Goa by Sapna Anand @ The Ascott Kuala Lumpur

Fabulous Goan Flavours

A self-taught chef who jokes that all she could remember during her school years was what the nuns were cooking in the school kitchen next to her classroom! No stranger to our shores, this pretty renowned chef and TV host, Sapna Anand, is out to introduce Goan cuisine to our fellow foodies with the Soul Society Group.

Goan cuisine is still fairly vague in our culinary industry but Sapna is taking matters into her own hands to tempt our palates on the flavours of the cuisine.

It was simply meant to be when Sapna met with successful owners of Soul Society Group’s Fred Choo and Michele Kwok. The result was Goa by Sapna Anand where a one-off project led to now a sumptuous list of more than 20 Goan dishes and more coming in the menu at this restaurant. Located at The Ascott in Kuala Lumpur, Goa by Sapna Anand shares the same location as Tujo but occupies the top level at the eatery.

Both ladies were present at the recent event to introduce Goa by Sapna Anand along with Sapna’s cookbook New Indian Kitchen signing session one evening. The top level of the restaurant was the perfect ambiance for enthusiast diners to enjoy a leisure dining experience coupled with live music all set in a warm and cozy ambiance.

Healthy Heart with Norwegian Fjord Trout

Celebrate World Heart Day with Norwegian Fjord Trout at AEON

In conjunction with World Heart Day, Norwegian Seafood Council is collaborating with AEON on a month-long campaign from 27 September to 27 October 2019 with ‘Norwegian Fjord Trout for a Healthy Heart’!

Her Excellency Gunn Jorid Roset, the Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia was present to launch the campaign together with AEON management as well as with CVS and HealthifyMe App team.

“From our annual Seafood Consumer Insights, we know that Norway is the preferred country of origin for Malaysians when it comes to purchasing Fjord Trout, Our survey showed that Malaysians are known to choose Norwegian Fjord Trout for its health and nutritional benefits,” said Asbjorn Warvik Rortveit, Norwegian Seafood Council’s Regional Director, South-East Asia. Norwegian Fjord Trout is gradually gaining popularity in Malaysia for its fine quality the fish has to offer. The evident is in the export volumn of fresh Norwegian Fjord Trout that has been increasing from 77 tonnes in 2010 to 1670 tonnes in 2018.

Norwegian Fjord Trout, ocean-farmed in the pristine cold waters in the natural fjords of Norway, has such a unique oceanic clean flavour that can rival the ones of the favorite salmon. In fact, when savored as sashimi, the Norwegian Fjord Trout has such a luscious note along with the melt-in-the-mouth creaminess of the fish due to its beautiful marbling and deep red flesh. 

Best of Hong Kong Cuisine at Zuan Yuan Restaurant @ One World Hotel

Fine Hong Kong Dishes & Organic Village Chicken Promotion for October 2019

For the whole month of October 2019, diners are in for a sumptuous feast from Executive Chef Tommy Choong at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant at One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya. Renowned for fine Cantonese cuisine along with their pork-free dim sum, the restaurant is also perfect with its elegant ambiance decked out in grandeur.

First up, a menu highlighting organic village chicken prepared in several flavours. For a nutritious start, Chef Choong recommends the Organic Village Chicken with Chinese Herbs (RM120nett per bird). A dish that requires a 24-hour reservation as the dish requires slow and long hours of preparation to render the chicken to be beautifully tender and flavourful with the assorted Chinese herbs.

The gravy is not thick as Chef Choong wanted diners to enjoy the delicate and clean flavours of the chicken along with the well-balanced notes of the herbs. It’s a dish that can be enjoyed on its own or with steamed rice!

Other Organic Village Chicken dishes include Steamed Organic Village Chicken with Cordyceps Flower in Bamboo Basket, Poached Organic Village Chicken with Garden Greens & Dried Scallop Sauce, Smoked Organic Village Chicken and Roasted Organic Village Chicken with Black Truffle Paste.

The promotion of the month is priced from RM60nett per half bird and is available for lunch and dinner.

Foodies know that Hong Kong has long been hailed as a gourmet mecca from street food to fine cuisines. Throughout the whole month of October, one only needs to head over to Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant for a taste of Chef Choong’s Hong Kong signatures.

Best Western i-City Hotel Staycation with All You Can Eat Seafood BBQ

Stay & Relax, Enjoy Seafood BBQ and QR Code Room Service and Play at i-City Theme Park

A short weekend retreat, we found ourselves back at the Best Western i-City Hotel for some R&R time with the family. A great place for a simple and affordable Cuti Cuti Malaysia without having to burn a hole-in-the-pocket, Best Western I-City has all the great markings for a family retreat with its nearby i-City Theme Park and Central i-city Mall – the latest mall in Shah Alam.

Its been a year since our last visit and the hotel has certainly been well-kept at a glance. From the moment one walks in, the hotel staff greeted us with warm smiles. We quickly checked into our room but not before stopping to check out a quaint corner where kids can pay RM5 to take a fish to their room for the hotel stay.

We were debating as Crush here was so beautiful with its shiny glowing blue…

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.