CRIZ BON APPETITE

“Every day is Earth Day in the Shangri-La’s Kitchen” as Shangri-La Group of Hotels and Resorts worldwide launched their “Rooted in Nature” campaign on 22 April 2015 last month. It’s a part of the group’s initiative to maintain culinary sustainability, thus raising the awareness on consuming freshly farmed food which had gone through strict international standard requirements without harming the environment. Today, Shangri-La’s Golden Sands Resort, Penang had invited a special guest to join them in the journey of “Rooted in Nature”. He’s none other than the Iconic American Chinese Chef, Chef Martin Yan.

Most of us have grown up with Chef Martin Yan’s award winning cooking show, “Yan Can Cook” with his catchy phrase line of “If Yan can cook, so can you!” Chef Martin Yan simply made cooking looks so easy, especially on how he uses his customized knife to prepare ingredients with barely any effort. I’ve tried using his knife and it indeed had that balance, lightness and sharpness as claimed by the chef himself. Chef Martin Yan sure knows his kitchen utensils’ precisions well.

Chef Martin Yan who is currently in Malaysia for the filming of the upcoming TV Program, “Taste of Malaysia”, to be aired somewhere in late third quarter of this year, paid a visit to GST Group Fish Farm, one of the sustainable food partners of the resort offshore of Pulau Jerejak, Penang, to discover the source of sustainable seafood. According to him, we are lucky to have such fresh fishes of such huge sizes easily available for our consumptions unlike in USA. He later teamed up with Golden Sands Resort’s Executive Chef, Chef Adrian Lim, to pep up a delicious Nyonya Curry Kapitan Fish dish with their morning’s fresh catches. The recipe used fresh sustainable seafood, combined with some organic and locally produced herbs and spices.

We also had a try-out on some of the “Rooted in Nature” dishes at the resort’s Sigi’s Bar & Grill (the other Rooted in Nature participating eatery is their Garden Café). Diners can identify the Rooted in Nature dishes by spotting a “pea shoot” logo printed alongside the dish description. We started off with their Grilled Free Range Chicken & Organic Tofu Salad. It was truly a well balanced diet with lots of fresh romaine lettuce and onion rings dressed with balsamic vinegar, topped with some perfectly grilled yet juicy free range chicken breast meat and accompanied with some organic tofu cubes. It was indeed a great salad before your main meal.

As for main, we tried out the Rosemary Scented Broiled Chicken served with vegetables of the day, mashed potatoes and brown jus. The half free range broiled chicken was just the right size to give that flavorful yet juicy impact.

Lastly, we were served with their Double Scoops of Yam & Coconut Ice Cream topped with whipped cream. I must say this was the heaven of the day as it was not just any ordinary ice cream but one with real yam bites. Combined with the creamy texture of the coconut ice cream, it was a hit amongst us.

Overall, it was a fun outing having to catch up with Chef Martin Yan once again on his Malaysian tour. At 66+ years old, he’s still as comical and humorous as he was on the TV shows. As for the Shangri-La Group of Hotels and Resorts worldwide, I would want to wish them all the best in achieving their goal of serving 75% more sustainable sourced food on the menus within the next 5 years.

The restaurant is just located within the premises of Golden Sands Resort. Drive all the way up towards Batu Ferringhi. When you see the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa on your right, slow down and watch out for the Golden Sands Resort entrance which is right after the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa. Park your car at the ample car park there and walk into the main lobby of the resort. Head towards the beach area and you would see Sigi’s Bar & Grill on your right.

Name: GOLDEN SANDS RESORT
Address: Batu Feringgi Beach, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 604-886 1911
GPS: 5.476330, 100.251440

RATING:
Ambience: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Asian Food Channel (AFC) together with BERJAYA University College of Hospitality (BERJAYA UCH) recently held an event entitled Autumn Treasures with Chef Martin Yan at the university’s fine dining restaurant, Samplings at the Fourteenth, Level 14, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur. The sit down dinner held on 5 September 2012 was priced at RM290++/pax. I was lucky to be one of the lucky winners of a contest organized by AFC to dine with Chef Martin Yan (甄文達). I’m sure most of you would have known the Chinese-born American celebrity chef for his jovial ways to handle Asian cuisine with a twist of humor. Chef Martin Yan from the famous cooking show “Yan Can Cook” has hosted over 1,500 episodes since 1978. “If Yan can cook, so can you!” became his catchphrase ever since. What impressed me most was his comical ways in chopping food frantically with just a sharp cleaver. He indeed made the whole room filled with laughter when he performed a live demonstration on how to cook his Dragon & Phoenix chicken dish.

