Greetings! Wow, I think its been a while since I blogged with photos from the camera (not from phone) and properly edited and watermarked in PS5. Slowly picking up the speed (hopefully, I always say that but always tak jadi wan la)
Anyway, I was invited to Zespri Kiwifruit Bloggers Day in Bayan Indah. I couldnt reject, Ive always wanted to go to Bayan Indah and I love the gold kiwifruit! Zespri is the worlds leading marketer of kiwifruit, currently managing 30% of the world traded volumes. Zespri is dedicated to providing the best tasting premium quality kiwifruit from more than 2700 current and past passionate growers. Zespri is a New Zealand based company that markets Zespri Kiwifruit to over 70 countries worldwide!
With just one serving (150g) of this amazing kiwifruit, it has over 150% Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin C, Thats 2x more of oranges. We know Vitamin C is a great immune booster, and it enhances the absorption of various important minerals in our body, namely iron and calcium.
Kiwifruit is also packed with fiber that encourages good digestive health. The fibre also enhances positive alteration in our intestinal enzyme which promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in our guts. It is also low in Glycemic Index (GI) that helps moderate blood gloocose level- making it safe for those with diabetes. (and those watching their weight, like me)
Zespri kiwifruit is also a natural source of folate and potassium, low fat source of Vitamin E and is sodium free. Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative damage and potassium is important for the normal functions of nerves and muscles.
I was late in the morning so I missed some parts of the presentation of the kiwifruit, but I managed to catch a dietician from Sunway Medical Centre explain more about the benefits of this fruit. this small hairy brown fruit, has 5x the nutrition of apples per 100kcal consumption. Maybe now we can say, a kiwifruit a day, keeps the doctor away
After the short presentation, bloggers and media were moved to the main dining and kitchen for the next session of fun. Guess what it is!
Pole dancing! o.m.g!!! The session was conducted by Viva Circus core member, performer and choreographer, Nana (right). Pole dancing is not as easy as it looks! It requires hand strength and core muscle as well. I gave it a try (no pics lol) and oh my, it IS tough.
So after that, we adjourned to our cooking session with celebrity chef Rohani Jelani using kiwifruit creatively in everyday recipes. But before we head into the kitchen, Rohani showed us some tricks to cut the kiwifruit. You may think, aiyah just a small fruit, pick up a knife and cut it can edi la! But did you know theres a stem-like thing at the head of the fruit which is woody. You can cut straight down, but if you slice it, not all t! he way t hrough but circling it, it comes off really easily.
Yup it looks like that after you twist it out.
Chef Rohani Jelani showing us how to julienne cucumber. Which I thought was quite fun! I was in charged to make the salad in our group (of 4) so thank goodness I kept my eyes on the cucumber LOL. She then showed us how to cut more vegetables into strips and then after we proceed to our tables to cook!!
Sonia (Nasi Lemak Lover), me, Veron (Quay Po Cooks) and Evelyn (missyblurkit) were in Group 3. We are well, cutting kiwifruit for our fruit platter. After that, I went on to cut the vegetables for the salad, Veron and Sonia did the Asam Fish Curry with Kiwifruit and Evelyn did the kiwifruit jam!
Sliced vegetables and kiwifruit. PAcked with colours and flavour, Im going to post up the recipe next or you can check out Bayan Indahs FB page.
Toss toss! my favourite, Im all about making creative salads lately so this is definitely a winner for me.
Veron and Sonia and their completed dish! gotta say, smells goooood!!
Using kiwifruit in curry is quite interesting. Its somewhat like adding lychee into curry, or belimbing (starfruit) into curries. Kiwifruit has natural enzyme that can be used as a meat tenderizer (think, marinate) and in this asam curry, it gives it an extra tangyness and sweetness to what originally was a sourish dish.
Me stirring the last few steps for the jam over ice bath, then pouring into the bowl. Eh seriously I look quite slim edi right.. HAHAHA
Kiwifruit jam that Evelyn made. Not sourish at all. These were all made using the green kiwifruit. Maybe you can used gold and green and subsequently use a lesser amount of sugar since the gold kiwifruit is sweeter. Great on crackers or bread
After cooking 4 dishes, we were time for lunch! oh starving.. These 2 dishes were prepared by Rohanis kitchen crew, prawns with mango salsa and chicken cutlets with lemon and kiwifruit sauce to feed us all.
Lunch plate! vibrant colours, protein protein, fruits, fresh veg, spicy! yumm
After that we made our own Zespri Kiwifruit Yogurt stacks. Well they WERE suppose to be stacked like mille feuille but I was being creative so I decided to plate it another way. Well whatever works, as long as it taste yummehh!! And, also managed to snap a photo with the amazing Rohani Jelani. (photo from Sonias camera) group shot! Didnt had chance to meet and greet everyone but managed to see a few familiar faces during the event. Now if youre a big fan of Zespri Kiwifruit, come join in the fun. I will be giving away 5 pairs of bookmark and keychains to 5 lucky readers residing in Malaysia. All you need to do is be the first 5 to answer these questions correctly. 1. What are the benefits of Zespri Kiwifruit? (just 1 will do) 2. Which celebrity chef conducted the cooking session using Zespri Kiwifruit? Comment the answers below and dont forget to leave your email address. I will contact you when there are 5. Ends Sept 30th 2012. Create the most creative recipe using Zespri Kiwifruit as the main ingredient and submit it by 24th September 2012. Winners will be announced on 30th Sept 2012. Top 5 recipes will receive Zespri premiums worth more than RM100. All entries will be judged by well known celebrity chef, Rohani Jelani. Send in the recipe with step by step instructions and pictures of ingredients and the final product. You can submit to hazel@world.com.my / adrian@world.com.myAnother special contest, the Zespri Kiwifruit Recipe Challenge.
