Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur: An Evening Under The Stars with The Delightful Darrell J. O’Neill!

A Glimpse of Darrell J. O’Neill!

Some are born to be Chefs while others work hard at becoming one.

From young age, he dreamt of becoming a chef so he could travel the world, meet new people and leave footprints. At a mere age of 10, he cooked his first dish when he helped his mother at home. His passion lies in creating dishes true to themselves and focusing on the fundamentals and freshness. Undeniably passionate about the simplicity of Japanese cuisine and the complexity and flavors in Chinese cuisine, Executive Chef Darrell J. O’Neill was born to be a chef!

Growing up in Down Under Australia, Chef Darrell knew he enjoyed mixing diverse flavors to create fusion dishes, despite being originally trained in French cuisine. A chef of no boundaries, his passion is driven by using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients to create his gastronomic repertoire. With experience of working abroad in UK, France, Hong Kong, Dubai, Africa and Australia, Chef Darrell has gained his proficiency from several Michelin Star restaurants, 7 Star Boutique Hotel and the acclaimed Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. With high respect for Chef Nobu, Chef Darrell echoed the acclaimed chef’s passion and commitment to his cuisine and believed in being hands on with each chef in the kitchen.

That glamorous evening under the stars was gracefully relaxing right from the get go. Despite the bustling city beneath, guests were charmed with beautiful greens swaying among gentle evening breeze while soothing sounds of water are whispered into the background. As we dined by the poolside of Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur, guest settled into the evening with cocktails and mocktails while Chef Darrell proceeded to finished up his luscious array of canapés for our pre-dinner course.

Our dinner menu was invitingly posh and luscious!

Starting off the list of canapés (Left to Right) are Asian Angus Beef Tartar Crostini, Edamame and Mint Gazpacho with Hand Dived Scallops, Chicken Satay Slider with Mango and Coriander Chutney and Cauliflower Espuma with Citrus Lobster and Caviar.

Putting the final touch while flashing a smile, Chef Darrell suavely pumped Cauliflower Espuma into shot glasses filled with chunks of poached lobsters and topping them with a neat spoonful of black caviar.

The Citrus Lobster was sweet and tangy, pairing up well with the creamy cauliflower foam. A popping of black pearl caviars added a luxury feel to this opulent canapé! Equally tantalizing was the spicy Asian minced Angus Beef Tartar sitting neatly on toasty crostini.

Edamame and Mint Gazpacho with Hand Dived Scallops proved to be a favorite among guests that evening! Needless to say, the sweet tender scallops were delectable when paired with the minty Japanese Edamame bean gazpacho. I believed I had a few of this canapé… J

My friends whispered that I must try the Chicken Slider with Mango and Coriander Chutney. A miniscule burger that exuded sweet and sour flavors from the fruity chutney was a pleasant appetizer minus the guilt. Moist, juicy chicken patty inspired with Asian flavors is set to woo hearts of many.

Settling into dinner, we were also treated to a workshop from Chef Darrell where he meticulously plated Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with Shimeiji Mushrooms, Micro Greens and Citrus Dressing.

Pounding the raw beef to thin pieces proved to be an easy task for the chef!

Voila! Thin wagyu pieces were dressed with light citrus dressing while an array of Shimeiji mushrooms, seaweed, asparagus, tomatoes, Edamame and micro greens engulfed the meat artistically. Flavors were light and easy to savor. The tender beef texture was complimented by the array of various textures from its accompaniments. Fleur de sel and sesame seeds completed the dish.

The second main course showcased Black Cod with Sweet Potato and Ginger Mousseline, Baby Beets, Broccolini and Bonito Foam. A fish renowned for milky and firm flaky texture, the black cod was indeed smooth and luscious. Tasting a little hint of miso, this one is a tribute to Chef Nobu’s infamous cod dish. I adored the silky and creamy sweet potato and ginger mousseline while tangy beets lifted the flavors to another level. My favorite dish of the night!

Finishing off the evening was a demonstration of Chef Darrell whipping up a liqueur Sabayon and dressing up his dessert of Modern Coconut Tarfuto with Kahlua!

Obviously skilled at making Sabayon, I could not resist catching the chef at work… J

The dessert was layered with cubed mango followed by coconut ice cream, top with a three liqueur Sabayon and finished with a chocolate and gold disc. Pour in hot coffee for an aromatic finished, the dessert was every bit as sinful as it sounded. I wanted more of this and so did others…

Ending on a sweet note was some French Macarons flavored with an Asian twist!

Check out Chef Darrell’s creations as he will spear head the food and beverage outlets’s menu at Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur at Serena Brasserie and Lobby Lounge! He will also be working closely with the Executive Chinese Chef at Toh Lee on the menu concept and will ultimately bring the Chinese Cuisine to a new level.

Now that you had a glimpse, stay tuned for more exciting dining adventures from The Delightful Darrell J. O’Neill!

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

165 Jalan Ampang.

50450, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 603 2782 6188

Email: foodandbeverage@intercontinental-kl.com.my

Website: www.intercontinental-kl.com.my

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/intercontinental.kualalumpur

Celebrate a Merry GUINNESS® Christmas with MasterChef Adam Liaw’s Bold New Flavors!

I have been a MasterChef fan ever since I saw the series on Astro and I was exceptionally thrilled to be able to meet with Australian MasterChef Season 2, Adam Liaw with my foodies recently! J

 

GUINNESS® has a long association as the perfect combination with food. For generations, GUINNESS® has been used to intensify flavours, add depth, enhance texture and when it boils down to it, just make good food tastes great. Building on this heritage, GUINNESS® launched its 2011 Merry GUINNESS® Christmas campaign with a culinary display by MasterChef Adam Liaw, winner of MasterChef Australia Season 2. The celebrity chef unveiled 8 bold new Yuletide GUINNESS®-infused recipes that will be featured in participating Merry GUINNESS® outlets throughout the month of December!

More than 150 invited guests including chefs from participating Merry GUINNESS® outlets nationwide were present at the launch as the MasterChef himself prepared his specially crafted GUINNESS® infused Christmas recipes for guests. 25 lucky GUINNESS® Facebook fans also won the chance to be part of this exclusive event and were among the first to be treated to his specially crafted Merry GUINNESS® Christmas menu. I was one of the lucky ones to be able to participate in this event!!

I arrived early and sneaked around for some pictures of the venue & of course enjoyed my brew of black gold… GUINNESS® with Choi Yen!

To be able to see the black liquid run through tap to form the gold foam is sweet!!

A bevy of GUINNESS® Merry-Rinas!

Catching up with ‘Charlie’ & his Angels… he he he! J

The event hall opened and we were greeted by jolly Christmas Carolers with their “Fa la la la la la….”

Peter Khemlani, Marketing Manager of Guinness® Malaysia said: “If you were to ask anyone what Christmas is best known for, they’ll definitely tell you, it’s the great food! And GUINNESS® has been synonymous with great food for decades, especially during the festive season. So this year, we wanted to share the bold flavours of Guinness-infused cuisines with our consumers. We are excited to have Masterchef Adam design these unique recipes especially for you this Christmas. So do come and celebrate great food and good times with us this Christmas.”

Left to right: Mr. Peter Khemlani, Marketing Manager of GUINNESS®; MasterChef Adam Liaw; Tiffany Chew, Corporate Communications Manager of Guinness Anchor Berhad flanked by the lovely GUINNESS® Merry-rina’s at the launch of the MERRY GUINNESS® 2011 Christmas campaign.

