Celebrating Nyonya Flavours with
Adriana Tan
This
month at Melting Pot Café, it’s a
celebration of sumptuous Nyonya cuisine at Concorde
Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Nyonya cuisine has always been renowned for exceptional
balance of robust flavours from its amalgamation of Chinese and Malay heritage.
The used of spices coupled with the tedious preparations that goes into the
cuisine highlight the complexity and effort that goes into the cuisine.
From
March 6 to March 26, 2017, savor a tantalizing spread of Nyonya dishes by Adriana Tan and her husband as well as Asian and
international delights at Melting Pot Café. Guest Chef Adriana was born and
raised in Bukit Baru, Melaka. Passionate about cooking, she began cooking from
her teens and has a small catering business ‘Adriana Nyonya Delights’ that she
and her husband, Ng Joon Tai, runs from their current home in Ayer Keroh,
Melaka. They have been catering to special occasions from small parties to
bigger functions including corporate events. We’ve been told she and her
husband both once catered to over 500 people in a corporate function on their
own.
Chef
Adriana’s homecooked meals are a big hit among her regular family, friends and
customers in Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Her list of Melaka Nyonya
cuisine includes Nyonya Laksa, Mee Siam, Ayam Pong Teh and a kaleidoscope of
colorful and delicious classic Nyonya kuih.
Don’t
miss the gorgeous spread of colorful Nyonya cuisine at Melting Pot Café this
month. Diners should start off with Chef Adriana’s signature Nyonya Laksa that she makes daily from spices
and seafood. She generously shares her secret to her Nyonya Laksa by adding
kerisik to boost up the flavours of the spices as well as to thicken the curry.
Served with yellow noodles, the luscious creamy curry also has squid, prawn,
fish ball and beancurd cooked into the laksa gravy to add seafood flavours to
it. Savor this bowl with the chef’s thick chili sambal and a squeeze of
calamansi lime.
Needless
to say, the Nyonya Laksa is indeed
sublime. Beautiful robust flavours of spices with hints of seafood essence and
lots of deep rich coconut notes summarized the laksa.
Besides
the laksa, there’s also Mee Siam.
Chef Adriana makes everything from scratch. She pounds her spices for the Mee
Siam gravy and cooks it till its well balance with savory and sweet. Her rice
noodles are served quite simple with bean sprout and egg omelette strips as she
prefers to let the flavours of the sauce shines.
Pai Tee, little crispy tophats of pastry
shells filled with cooked yambeans and other vegetables with a smudge of chili,
is simply a must-try from this buffet. There’s also Sambal Timun and Sambal
Mangga to whet the appetite for more Nyonya dishes to try.
Nyonya
cuisine comprises of steamed rice served with a list of main dishes that
includes curries, stews, soups, grilled or sautéed dishes. Every dish is unique
with bold flavours that somehow works well together. In this buffet, diners are
treated to signatures of Chicken Pong Teh,
Asam Pedas Tenggiri with Peria, Sambal Udang Petai, Ayam Tempra, Kari Ayam
Kapitan, Ikan Bakar Gerang Asam, Ketam Bercili, Chap Chye, Telur Cincaluk Kukus
and more.
The
Ayam Pong Teh is delicious! A
chicken stew cooked with tauchu or fermented soy beans with gula Melaka, the
version here is beautifully balance and not overly sweet. The chicken was
tender while the potatoes are soft and creamy, all beautifully soaked up with
the flavours of the sauce.
Ayam Tempra, another dish that utilizes lots of
onions for sweetness, soy sauce for savory, calamansi lime for sourness and
hints of heat from chili, is easy to enjoy.
For
those who love sourish and piquant flavours, there’s Asam Pedas Tenggiri with Peria. Thick cuts of mackerel cooked in tangy
piquant curry gravy are quite addictive and makes one want to pile on more
steamed rice. Chef Adriana adds bittergourd to her recipe for the subtle hints
of the bittersweet vegetable.
The
Ketam Bercili was a big hit with
many that evening including myself. Flower crabs cooked in spiced up dry curry
was a firework of flavours in the mouth. The balance of spices and heat was
just right, allowing the natural sweetness of the crab to come through. A
must-try!
There’s
also Ayam Kapitan curry as well as a
tasty Sambal Udang Petai to pile on
to your rice.
Ikan Bakar Gerang Asam, Chap Chye,
Telur Cincaluk Kukus and
more are also expected to be in the buffet on rotation daily. Besides Nyonya
dishes, there are also lots of other international dishes such as Seafood on
Ice, Grilled Seafood Stations, local and Western dishes as well as soups and
salad.
While
it may be quite a task to not fill up on all those scrumptious main dishes with
rice, one simply must try to save room for Chef Adriana’s desserts of Nyonya
Kuih.
The
list is quite mind-boggling with Abok
Abok Sago, Kuih Abu Sago, Apam Balik Durian, Pulut Tekan & Kaya, Onde Onde,
Rempah Udang, Kuih Bongkong, Kuih Seri Muka, Kuih Kosui Pandan and Kuih Kosui
Gula Melaka, Ang Koo Hitam, Ang Koo Merah, Putugal and more.
These
Assorted Nyonya Kuih are all made fresh daily by Chef Adriana. Not only does
her kuih taste yummy, her kuihs have gorgeous colors, most made using natural
flowers and leaves for color extraction. Her Kuih Abu Sago, Rempah Udang and Pulut Tekan uses the bunga telang for its vibrant blue hues. Her Ang Koo Hitam uses dried daun ramai for
its dark green while the Kuih Seri Muka,
Kuih Kosui Pandan and Onde Onde
uses pandan leaves.
Nyonya
kuihs are tedious treats of sweetness. The balance of flavours and textures are
very important and more of them requires layers of different batters and
ingredients to be amalgamated in harmonious way. Don’t miss out on the
kaleidoscope of Chef Adriana’s Nyonya kuihs in this buffet!
Melting
Pot Café Nyonya Flavours with Adriana Tan
*Available
from March 6 to March 26, 2017
Buffet Lunch 12.00pm to
2.30pm RM80 nett per person
Buffet Dinner 6.30pm to
10.00pm RM110 nett per person
Menu rotates on a daily
basis. Currently Melting Pot Café is offering 25% Discount for buffet and a la
carte. For reservations or enquiries, please call +603 2717 2233 or email to fbkl@concorde.net
MELTING
POT CAFE
Concorde Hotel Kuala
Lumpur
2 Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +603 2717 2233
Fax: +603 2149 2659
Email: fbkl@concorde.net
