Meet the Pros: Pastry Chef Loh Mee Foong of Le Meridien KL & a dessert recipe

Life keeps getting sweeter for Le Meridien KL's Pastry Chef Loh Mee Foong. Chef Mee Foong who oversees the production of all pastries, cakes andconfectionery for the hotel's restaurants, banquet and catering events was recently awarded as the "Platinum Winner - HAPA Artistic Chef (Pastry)" in theprestigiousHospitality Asia Platinum Awards 2011-2013. She has previously worked in Palace of the Golden Horses, Crowne Plaza Mutiara and Shangri-la KL.

Pastry Chef Loh Mee Foong with her HAPA Award

Executive Chef Antoine Rodriguez tells me that she makes a "simple yet excellent creme caramel" -- I have to agree, after trying this at Latest Recipe just last week. Perfect wobbly texture.

I managed to meet up with this talented pastry chef two weeks ago and spoke to her about her culinary background, inspirations and her recent win at the HAPA Awards.

Baby Sumo (BS) : Congrats Mee Foong! How do you feel about your recent win in the HAPA Awards?

Mee Foong (MF):This is my first time participating in the HAPA awards, so I was definitely nervous. My mentor Chef Antoine thought I was ready and put my name in for the "Artistic Chef - Pastry" category. I was very surprised and delighted when my name was called out during the regional award ceremony in Singapore recently. I am grateful to receive this acknowledgement as one of Asia's top 5 pastry chefs alongside so many other talented pastry chefs. I will continue to do my best and create unique, visually expressive and tempting desserts.

BS: Have you always wanted to be a pastry chef?

! MF: I tr ained atthe prestigious Syuen Hotel & Catering Institute Malaysia Diploma in Chinese Culinary Art Program -- not in pastry arts, but in Chinese dim sum. A friend told me to reconsider a career change since dim sum masters have to be at work by 5am! I did and I've never looked back. Being a pastry chef is very rewarding.

A trio of desserts at Favola

BS: What is your favorite ingredient to work with?

MF: Chocolate as it is very versatile. You can create interesting showpieces, pralines or chocolate desserts.

BS: Do you have a signature dessert that we should try in Le Meridien KL?

MF: Yes, try theRich hot Chocolate Cake, served with chocolate sauce and stracciatella ice-cream at Prime orwarm chocolate pudding served withvanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce at Favola.

One of her signature desserts, rich hot chocolate cake at Prime

BS: We've tried the rich hot chocolate cakeduring one of our visitsto Prime and it's certainly good. At LMKL, what does your pastry technique / style lean towards?

MF: It varies -- I am constantly whipping up innovative creations with influences from both east and west. For Latest Recipe's desserts, I have more room to experiment and you would often find mod! ern Fren ch desserts there.

Carrot walnut cake at Latest Recipe

BS: What's your favorite kitchen tool?

MF: I have a mini angled spatula which I use for almost everything. A lot of the pastries that I work with are very small, so this tool is the perfect size for handling pastries.

BS: Throughout your career as a pastry chef, who is the most inspiring chef you have worked with?

MF: DefinitelyChef Antoine! He has been very supportive and encouraging, and has given me lots of opportunity to shine in Le Meridien KL.

Homemade blueberry yoghurtice cream cake with blueberry coulis at Prime

Pastry Chef Mee Foong has kindly shared a recipe with me, which I am going to share with you all. This peach yoghurt cranberry cake is an eggless cake, hence is suitable for vegetarians. Will post a photo once I've attempted to make this, maybe for New Year's Eve :)

Ingredients

180g butter/margarine

150g sugar

150g peach yoghurt

100g canned peaches, sliced

100g dried cranberries

220g cake flour, sifted

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tbsp baking soda

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, add in peach yoghurt and mix well.

2. Fold in sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, canned peaches a! nd crean berries, mix well.

3. Pour mixture into a greased mould or cake ring, bake in preheated oven 180C for 40 mins or until cooked.

The Magnificent Fish & Chips Bar @ Changkat Bukit Bintang Not So Magnificent After All

It is a shame that a nice restaurant such as Engka Portobello had disappeared from Changkat Bukit Bintang. Their all day breakfast was one of the best around and most importantly does not cost a bomb, which is commendable considering their prime location.
Now that our favorite is gone, we settled at the Magnificient Fish & Chips Bar located just a stones throw away. Besides their famous Fish & Chips which some say is the best in town, they serve all day breakfast and other English dishes too. By the way, this is a bold name for a restaurant dont you think? And looking at their expensive menu prices, their food beitter be magnificient or else.

