4th & final stop on the MIGF train

Ambience was good, lighting is ambient (hence your camera will need flash unless well seated. Apologies to all readers for my shadowy presence in the photos)

My only 1 request was for them to play some vocal-less music softly so as to not drown out the sounds of the animals and cricket songs drifting in from the forest, which sounded so much more harmonious than the music.













































Bread & Breadstick with olive oil & Vinegerette and a sourish mince meat dumpling to fend off my hunger pang after I was forced to work twice as hard for my dinner: i.e. walk to and from the carpark twice looking for my wallet.























AntiPasti: A selection of Carpaccio
Palcido Chianti Docg 2005, Tuscana (red wine)

The oyster and beef were dress in the same dressing while another set of beef was covered with freshly grated parmesan. Very simple but full of flavour, no taste of rawness or deadness.



















Sorbet: Sorbet of Ruccola

Like something that came out of the fridge and doesn't thaw evenly: melty on the outside, frigid on the inside, I have to say that the Hilton ones looks better.
You can an initial hit of bitterness before a mellowy sweet aftertaste lingers in your mouth, not so bad when it is liquid.






Primi:Lightly smoked Potato Dumplings with smoked Duck confit and Foie Gras Sauce
Palcido Pinot Grogio 2006, Tuscana

springy, spongy, wholesome. like some savoury tong yuan, I love this even more than ravioli or jiao zi. Golden pi is 3-5, some crust, some duck meat, Voila! I really must get this recipe from the chef!

The white wine here tasted acidic but cleans the palate of any heaviness from having one too many potato dumplings. At this point, I was feeling tipsy from the wine (is that even possible?), will probably be too red/drunk to speak to the chef at this rate.

Secondi: Wagyu Veal Shank Stew served with grilled Polenta
Window Shiraz 2005, Margaret River
Love the crunchy vegetables. Since we are dealing with the shank, don't expect any tenderness, just a good cut of meal done well (slightly tough to cut but very bitey to chew with). The stew was meaty but the polenta (the yellow well made from flour and corn) was thick and uneven, hence you can see the charcoal bits on the outside of the polenta. some part were a bit raw too.



Desserts: Assorted miniature chef dessert platter
Ruffino Serelle 2002, Tuscana
Desserts Wines: Amaretto or Sanbuca

I like the orange chocolate here slightly more than gobo. The cowmilk gelatin mellowed out the tangy raspberry sauce. Could see the 3rd one. Kaya characote just too firm not melty like the brulee from Gobo.

Thet served the Ruffino afterwards, it was okay for a dessert wine. just the right hit.

Amaretto or Sanbuca: aka sweet or strong, I went for sweet. Gah! it was syrupy and cloyly sweet. I think I just burnt a hole in my stomach and killed off numerous brain cells for having something that has the same impact as my first taste of XO when I was 15 years old.


Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.

A Private Menu at Iketeru this November

A packed carpark, an even more packed Iketeru (so much for that hypothesis). So I will be sitting at the sushi bar. At least I get to see Chef Ricky in action behind the sushi bar. The saki bar (where the old entrance use to be is smallish but intimate. A good place to have a tip before moving to your table but the low lying table makes it a drinker's lounge more than a dining place.

The preface to this menu is that many of the ingredients were sourced from the Iwate prefecture in preparation for a visit here by the head of the prefecture. Thus, Chef Ricky was able to give me the chance to sample some local Japanese ingredient rarely exported outside their country.

Starter: Fresh Iwate Oyster, Wakame Seaweed marinated in Lemon, Spiced Burdock Root & Vinegared Sea Cucumber:
If you thought the Hiroshima Oyster was big. This one is easily twice the size of that and yet it slid down the gullet smoothly like you down a water slide. Three drops of lemon are all you need to dispel any of the raw aftertaste that oysters normally leave in your mouth. Definitely one to remember.




The Wakame Seaweed is the one farmed off the seabed by female divers, it has a silky texture and was given a tangy zing with some lemon/lime sauce. The spiced Burdock root (a.k.a gobo in Japanese) is crunchy yet has a mellow earthy flavour unlike its appearance. The vinegared Sea Cucumber was thin and bitey (Q!) like squid instead of the normal springy texture (Chef Ricky mentioned that the it was deliver fileted but frozen), an accidental surprise.



































