the rest of rich homemade ricotta on smittenkitchen.com

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HAVE AN AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY BUFFET AT TONY ROMAS

The Mid American Casual Dining restaurant Tony Romas is dishing out a hefty American Buffet promotion for one day only on 3rd July 2011 in celebration of the Independence Day of America.

Join the all-you-can-eat Sunday celebration at either Tony Romas e@Curve, Tony Romas Jalan Yap Kwan Seng or Tony Romas 1 Mont Kiara from 11am to 5pm to enjoy great food and exciting activities.

Adults who only need to pay RM79.90nett per person can feast to a limitless amount of Tony Romas world famous Bountiful Beef Ribs which when served ala carte is RM75.90 for a Full Slap. Other all-American food selections in this Buffet line-up include Potato Salad, Onion Loaf, BBQ Chicken, Mini Beef Burgers, Chicken Hotdog, Carolina Honeys Chicken Wings, Golden Deep Fry Fish and more! For some local flare, there is also a Satay counter and the range doesnt end there as assorted desserts and refillable soft drinks and juices are available too.

Onion loaf

Beef Ribs

Fish Fries

BBQ Half Chick

Another benefit of this special American Buffet is that kids eat for free! Limited to two kids per family, those who are under 12 years old can enjoy the buffet free of charge, while a third kid or more is chargeable at only RM39.90nett per kid.

For adults who fancy a glass of beer, it will be a thrill to find out that with any buffet purchased, you can then purchase an unlimited times of RM1 for a glass of Carlsberg Draft.

What is even more exciting and worthwhile is that customers who book their seats early by purchasing the American Buffet pass before 30th June 2011 will receive Tony Romas gift vouchers worth RM30.

So wait no longer and place your reservations by purchasing the American Buffet pass now or before 30th June 2011!

For more information, call the participating Tony Romas restaurants at: e@Curve (03 7728 7833), Jalan Yap Kwan Seng (03 2161 0200) and 1 Mont Kiara (03 6203 0580).

Review: Lunch @ Maze, Crown Interpol

My parents are here! I'm so overjoyed. My mom wanted to dine at Maze, partly due to an article she read from her favorite magazine. So, I granted her wish and brought the entire family to Maze because I had a really good experience at Maze back then.

Some pictures for you to enjoy first before I head on to my review:

Bread basket


Butter
Charred leek salad
Tete de Cochon - Crispy Pig's Ears, Watermelon
Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait
King George Whiting
Duck leg
Deconstructed Lobster Bisque
Crispy Pork Belly with Japanese inspired broth
Quince trifle - muscat, vanilla foam, quince custard
Rhubarb compote, yogurt, crumble
Overall, our dining experience was decent but nothing to shout about.First, the bread was a little salty and oily. On its own, it's very flavorful. The butter, which was good on its own, was quite an accessory for those who prefer a lighter taste to start their meal.

We had the set lunch menu. There are two menus, one from Maze Grill and one from Maze. It's quite confusing for those who are not used to the system. It took a while for my sister and parents to get around the menu. We ended up having three courses, which is valued at 42 AUD. One can order individual! dishes for 16 AUD from the Maze menu.

My sister and I had the foie gras and chicken liver parfait. Very smooth and buttery. The fruit pieces that came with it added a sliver of tartness to rather rich dish. The sweet taste of parfait went very well with the salted toast that came with it.

My mom's charred leek salad was a reminiscent of a potato and leek stew that I've made a long time ago. A comforting dish for the brr-worthy weather.

My dad's tete de cochon was quite a disappointment. The pig's ears was too gamy to taste. The acidic watermelon slice, laced with beetroot red, was the saving grace for this potentially exciting dish.

I had the deconstructed lobster bisque for mains. It was one of the best mains for that afternoon. Not only did it captured the invigorating flavors from the sea but it also incorporated citrus elements to give the bisque an enticing zing.

My mom's King George Whiting was the second best. On its own, the fish was a little salty but with the mash, it was perfect.

My sister's duck was a little too salty. The meat on its own was perfect but the accompanying lentil and corn was too much for our liking.

Fortunately, the pork belly did lift up to its expectation. It was not gamy as the pig's ears dish. If my taste buds fail me not, the pork belly should be organic. It has this lovely sweetness that an organic pork typically has. The downside is, it was not crispy as it claimed. There was not enough crackling. Perhaps, they did. Moreover, the broth was a little salty but it was good to go with the pork.

For desserts, we all had the quince trifle and rhubarb compote. I personally prefer the rhubarb compote. The acidity of the rhubarb compote made this dessert a good ending to a meal. The trifle was a little too heavy in terms of flavor. The muscat completely killed the flavors of the quince. Nonetheless, it was great with coffee.



Little things:

Cuisine: Australian, Fusion, International

Ambience: Rel! axed, go od lightning

Service: Pretty slow. Only four people were on the floor.

Budget: Reasonably priced - 42 AUD for three course. Total damage was around 170 AUD for four people

Portion: On the tiny side but reasonable for us

For more details: