The Kiwi launch party

Was issued an invite to a Hilton event, too bad the timing was a little tight (so missed out on bringing Lemongrass, Kenny, and a few friends to this launch party), in the end it all worked out as I managed to bring 2 cousins along, both of whom were back from Australia and couldn't hide the delight that I received an invitation.

The event was practically a display of who who. We arrived in a nick of time to sample wines (very sweet Rieslings & slightly acidic Pinot Noir) and cocktails (Vodka, not my favourite actually) before the Hilton KL quickly dishes out the Maori performance (and nose rubbing) and a fashion show as featured in the Star.

Since the 3 of us were more concerned with the food, we just made a straight beeline to the stations.

Pepper Crusted Venison on crostini with red pepper and capper salsa.
Fresh cut juicy venison, crunchy crostini, tender salsa. Texture is great but the mishmash of flavour was overwhelming for me. Didn't stop me for going back for seconds & thirds.










Potato rosti with smoked salmon with vanilla butter sauce.

One look and I say 'HEY! THOMAS KELLER!'. I remember seeing a similar dish on Anthony Bourdain's first season when he took viewers to Thomas Keller's restaurant, The French Laundry.

The hit of the overpowering vanilla butter sauce really defines this dish, until the hidden gem of the smoked salmon rolls out onto your tongue to wipe it away and massages an aftertaste into your tongue. Ice cream this is not.




Miso biscuit with duck liver parfait & brandy soaked raisin
I love this finger food, probably more for the 'tart' that I got from the brandy soaked raisins than the duck liver parfait.











reminds me of small quiches, I couldn't even remember their name but they were sweet!!! (in the sense of grilled vegetable, not pure sugar)












New Zealand crayfish with fennel coleslaw
Was okay, not fantastic for me.













New Zealand Paua: Maori potato & kumara fritter on green herb aioli
I suppose this would be the winner of the evening for me. A vegetarian 'veggieball'. Very tasty. Did try to pester the chef for the recipe to make my own veggieballs for pastas. No luck there.









Honey Glazed Duck, blackcurrent compote, sour cream, watercress tips.
My cousins love this dish, they were practically raving about the duck meat here. I do say that I agree with them wholeheartedly.