Sashimi: Hagami, Yellowtail Sea Bream, Squid and Octopus sucker:
A crunchy Octopus sucker sliced in two is an excellent way to start this dish. Moving on, I like the firmness of the squid (taken from the part near the tentacles, so very muscular), hence a good deal of bitey-ness.
The yellowtail Sea Bream is up to standard, compared to past tastings so no worries but the Hagami is a lean, red, tasting supreme piece of meat (probably only outclassed by Toro).




Simmered: Radish Jewellery Box with Abalone, Prawn, Fish Milt & Angler Fish Liver in Simmer Radish:
Yay! I finally get my cod fish milt in the treasure box. The serving this time was much more firmer than the last one. And everything else was pretty much up to standard.























Grilled dish: Grilled Iwate Oyster
This arrived piping hot off the grill, I couldn't even pick up the shell (ooh! ouch! hot hot!). I was a bit sceptical at first when Chef Ricky presented this but it tasted very sweet and you don't even need much lemon juice, if not at all.









Pike meat fishballs, Burdock Root, cabbage and Tofu in Paper Bowl:
How very quaint, Whee!
the fishballs (made out of pike, miso paste, ginger and grated yam) were meaty but not springy like normal meatball, instead they disintegrate because the yam is overcooked. The Baduk root here is slightly bitter, but mellowy. The surprising part was the sourish dasheen stock (Chef Ricky apologizes for that)




















Mains: Spicy Soba Noodles
Served ramen style with carbsticks, wakanabe seaweed, cucumber and kimchi, I asked Chef Ricky if he has plagerise from the Koreans (he laughed it off), pointing out that Iwate if close to Korea and this local variant of the Iwate Soba noodles is best served cold in a soup. Given the coolness of the soup, you taste the heat but it doesn't burn. Goes very well with the wakame seawees and the noodles are opaque and bitey.




















Dessert: Black sesame pudding & Lime Sorbet
Back to the usual dessert and I am not complaining. The pudding is one of my favourites and the lime sorbet is much better given the new machine they are using.









Chef Ricky was always there explain every dish. I managed to dribble more information out of him. (Maybe I should sit in front of the sushi bar from now on). Yes, I did get Chef Ricky to pay for his punishment: a copy of the festival menu with his autograph in it when I visit him today.

Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.

3rd stop in the MIGF train

Was detoured to Chynna to meet two sisters who want to try out the festival menu. So whee!!!! to me. This one turned out very different from Ling's experience.

The moment we were seated. Out comes the teapot with the long neck to pour us a cup of 'Welcome Tea'. It ended up tasting more like a herbal soup than anything else (prepared 1 day in advance, according to Chef Lam, just to dissipate the flavours of the herbs so that most people won't find it too pungent. Thos who have taken Chinese medicine know what we are referring to.)




Being offered the choice of the mocktail vs the cocktail, I went for the non-alcoholic option simply because I will be driving the girls back to their home. Simply put, it is Mango juice + Sprite (but not balanced enough for my liking), since it is probably layered: Mango juice at the bottom tasted cordial sweet and Sprite on top just fizzled out by the time you taste and it is just flat. (Or perhaps it was soda water?)



Appetizers: Double-happiness combination platter - Peking Duck In Authentic MoMo Pastry & Oven-baked Tomato stuffed with Seafood Hotchpotch and
Cheese
Since one of the girls could not take prawns, we managed to needle Chef Lam into providing an alternative: Peking Duck in MoMo pastry. And it is as traditional as you can get, with a few new stuffings like century eggs and pickled ginger, this one is a throwback to a genuine chinese icon. Instead of the (often wrongly used) egg pastry, we get the genuine MoMo pastry, which has a lighter taste that doesn't overwhelm the duck. Definitely something that reminds me of Beijing 2001 trip there.

Inside the Oven Baked Tomato, the seafood hotchpotch include mussels and scallop hidden under the cheesy lid. To quote Tolkien: "One mouthful to have them all". Nothing was overdone, after your initial cheese hit, the shellfish meats will slowly rolled across your tongue, parading around like a catwalk en route to your gullet. The tomato is probably a good background flavour, always hiding there, never in the limelight but you just know that it is there.

