Meat Livestock Australia Winners @ Culinaire Malaysia 2019

MLA Golden Bull Culinary Competition 2019 and MLA Iron Butcher Challenge 2019

Culinaire Malaysia 2019 has chefs raising their hats to new heights in the culinary world in Malaysia recently. The annual culinary event has chefs from all over the world battling it out for a series of competitions and challenges that showcases exceptional culinary skills and creativity as well as teamwork. With over 1,500 entries and more than 1,000 culinary professionals at this Culinaire Malaysia 2019, it’s certainly a battle of the chefs vying for the title and bragging rights as well as monetary prizes.

Held at The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the Food & Hotel Malaysia (FHM) 2019 and Culinaire Malaysia 2019 takes placed for the eighth consecutive time from 24 – 27 September 2019. Meat Livestock Australia (MLA), the main sponsor of two major culinary competition, has chefs all over the world taking the Golden Bull Culinary Competition and MLA Iron Butcher Challenge.

The 2019 Golden Bull Culinary Competition has 9 teams of chefs from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, China, Brunei and Taiwan battling it out to curate a 3-course menu featuring the versatility of Australian beef and lamb. Judging criteria includes taste, professional preparation, presentation, mise-en-place and service.

The atmosphere was intense as the teams competed in a four-day competition within a 3-hour battle to produce their menu of beef and lamb by True Aussie Beef and Lamb sponsors Stanbroke, Murray Pure and Thomas Foods.

Tasty Australia Food Festival @ Isetan KLCC

Australia’s Finest Regional Australian Products in Malaysia

Foodies will revel at the return of Tasty Australia this week at Isetan KLCC! For the sixth year, Tasty Australia food festival, a collaboration by The Model Cook and Isetan Malaysia, is showcasing a total of 12 new brands with more than 80 products from South Australia and Western Australia.

From 30 August to 11 September 2019, head over to Isetan KLCC to eat and shop for some of The Model Cook’s traditional best selling25 brands from Australia. Most of these new brands is premiering their products in Malaysia as their first country of export.

The official launch of Tasty Australia was held on 3 September and was graced by the attendance of Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Malaysia, Mr. Michael Growder who officiated the event with Mr. Koji Oyama, Director/Managing Director of Isetan Malaysia. Seven founders/directors of the new brands showcased at this year Tasty Australia were present to meet and greet customers and members of the media, bloggers and special guests to share their brand story.

Spring Garden Restaurant @ Suria KLCC

A New Spring Has Begun

Located in the iconic hotspot of our metropolitan city, Spring Garden Restaurant has just taken on a new spring outlook in KLCC. Under the umbrella of the Tai Thong group of restaurants, Spring Garden takes on fine dining Chinese cuisine served in an elegant and classy ambiance. The restaurant is pork-free and serves up a delectable menu of classic Chinese favorites along with a luscious array of dim sum daily.

The new Spring Garden is a sight of vibrant opulence. Spaciously designed with modern contemporary elegance, the main dining area is set in shades of sky blue and red with injections of natural wood and other natural elements. There are some sections of dining area for diners who wishes for more discrete dining as well as private rooms.

As with most Chinese restaurants, Spring Garden also has live tanks showcasing various seafood.

At a glance, the plush thick menu is filled with tempting photos of beautifully crafted Chinese dishes along with the usual details. The menu is exceptionally large, showcasing Tai Thong Group Executive Chef Simon Lee and culinary team’s vast culinary skills and creativity.

While waiting for our mains to be served, a little sneak peek at the dim sum selections available at Spring Garden took place as palate teasers. The classic must-haves such as Steamed Xiu Mai (RM10.80++) and Tai Thong Superior Har Gao (RM12.80++) won brownie points from our table. The dumplings were well-crafted with tasty notes and essential textures of dim sum.

Crispy Shredded Duck Cheong Fun (RM13.80++) proved that a little twist won’t hurt a classic. The duck in the Cheong fun makes a nice change with its dark rich meat in the dish.

The fried dim sum section holds a tasty list that includes Beancurd Roll with Prawn (RM12.80++) and Taro Dumplings (RM9.80++) among others. Both sufficiently tasty and satisfying as crown favorites in any dim sum feast.

The contrasting black against the golden lava in Steamed Charcoal Buns with Durian and Salted Egg Yolk (RM15.80++) made a lovely sight. The unctuous richness of the durian coupled with salted egg yolk is deliciously divine together with the fluffy bao. If durian is not your thing, then there is also the Steamed Lao Sa Bao Buns with Salted Egg Yolk (RM9.80++).

Moving to the regular Chinese menu, we had an appetizer of Soft-Shell Crab (RM58++/5pcs) served with steamed mantao and a side of aromatic salted egg sauce in a basket. The clever combination of crispy and juicy soft-shell crabs with fluffy mantao pillow drenched with that sublime salted egg sauce is a winning dish with everyone that day.

Spring Garden’s signature of Steamed Fresh Prawns with Minced Garlic and Glass Noodles (RM26++/100g) will certainly impress diners with the glorious sight of large fresh water prawn and its luscious prawn roes. Generously topped with minced garlic, the prawn was gorgeously fresh and sweet. Solid bouncy textures of the meat is laced with garlicky notes.

One should not hold back and go straight for the sinful creamy roes for the ultimate enjoyment of the prawns. Lip-smacking yum!!

While there are many ways to enjoy the various fishes at Spring Garden, the Giant Grouper Steamed Nyonya style (RM25++/100g) is a solid choice for those who loves touches of spicy lemak notes on freshly steamed fish. A dish that goes well with steamed rice, the fish is sublime with fresh sweetness of the tender and smooth flesh.

The Braised Diced Chicken In Hot Pot (RM35++) was decent too in terms of flavours from the meaty chunks of boneless chicken with bell peppers and onions. The unctuous savory note of black bean sauce is the flavour base of the dish and its what made the dish tasty.

A dish that came highly recommended by Executive Chef Simon is the Poached Fried Rice In Superior Broth (RM30++ per portion). This has to be my favorite dish for that day. Chef Simon personally finished the dish and served it that day.

The soothing and warming flavour of the broth with two textures of rice, one steamed and one crispy fried, was superb. Also studded with bits of seafood, every spoonful of the rice soup is utterly heavenly and tummy warming. It’s a dish I can definitely enjoy daily!

Do check out Spring Garden for more dishes as the menu is filled with lots of choices of classic Chinese dishes as well as other creative ones.

SPRING GARDEN RESTAURANT

Lot 413 & 414, Suria KLCC,

Persiaran Petronas,

50088 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2166 9881

Website: www.taithong.com.my/sgklcc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TaiThong/

Business Hours:

Daily 10am to 10pm