Fish & Chips is the obligatory order since that is their signature food here. And for that you basically have five types of fishes to choose from: Silver Cod (RM46), Parrot Fish (RM38), Barramundi (RM36), Plaice (RM30) and Butterfish (RM28) I had the Barramundi and it comes with a lot of chips placed on top of a scrunched up newspaper which is separated by a thin sheet of white paper for hygiene. Presentation wise it seems pretty much like the real deal and looks authentically English enough, but that is all about it.

While the golden brown fillet is undeniably crispy, the coating falls off too easily when you cut into it. So ! you will end up eating the coating and the fish separately. That aside, the fish has an annoying muddy smell to it as well despite tasting fresh. My verdict? Not so magnificient after all. Overpriced by a long way too.

Anyway we got what we came for, the Chirpy Big Breakfast @ RM28. The portion looks big alright mainly because of the huge amount of bread given. But at least it tasted as expected as expected for a breakfast nothing worth a wow nor bad. Cant blame me for feeling this way though because Engka Portobello was dishing up a much better version for less than half the value, with coffee included somemore.

If you are getting this and bent on finishing everything on the plate, you better have an appetite big enough to do so. Else I suggest you just share it between you and your partner.

Another complaint I have is that they do not have a proper menu. You have to walk into the bar area to read the menu which is written on the chalkboard. This is very troublesome and does the owner honestly expect every customer to stand there and read through the list? Imagine the hassle for customers who come in group.

Frankly speaking there wont be any revisit from me as far as I am concerned. The price is so high I think it is borderline unreasonable and the food is not all that great, not even near magnificient. I would rather spend my money on somewhere else like Opus because I know for certain the food will be great.

The Magnificient Fish & Chips Bar
28 Changkat Bukit Bintang
50200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS Coordinates: N 3 08.860 E 101 42.484
Business hours: Tue Sun (11am to 12 midnight)

Kedai Makan Choy Kee @ Sungkai for Braised Pork Knuckle.

Our journey back to KL has to be completed with another adventurousmeal and that was in a cowboy town called Sungkai. Truly a quiet town and we found Kedai Makan Choy Kee. It was 2.30pm and the shop was still packed with patrons.Marmite fried chicken was gorgeous with nice flavour and aroma.We came for this knuckle and it was a memorable visit @ Choy Kee for this wonderful braised pork knuckle. The skin was in a perfect condition for excellent bites and chew. Of course the meat was cooked to perfection. Nothing was left from this plate just the bones....Another common dishliked by customers and it was this tofu with minced meat.A mix veggie with prawns, squids and lean meat was a good choice for a change.Haruan fish Steamed with soy sauce was lovely, it was big and meaty slightly more than 2kg.Deep fried soft shell crabs were also delicious...everyone was pleased with this detour and has no complaint at all coming to Sungkai in fact they loved the food.

Kedai Makan Choy Kee35, Jalan Besar,

35600 Sungkai,Perak.

Tel : 05-4386287 or 019-3369609

GPS : 3.996578,101.308172

Kaihomaru

If Kaihomaru's location feels familiar, that might be because it replaced the Federal Hotel's Kapoh Muneharu (which in turn took over from Sushi Dokoro Maeshima). But extensive refurbishment has rendered the outlet unrecognizable.

Kaihomaru's menu sets it apart from other Japanese eateries; the restaurant focuses on seafood, serving nearly no chicken, beef or other meat.

This deluxe 28-piece sushi platter costs slightly north of RM200 _ worth the expense, considering the quantity & quality of ingredients. The selection could include ootoro (the fattiest of tuna belly), sea urchin, amberjack, shrimp & scallops. No run-of-the-mill salmon, for sure.

For a fleshy fish with a mackerel-like flavor, this grilled arabesque greenling should satisfy seekers of succulence.