Mains: Duet combination of Tutti-Frutti platter - Honey–glazed Pineapple with Gherkin & Crispy Sliced Chicken Breast and Golden-fried Polenta Roll filled with Risotto and Durian accompanied by refreshing Lime Sorbet with Sour Plum

Very different presentation from Ling's. My guests and I found the crispy vermicelli more attractive(?). I do like the Polenta roll with durian filling. It taste very very funky, with a mild hint of the risotto or rice. now if only they could make it very pungent and stink it to high heavens. Nothing much on the chicken breast and pineapple combo. Although tender and flavoursome, it ended more like a hit-and-run experience.

Chef Lam introduced the lime sorbet as a safeguard against the durian-breath for foreign gourmands but I would like mine with more sour plum sauce to balance out the overwhelming lime.

Soup: Doubled-boiled Superior Shark’s Fin Broth with Wild Ginseng and “Pipa” Bean Curd
Instead of the usual mishmash you get at chinese banquets (those mixed with egg flowers and assorted rojaks), you get something like a consumme. Taste pure and deep just the way we chinese like our soup. One of the sisters commented that it taste almost like the welcome tea we got but Chef Lam assured us that the preparation was different. The beancurd though tasted a bit more complex than what I have come across before (must sharpen my tongue somemore), so I couldn't really describe it but I do have a hint: be a idiot and dip it in the soup for maximum effect








Mains: Stewed Duck Leg Confit with Abalone and Sea Cucumber in Brown Sauce & Steamed Glutinous Rice with Barbecue Duck, Chicken and Dried Shitake Mushroom
From the onset of the presentation, I almost thought that I was at a chinese wedding banquet, the illusion only dispelled by the present of 'wax meat' on the plate. This is definitely one of the tenderest duck meat I have ever tried. No need to mention that the accompany sides are very much superior to what you would get at chinese wedding banquet: less if more especially when the broccoli is crunchy, the abalone is just right and sea cucumber is springy than your home trampoline.

The rice dish is so chinese rice dumpling-ish, but we did find that the accompanying red tangy-spicy sauce (szechuan dou ban jiang, according to Chef Lam) lightens up what would have been a heavy dish. All the flavours just seem to stick to the rice itself making it quite a fantastic treat.



Dessert: Homemade Yellow Wine Cheese Cake with Ginger Flakes
Yellow Wine is the traditional drink given to women after childbirth and was used to make the sauce with pistacho nuts and strawberry jam. The cheesecake and its base were soft but firm, much better than the cakes out of the freezer that you get from the specialist cake shop. The hit was probably the oven roasted ginger flakes sitting atop the cheesecake, very very pungent to say the least.


Chef Lam is the chattiest chef I have met so far in the festival and has the patience to explain anything and everything we directed to him. Definitely a worthwhile night and a good menu for people who have never tried chinese fine dining before.

Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.

We are on MIGF?

Was researching other potential restaurants to visit the other day and stumbled across links to food bloggers who were discussing about the Malaysian International Gourmet Festival (or more specifically, people who have typed MIGF into their post), hence leaving out quite a number of valuable blogs of people who have actually sampled MIGF menus like Ling and Chen. Some webmasters these days don't check the quality or recency of their links.

Anyway, free publicity is still publicity and my 15 seconds of Internet fame is up.

*Sigh*, they things we talk about these days on instant messaging

random gamer	:	ii
random gamer	:	i guess you're at mage now
random gamer	:	is heng there
random gamer	:	and does someone have neuroshima hex around
random gamer	:	:D
rhyen610	:	no
rhyen610	:	still at work
rhyen610	:	waiting for VIP
rhyen610	:	now only you know dumbledore is gay?
rhyen610	:	aiyoh, rowling outed him like 2 months back
random gamer	:	no
random gamer	:	i had this avatar 2 months back
random gamer	:	duh
random gamer	:	and its more for the funny expression not the statement
rhyen610	:	go post your own photo lah!
random gamer	:	no camera phone nor camera
rhyen610	:	maybe i will just use my handphone one of these days and picasa it for you
random gamer	:	no thanks
random gamer	:	not much of a camwhore
rhyen610	:	but you are a warwhore
random gamer	:	no
random gamer	:	i'm a whore
random gamer	:	:P
rhyen610	:	this is so going on my blog

2nd Stop on the MIGF train

After the first stop, I made an appointment with Lyrical Lemongrass for the second stop. Since it will be her first try, I will let her choose where we go (and she bounced around with it for a few days before deciding): Gobo Upstairs, here we come!