During this Autumn Treasures event, five of the chef’s signature dishes were chosen to be served as fine dining dishes, with assistance from the numerous students support from the Berjaya UCH. The menu was as shown below:

The first dish was the Crispy Beancurd Skin Rolls. The spring onions wrapped rolls had stir fried jicama, carrots and mushrooms fillings, beautifully plated with a pickled radish and carrot flower and some drops of hoisin and chili sauce. Although the rolls were quite tasty in flavors and texture, they were not as crispy as the name. Most probably the kitchen had prepared it too early or the oil was not hot enough to give that crisp. Thus, there was this soggy oil after bite.

The next dish was the Dragon & Phoenix in a Basket. The basket basically consisted of deep fried finely julienned yam mixed with some corn starch. The topping had the chicken dish demonstrated live by Chef Martin Yan. They consisted of chunks of chicken breast meat stir fried with onions, straw mushrooms, garlic and Thai basil leaves, topped with some blanched asparagus. I was surprised that my serving did not contain some diamond shape bell pepper cuts as shown in the demonstration. However, even without the flavors from the bell peppers, the taste for the topping with high hints of Thai basil and pepper after taste was nice enough to complement the yam basket.

As for main, we were served with Beef Stew with Beancurd Sticks & Chinese Chestnut. The dish tasted quite similar to my brandy boasted Cantonese recipe of Braised Oysters & Scallops. The beef stew which had tender chunks of wine boasted beef came with some beancurd sticks, Chinese chestnuts, carrots, radish and Chinese mushrooms, came with side dishes such as bread pudding with mixed toasted sesame seeds candy and a slice of garlic bread. The dish was amazingly great and rich in sweet flavors from the long period of stewing. However, such rich flavored dish would go better with plain rice or bread instead of the accompanied side dishes. Moreover, it lacked some fresh greens to subtle the richness from the meat dish.

As an alternative dish to non beef eater, a Vegetarian Spaghetti was also served as main. It was basically some spaghetti with the right al dente served with some fresh onions, carrots, zucchinis and tomatoes sauce, garnished with some julienned bell peppers, parsley and a deep fried beancurd stick. Taste wise, it was a straight forward dish. However, I personally felt that it was a dish not properly justified against the price paid. I was a non paying guest, so I can’t complain much but it would surely piss off those paying ones. The kitchen should have considered serving some vegetarian dishes that has a more sophisticated outlook and taste such as the Agnolotti with Roasted Pumpkin, Broccolini & Chilli Spaghetti with Pangrattato, Pan Fried Potato Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Sage Butter or simply add in a different variety of fresh mushrooms to make the dish more classy.

We were also served with Smoked Marinated Squab. The squab or commonly known as domestic pigeon, had a tough texture almost similar to duck meat but with meat white in color. I personally found that the meat was just mildly marinated with barely distinctive flavors or strong smoke taste. Moreover, it needed some tenderizer such as ginger juice to soften the meat further. The squab was dressed with some brown sauce and served with some simply fried basmati rice with finely brunoised bell peppers and some cherry tomatoes salsa.

Lastly, it was dessert time with Wine Poached Pears being served. The mildly sweetened poached pear in red wine had mixed spices flavors coming from some cloves, star anise and cinnamon. I would say that it was a bit overwhelming for diners who detested strong spices aftertaste.

There were also free flow of Chinese tea, white wine, red wine and sparkling wine, by Australia’s over 160 years winemaking expert, Jacob’s Creek, to pair with the dishes.

All the diners were presented with a certificate signed by Chef Martin Yan to commemorate our memorable dining experiences with the chef.

Here’s the snapshot of the contest winners and guests with Chef Martin Yan, courtesy of Ms. Evelyn Ang Loo.

Overall, it was an eventful evening with Chef Martin Yan. Thanks Asian Food Channel (AFC) for giving me the opportunity to meet up with Chef Martin Yan. To the waiters and waitresses of BERJAYA University College of Hospitality (BERJAYA UCH), you all have done a great job!

Name: SAMPLINGS ON THE FOURTEENTH @ BERJAYA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY
Address: Level 14, East, Berjaya Times Square, 1 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact: 603-2687 7073
GPS: 3.142152, 101.710618