Yellowtail simmered with soy sauce. Aside from the raw fish, Kaihomaru's offerings are far from pricey; a meal here without sushi & sashimi shouldn't exceed RM60 per person without drinks.

A little sake never hurt anyone, right? A lot, though, would be a different story.

Kaihomaru,

The Federal Hotel, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2144-3088

Last orders at 10:30 p.m.

Beer Belly Kota Damansara

Lately the surrounding area around Sunway Giza and The Strand Red Carpet has turned into a drinking area. More and more pubs open up with each having their own specialties. The latest addition to the crowd is Beer Belly which runs by family members who has an ambition of operating own F&B [...]

Legends Claypot Briyani House, Brickfields

Briyani is one of my favourite food, i like rice in general (porridge, fried rice etc). This corner lot briyani restaurant has ample parking lot next to it.

Their briyani claypot rice priced from RM15 to RM17, quite pricey but they do come piping hot and very yummy

They have a cheaper option of briyani rice set priced at RM8.50

side dishes

My briyani set, love their side dishes

Fish curry, RM6.50, taste ok

Here is the claypot briyani comes with a boiled egg, very hot and tasty

Overall, their claypot beriani is very nice, they have delivery service with coverage to Bangsar, Seputih, Old Klang Road, Damansara Heights and City Center

Address: The Legends Family Curry House Sdn Bhd (they also have an outlet in Serdang)

142, Jalan Tun Sambanthan,

Brickfields,

50470 Kuala Lumpur

Website: Legends Claypot Briyani House
Telephone: 03-2272 2352

Business hour: 6am 11pm

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Christmas Dinner 2011

I went straight from church to my kitchen where I worked until the guests arrived. I didn't even have a chance to shower or step into the washroom! I had moved my Christmas dinner to Christmas Day (Christmas dinner is always on the eve this part of the world) and forgot that my helper celebrates Christmas at home too so I had to do everything myself. Dinner parties are a cinch here because we have help to clean the house, set the table, prepare the ingredients and all that. Anyway, Vero came in after 4 pm and she helped me more than all the three men in the house did the whole afternoon. For that, I gave her Boxing Day off so we'll just have bread and turkey soup today.

Okay, I should give credit where it's due. Hub arranged the tables, got the drinks and did last minute shopping. He did a great job chopping nearly 1.7 kgs of pork because I forgot to tell the butcher I wanted ground pork. Machine-minced pork is rather pasty and not right for what I wanted to make. Ming set up the speakers in the patio and was in charge of music. We had Michael Buble and Diana Krall singing for us. So good, especially Diana Krall. Buble's too commerical for me. Wey helped here and there, disappearing upstairs to play computer games whenever I'm not looking. I miss my daughter. The family just misses her so much this time of the year but she was on Skype with us and she was happy at yet another dinner party, third in a row this week. Shanghai seems like the happening place for expats.

Initially it was just a party for 17 including my family but the guests swelled to 24 so at the last minute I bulked up the veggies and added an English trifle. The trifle was the worst I've made and I think the spoilers were the cheap rum and store-bought Swiss rolls. The surprise hit of the night was something new to us: Bacon Explosion, which is really a pork meatloaf wrapped in a layer of weaved bacon strips. I am told that it was very very good--I didn't get a chance to eat it except fora ! thumbnai l-sized bit when S was about to stab it with her fork. I did eat the what was left--the bacon bits and dried cranberries--and it was SO good, the crispy, tasty, smoky, salty bacon and sweet cranberries were perfect together.

Great food, wine, music, weather, friends and family and a reminder that we are so blessed because Jesus was sent to redeem us.

Roasted turkey with traditional chestnuts stuffing.




My version of Bacon Explosion.

Radicchio (which I've learnt from this dinner, should not be cooked if you want to keep the pretty color), mixture of brussel sprouts, baby carrots and asparagus, and fennel.

English trifle.


White Christmas log of creamy silky coconut cream and durian Swiss roll!

Dark choc cupcakes with marzipan stars.

Traditional fruit cake with home-made marzipan.

Australian cherries.

Pumpkin soup (pumpkin from my garden) and bread photos to be uploaded later.