What a sight! The grand ballroom at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur was elegantly decorated with its theme of black & gold while the center was an island for MasterChef Adam’s cooking demo of his GUINNESS® inspired recipes… J

"GUINNESS® has a bold and distinctive flavour that marries well with both sweet and savoury tastes, whether used as an ingredient or simply enjoyed together as part of a great meal. I've tried to capture the unique taste and texture of GUINNESS® in each of these dishes, and hope you all enjoy them as much as I have. I am so glad that GUINNESS® has given me this opportunity to create these special dishes for all my Malaysian fans this Christmas." said MasterChef Adam Liaw at the launch.

MasterChef Adam Liaw’s GUINNESS®-inspired Recipes

After the cooking demo, Adam & the GUINNESS® Management group for photos to unveil the Christmas menu!!

Left to right: Ms. Tiffany Chew, Corporate Communications Manager of Guinness Anchor Berhad; Mr. Peter Khemlani, Marketing Manager of GUINNESS® and MasterChef Adam Liaw, accompanied by the Merry-rina’s, unveiled the 8 bold new Yuletide GUINNESS®-infused dishes that will be featured throughout the month of December.

Left to right: Ms. Tiffany Chew, Corporate Communications Manager of Guinness Anchor Berhad; MasterChef Adam Liaw; Mr. Peter Khemlani, Marketing Manager of GUINNESS®  and the trade partners accompanied by the Merry-rina’s, toast for a merry good time.

And here comes the journey of our Merry GUINNESS® dinner!! J

Farmhouse Terrine with GUINNESS® Mustard was a favourite pick among our foodies! The terrine was gorgeously shaped and features a whole egg set inside. What I love about this dish is the GUINNESS® mustard which was sweet and full of bite when savoured with the terrine and crispy toast. Divine!!

Oysters with GUINNESS® Cream had me salivating while Adam was demonstrating it earlier so when these arrive, I was excited at the aphrodisiac mollusc. The GUINNESS® cream was a Zabaglione or Sabayon but infused with GUINNESS® which was absolutely rich and luscious to my lips. Love this with the fresh oysters as the whole combination slithered down my throat with lusciousness… J

Gravad Lax with Dill Honey Mustard had great combinations of salty and sweetness as pieces of smooth cured salmon was enjoyed with sweet course mustard, yielding a myriad of flavours and textures.

We also savoured a hearty golden Roast Pumpkin Soup with Julienne Smoked Duck. The thick bisque was fairly sweet with its aroma of the distinctive pumpkin while strips of duck added some texture and savouriness to the bisque. A hearty soup with Pumpkin Seed Bread… J

GUINNESS® BBQ Wings with Apple Slaw rated average for me. Although wings were nicely flavoured, it didn’t impress me as much as the other dishes did. I like my wings crispy and juicy inside. Apple slaw was great though as the flavours were tangy and texture was crunchy.

Our mains showed up and the first was a pretty looking array of miniature pies of Open GUINNESS® Lamb Shank & Mushroom Pie with Champ & Watercress Salad. This dish was awesome as the lamb shank filling was bursting with a wonderful savory aroma while the vol-au-vents were crispy and light, contrasting beautifully with the stew. I also liked the Irish mashed potato called champ as it was savory and delicious with the pie. I don’t mind savoring a few of these delectable pies… J

GUINNESS® Butter Roasted Chicken was absolutely stellar! Tender and moist, the chicken was roasted and finished with a GUINNESS® whipped butter… tell me what dish is not awesome especially drench in a butter sauce?? Slightly sweet from the malty GUINNESS®, I am definitely making this recipe for this Christmas for my family!!! (Email me if you want the recipe J)

Crispy Squid with Chili GUINNESS® Salt was similar to our Chinese dish of salt & pepper but had the additional aroma of malt from the GUINNESS® salt. I have to admire Adam for this to even come up with GUINNESS® salt!! GUINNESS® salt is made from reducing GUINNESS® to a super thick paste and drying it out under slow heat in the oven as advised by Adam himself. Strips of juicy and tender squid were nicely hinted with speckles of the salt mixture which lends a savoury edge to the cephalopods.