Since Traders Hotel was just next to KLCC, I just walked 1 km to arrived at the venue. Only LL beat me there since she left before the jam started. Then Precious pea, Joe and FatBoyBakes (accompanied by his partner) arrived. Problem was, when one opted out, everyone opted out, except me. God, I really need to make these guys jealous of menu. I think Chef Christopher menu did make some of them go a bit green when they saw what I had.
Appetizers: Tomato x 3 --- Dukkah Spiced Tomato Terrine with Feta Cheese, Iced Yellow Tomato Gazpacho, Warm Semi Dried Tomato Tart
I christen this dish, 3 bites to start since all of them are best had in 1 bite.

Starting with the terrine, I love the layering of soft and firm slivers of tomato with flakes of feta cheese when you roll it around on your palate (I noted that the description of the indonesian layer cake sounds a bit off but perhaps a more apt description would be a cross-section slice of lasagne). Tastewise, the tomatoes here are much more acidic that is easily mellowed by the salty feta cheese.

I am not a big fan of Gazpacho in general but I will admit that this one came off as one of the better executed ones. It is probably middled-bodied, which is why you get a very mild taste that is very distinctly tomato-ey.

At first glance, the tart probably resembles a hors d'oeuvres more than a tart (so they were titling this figuratively?). It has a crunchy base (good in my books), and the layers of tomato has a scent of sweetness (not as sweet as sun-dried tomatoes, maybe they need more time in the sun?)


Starters: Black Ink "Spinosi" Tagliatelle with Octopus Merlot Ragout and Green Asparagus
The black ink is the traditional squid ink, which is used to dye the Tagliatelle black and added savory depth to the ragout. On the whole, this dish continues to build on the menu pretty strongly with the sauce and garnishing sticking to the tagliatelle's surface like a coating. Some of my fellow dinners may think I was eating black ribbons with red confetti.

Because of the squid ink, the ragout didn't overpower the tagliatelle and both of them complemented one another (sort of like opposites that don't clash, which is a paradox that happily does not exist in dining). When you taste it, you get the hit of a ragout that tasted savoury with hints of sweetness (from the Merlot) while the tagliatelle becomes like a canvass acting as a black hole that seems to suck in the flavours and throws them onto your tongue when you bite the pasta and you literally explode at times when you finally sense what has been dropped onto your tastebuds.







Mains: Chargrilled Australian Beef Tenderlon with Garlic Confit, Lentil's Fava Beans and Fresh Mushroom Ragout
As the other floggers' mains rolled in, I will admit I was jealous at their portions (except for lyrical lemongrass) until mine came along. Then and there I proclaim to myself: I don't care much about the floggers' bigger, badder a la carte menu, mine is prettier.

On first glance, a very very tall piece of meat. With my first cut, you can still see the that it is blood red on the inside (with the meat done to my favourite preference, medium rare). Cutting the meat still takes a little bit of effort (but I am not a dainty person like FBB). In one bite, moist tender meat that will break up the moment you chew on it. The sauce was very good (I forgot to ask Chef Christopher if this sauce is specially prepared) There were hints of roughness throughout the dish. The garlic confit although cooked to softness was a bit raw at the center so you get some astringent-ness now and then. The vegetables were pretty soft and the lentils were cooked to the point of breaking up and still firm as to not turn into some kind of mush.





Dessert: Chocolate, Chocolate and Chocolate --- Orange Cream Brulee, Truffle White Chocolate Ice Cream, Warm Walnut Chocolate Pudding, Raspberries Mousse Cake
Now this is a dessert of write a thesis about: Just about everyone of them is a slam dunk combo. I definitely ended my evening on a high.

Starting with my favourite: the warm walnut chocolate pudding. It was a bit dry but I can't get the nuttiness out of my tastebuds from the very first spoon (Thank god I saved this for last before I tried the pralines), more nutty than chocolaty.

