Thursday December 14, 2006

Western food with local ingredients

By CHRISTINA LOW
Photos by MOHD SAHAR MISNI

Siau giving a demonstration of sugar art.

The Garden Terrace Coffee House
Swiss Garden Hotel Kuala Lumpur
117 Jalan Pudu
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-21413333
Business Hours: Daily, 6am to 1am

Chef Patrick Siau Chi Yin believes that there are many fresh and dried local ingredients that we just do not think of using when preparing Western food, even though they can be successfully incorporated into the dishes.

Thus, he set out to prepare a special menu featuring local ingredients for more than 90 guests who enjoyed an exclusive dining experience at Swiss Garden Hotel recently.

The evening started with a classic serving of Beetroot Ravioli, which was stuffed with a minimal amount of raisins and walnuts, alongside the Fleur de Imperial white wine.

Next was Siau’s creation of Vietnamese Style 'Cannelloni,' which was a combination of two dishes – a crab cake and a prawn wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper and dipped in Chilli Jam sauce.

“The dish is one of my specialities, in which I have used local ingredients such as bunga kantan (ginger flower) and daun kaduk (pepper leaves),” said Siau.

The dinner continued with the classic French favourites of Duck Confit and Smoked Tomato Consomme before the main courses were served.

The rich Chocolate Mousse.

The first of two main courses was the Air Flown Canadian Cod Fish, which Siau said had no sauce; just a dash of vanilla and milk.

“The fish is lightly pan fried – so that it is not so oily – before it is baked in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes,” he said.

Between the main courses, Siau offered a simple but tastefully strong Lime Ice Cube to refresh the palate before the Lamb Roulade arrived on the table with the Fleur de Imperial red wine.

The lamb was Siau’s winning dish in the recent La Classic Culinary Grand Prix 2006 (Second Edition).

To make the dish different, he sprinkled Fleur de Sel (seasoned sea salt) on the top layer of the lamb.

“Sea salt combines both the saltiness and the sweetness from its natural sources.

Siau's speciality, Vietnamese Style 'Cannelloni'.

“And, as the top layer of the meat has no flavour, sprinkling a bit of sea salt will add sweetness to it,” said Siau.

For dessert, the guests were treated to Chocolate Mousse before the dinner ended with the Whipped Brie de Meaux Cheese, which is made from fresh French cheese, with Sichuan pepper alongside it.

After the eight-course dinner, Siau gave a demonstration of sugar art, which he had learnt in France.

That night, Siau not only managed the kitchen but also had his students from Taylor’s School of Hotel Management assisting him.

“I enjoy bringing my students out to assist me as they all know my style of working, which makes it easier for me,” said Siau, who has been lecturing at the college for four years now.

According to Swiss Garden Hotel Kuala Lumpur marketing communications manager Linda Evelyn Wong, the one-night-only dinner, priced at RM120 ++ per person, was the first collaboration between the hotel and Taylor’s College.

“We have previously worked on other projects, such as offering internships for its students, but this time we wanted to go beyond that by giving our diners a chance to savour specialities prepared by Siau and his students,” said Wong.

She added that the hotel hoped to collaborate with the college on more events in future.