Our next main of Turkey Roulade with Chestnut Stuffings, Giblets & Cranberry Sauce exudes the spirit of Christmas in all its glory! The roulade was a bit bland in flavour but when doused with the giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, it was quite lovely and moist.

After some entertainment, look who I met... The Shepherdoo Team! Check out their restaurant here.

After our delectable mains, we also had a cocktail demonstration by Keith from GAB Academy. He introduces two unique cocktails concocted with GUINNESS® for a matching his and her cocktails! There was some flaming actions going on too but I couldn’t catch it in time because he was just so fast. Bartenders or Mixologist (as they are called nowadays) makes the art of concocting cocktails looked so easy peasy… J

With the demo concluded, our desserts arrived with a list of Christmas favourites!

Sweet GUINNESS® Damper with Blackberry Maple Compote was my favourite dessert that night. A Damper is an Australian soda bread which as a dense and slightly moist texture (probably that’s why it’s called a damper.. duh! J). It’s quite flavourless but when enjoyed with the blackberry maple compote and ice cream, it was delicious, sweet, creamy and tangy all at once! J

What’s Christmas without GUINNESS® & Fruit Christmas Pudding? Technically called fruit cake, this version inspired by Adam is doused with GUINNESS® and is a mixture of a variety of dried fruits. Fruit cakes can be kept up to more than a month as it taste better the longer its kept for the flavours to meld together.

The Christmas Pudding is filled with dried fruits and one should savour this with a spoonful of vanilla cream to exude a creaminess to the pudding. Moist and sticky, I thought it was a bit too sweet for my liking but was told that this dessert is usually quite sweet.

We also enjoyed Christmas Mince Pies, a British pie served usually during Christmas. The pie has a filling of meat, dried fruits and spices encased in pastry. Another dessert too sweet for my liking… J

What I do like is the Black Forest Pudding with Cream Cheese Frosting! Chocolate overload here but in a good way and the cream cheese was yummy against the chocolate.

My first Christmas celebration this year and what a fabulous start! MasterChef Adam showed a cheerful and bubbly character that I could understand how he managed to capture quite an audience that night. Adam’s GUINNESS® inspired menu truly captures the Christmas spirit and I am glad to be part of the experience. You can too through the month of December!

Merry GUINNESS®… Ho Ho Ho!!

As part of the month long festivities, GUINNESS® Malaysia will also be hosting 5 Merry GUINNESS® Christmas parties at the following venues:

1. El Meson Spanish Restaurant & Tapas Bar, Bangsar, 13^th December 2011

2. Jarrod & Rawlins, AMPWALK, Ampang, 15^th December 2011

3. Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, Bangsar, 17^th December 2011

4. Market Hall, Bukit Bintang, 21^st December 2011

5. Souled Out, Ampang, 24^th December 2011                 

The Merry Guinness Parties will feature a delectable spread of great food inspired by MasterChef Adam’s scrumptious recipes. Be prepared to feast your senses on more than 30 delectable Christmas dishes, great music, fun activities paired with incredible promotions on pints of your favourite black brew!

Besides the 5 Merry GUINNESS® Christmas parties that will be taking place, 85 participating outlets nationwide will also be featuring some of MasterChef Adam’s appetizing Christmas menu. As part of the Christmas promotions, every purchase of MasterChef Adam’s mouth-watering cuisine will entitle consumers to a GUINNESS® at a special festive price.

The Merry GUINNESS® nationwide promotion will also be available in more than 2,000 pubs and bars across Malaysia. For every six pints of GUINNESS® draught or one bucket of GUINNESS® Foreign Extra Stout purchased at participating outlets, consumers will receive a free limited edition GUINNESS® money clip. These elegant money clips make a perfect addition to your Christmas stockings this festive season.

So whether gathering with friends or family this Christmas, there’s certainly no better place to celebrate good times with great food than at a participating Merry GUINNESS® outlet. For more information on Merry GUINNESS® this festive season, be sure to check it out on www.facebook.com/guinnessmalaysia.