Moving on to the white chocolate I's-cream-ing with caramel strip. No vanilla accent, just pure white chocolate flavour in your mouth. I also like the caramel strip that decorated this dish. Like looking at a one strip of vine unwinding itself from a gorgeous white flower bud that is melting under the harsh glare of lighting. (This is probably where I will cry since my Ice Cream started melting before I even started on the dish because everyone was busy taking pictures of this dish. *Sob!* Next time, buy your own festival menu and take the photo of it, not mine!!!).
The raspberry mousse cake has a very overpowering raspberry filling inside so you just have this hit and wham! it is over in a flash, with some lingering aftertaste mixed in with thick chocolatiness. The orange creme brulee was the first one I tried and I am glad to say that it was up to par with a strong overture of oranginess in one gulp.

On to the 4 surprise surprise pralines that I got. The chocolate and pandan praline was my first taste and once you get past the chocolaty outside, pandan freshness just engulfs your mouth until your tongue is just swimming in a pandan ocean and you open your mouth gasping for fresh air.

The ginger sesame seed praline was also very potent but not as overwhelming as the pandan praline. I love the crunch of the sesame seeds for the texture while you lap your away around a ginger sea.

The cake was a bit of a humdinger after the first two praline so I couldn't recall much at this point to write home about save for the moistness and down to earthness chocolatiness (god! how many times I have started with chocolate in this review).

To FFB, the white thingy on the right is the bitter almond torta (now we know what it looks like). It doesn't taste chocolaty (comparing with the 3rd praline) but somehow manages to convey a completeness to the whole dish with a zinginess that I have yet to describe. Maybe you can try it and tell me, FBB.

Chef Christopher Chin managed to pry himself away from his office to answer a few queries on the festival menu, especially the praline fillings. Have also asked him to pass my compliment to his pastry chef for an excellent finish.

Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.

1st stop on the MIGF train

Now that the party has just been launched, time to hop around KL to see what these chefs have got out on their platter. My first stop would be my usual haunt: Ikteteru.

Just as I trundled in yet another empty carpark, I strode in to another packed Iketeru (again!). I am so coming to this place when the carpark is loaded just to see if this will empty Iketeru. The new entrance from the Boardwalk is much more serene but lacks the punch because illumination is too dim. I even caught sight of people dining in almost darkness in a canopied hut near the entrance on my way out. The old entrance will be renovated to make way for a sake bar (Hic!)

Starter dish: Matsuba-Crab Seaweed Roll, served with Yuzu Pepper Mayonnaise & Fresh Hiroshima Oyster with Lemon Jelly
Served on a plate wrapped in plastic on top of a Hoba leaf, it looks like a present from the heavens when presented. Starting with my first bite into the seaweed roll, this tasted much more meatier than most crabmeat I have encountered on my palate. Each piece has a mellow mintiness to it before one gets hit with a peppery afterblast (just where did Chef Ricky hide the pepper? I can't see it in the sauce)

Two beautiful pieces of Hiroshima Oyster were adorned with lemon jelly and lotsa garnishing,. The lemon jelly actually accentuated the tanginess of the Oyster very well with no overpowering mineral-y aftertaste one expects from Oysters. Thumbs up!





















Sashimi: Salmon Mango, Scallop Tomato & Bonito Asparagus served with three different sauces
Like something out of the most fine dining platter. Decorative splotches of sauces, artful direction and placement of the selected pieces. Guess Chef Ricky is really trying to break out of the normal Kaiseki mold.

Starting with the Salmon Mango and Avocado sauce, it went something like this: mango instantly overpowers salmon permanently overpowers avocado sauce mask salmon oiliness mask mango aftertaste (Yeah, I know it sounds complicated); Moving on to the Scallop Tomato with Black Pepper Onion chutney, the chutney aftertaste was probably the only lingering sensation on my tongue but I did get the full hit of the Scallop with a slight hint of the tomato along the ride; Bonito Asparagus with Spicy Miso sauce, now this was a good climax, for those who have tasted bonito before, I can proudly proclaim that the meat and the sauce have mellowed together very nicely to take away the usual bonito-aftertaste that sometimes reeks in your mouth.






Simmered dish: Radish Jewellery Box with Abalone, Prawn, Fish Milt & Angler Fish Liver in Simmer Radish
Boy, is Chef Ricky going overboard with this. In the middle of the bowl sits a carved box of Radish stuffed with all the goodies sitting in a pool sauce full of Chrysanthemum flower petals with Gold Leaf garnishing to complete the finishing touch.

The thin slices of abalone had very good consistency, which gives you bite for your bite. The steamed gingko nuts was pretty mild considering I had the grilled version for the past two months. I suspected (but couldn't confirm with Chef Ricky's help) that the two pale cubes were slices of the Angler Fish Liver rolled into sausages since I have tasted it before, they didn't taste as heavy as the raw one but had the juicy oily flavour still present. Still wondering what the mushroom was supposed to substitute for but they were okay on this dish.








Oh, and I got a pair of knife and fork to carve the radish box, which I never used thanks to my handy dicey chopsticks. (Yeah, that is the pair of cutlery that I got, not that I have used it at all)






Main Courses: Grilled Wagyu Sirloin Marinated In Soya Bean Paste, Grilled Yellowtail with Herb Cheese and Tomato, Japanese Yam with Sea Urchin, Garlic Pumpkin, Foie Gras Sushi & Assorted vegetables (chestnut & lotus root crisps)
It feels like you go around the world with this dish.
Starting with the Yellowtail, the herb cheese and tomato was overpowering the meat which finally penetrates your tongue at the end. You get the overall impression of have a lasagne, very very Italian.

On to the Yam with Sea Urchin, I find myself at another zen-ith because of the sea urchin. wish there was more of the salty sea urchin to flood your sense or have it spread more evenly over the yam. I did managed to get a golden pi bite and it was very good because the mushy yam and mushy sea urchin did blend very well with the mildness of the yam providing a very good canvass for one to savour a different side to the taste of the sea urchin. Yet this one came across as a jacket potato, how very homey.

Moving on to the next piece, the Wagyu. As one would expect, you have no better beef than the Wagyu and Chef Ricky equalled his effort last year. This year, expect thicker cubes of Wagyu, which were softened by Miso and imbued with their flavour and garnished with floss (I am not kidding). Every slice was moist sweetness with the dry floss provides good counter-texture to the meat. One chunk of meat with a floss rolling across your tongue for that delightful enjoyment.

The penultimate dish before the much anticipated Foie Gras sushi, the garlic pumpkin. I have to admit that the garlic was still oily, so each pumpkin slice tasted a bit unbalanced depending on how much garlic is on the slice. It didn't help much that there was a heavy aftertaste of oil in your mouth. Needed a lot of tea to wash down 1 or 2 slices.

At least this made up for the slip up of the garlic pumpkin, my first foie gras sushi. The rice tasted gluty and was very compacted (I really need to grill Chef Ricky on this combination after Googling it on the Internet). With the foie gras fat dribbling over the side and coating the rice, this thing comes in one big package and you need a very very big mouth to eat in one shot (I took two, so me no big mouth). In one bite, you get the melting fat of the foie gras steaming on your tongue while chunks of rice soak up any excess fat so you don't get any heaviness but a good taste of the foie gras. my most distinct impression was that of a decadent chinese rice dumpling.

As for the sides of chestnut (a bomb of sweetness in a tiny package) and lotus root crisp (to die for, death by a million crisp), they were quite good in taking the edge of some of the oiliness of the mains, which you somethings taste as the dish go from light to heavy.

Dessert: Maccha Tiramisu & Grape Fruit Sorbet
The green tea tiramisu was probably the best dessert I have had so far in my history with Iketeru. The bittersweet chocolate roll goes well with the green tea base of the tiramisu (actually it resembles a cheesecake more than a tiramisu). Maybe Secret Recipe can make one for me on my birthday. As for the grape fruit sorbet, it has a very noticeable grape fruit bitter aftertaste but did lighten up my palate after the heavy mains.


Chef Ricky already went back by the time I finished dessert, so no after dinner interrogation about the festival menu. Nevertheless, Chef Ricky opted for less is more and I agreed with him this time. I am so making Chef Ricky pay and his punishment will be a copy of the festival menu with his autograph in it when I visit him later this month.
Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.