The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur
and The Club Saujana Resort
Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang,
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.
Discovering the art of fine food with Australian wine.
IT IS certainly a year for fine food and wine at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur and The Club Saujana Resort as four international chefs have been invited to present an unforgettable gastronomic journey of indulgence.
The chefs, Dany Angove, Philip Johnson, Gottfried Prantl and Yuichi Kamimura, will show off their cooking skills at Senja and The Restaurant through a series of wine dinners and wine appreciation courses.
Not only will gourmets experience great food and wine, these events offer a platform for them to meet celebrated wine makers and professional chefs.
The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur marketing communications manager Michelle Gregory said guests would get the chance to experience various wine regions without leaving their seats.
Last month, Australian celebrity chef Angove from the Gold Plate award-winning Leeuwin Restaurant spent three days treating guests to his exceptional style of cooking that was well matched with a range of Leeuwin Estate wines.
The Ras el Hanout Prawns.
Incorporating imagination, taste and artistic expression onto a plate, Angove’s Fried Cauliflower, Date, Almonds, Pomegranate, Ras el Hanout Prawns proved to be simplicity at its best.
Angove said although the dish was on Leeuwin Restaurant’s menu, it had been tweaked to suit the Malaysian palate with prawns and ras el hanout added to spice it up a notch.
A classic mixture of more than 20 different spices, ras el hanout is used in Moroccan cuisine.
Among the spices are dried pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, rose buds and lavender.
“The ras el hanout adds spice to the dish while the date puree gives a beautiful finish to complement the Leeuwin Estate Art Series Sauvignon Blanc.
The white’s light floral notes with subtle hints of vanilla and cinnamon impresses the palate with delicate savouriness throughout mid palate, revealing depth, texture and length.
“The taste of spice (ras-el-hanout) would have been too strong for the Chardonnay,” Angove said, adding that ras el hanout was also suitable as an ingredient to cook chicken, whole lamb on a spit and vegetables.
The range of wines from the cellars of Leeuwin Estate that were paired with sumptuous dishes.
The Sauvignon Blanc’s versatility was also evident, when paired alongside the Beef Tartare, Quail Eggs, Condiments, Crostini — Angove’s other option for starters.
For this raw flavour, Australian beef was flavoured up with white anchovies, cornichon, capers, Dijon mustard, eschallots, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
An uncooked quail egg, served atop the finely chopped meat are mixed together to bring the items together, with a dash of Tabasco sauce adding heat to the dish.
The delightful plate of Scallop Ravioli, Saffron Broth, Smoked Caviar lightly caressed the tastebuds to reveal a tasty soup.
Biting into the dumpling, you find more than scallop in the pouch.
Angove confirms this, explaining that the scallop mousse and diced prawns in the filling helps heighten the flavour of the light saffron broth.
To dress it up, a teaspoonful of smoked herring caviar on top of the ravioli added elegance.
The Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay with pears, grapefruit and white nectarine on the palate was paired with the soup.
The Fresh Fish, Corn Puree, Roasted Almonds, Fennel, Radish, Coriander Crust (top pic) and Lamb Neck, Loin, Caramelised Tomato, Sprout Leaves were our options for the main course.
“Back in Margaret Valley, Australia, we use barramundi for this dish but as a local replacement, I found seabass an ideal substitute.
“It is firm and sweet, making it a pleasure to cook with.
“We cooked the seabass skin for moisture and flavour and finished it with a dry crust of toasted panko and coriander seed.
The Lamb Neck, Loin, Caramelized Tomato, Sprout Leaves .
“The fish was kept medium rare and served with a corn puree made with butter, and thyme and milk stock, shaved fennel, radish, coriander and toasted almonds.
“Chardonnay is recommended for pairing as it complements the buttery corn puree, fresh fennel and toasted almonds,” Angove said.
The lamb, on the other hand, demands more attention as 16 hours of braising time results in its tenderness and fall off the bone texture.
“We removed the meat from the stock and separated the meat and bone, added seasoning and pressed it overnight so we have a nice firm deboned lamb neck portion.
“The loin is cooked sous vide, finished on the grill and served on an onion soubise,” said Angove.
The savoury and delectable sauce for the dish was a reduction of the braising liquid with beetroot juice, finished off with butter.
The 2010 or 2011 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz’s great depth and intensity, laden with plums, dark cherries and mulberries was Angove’s choice for this dish.
A dessert to remember came in the form of Black Sticky Rice, Coconut Cream, Watermelon Gel and Lychee Sorbet.
To show his adaptability in using Asian ingredients, Angove served Black Sticky Rice, Coconut Cream, Watermelon Gel, Lychee Sorbet for dessert.
Reminiscent of bubur pulut hitam and coconut milk, Angove’s version unveiled a harmonious blend of flavours in the richness of coconut, sweetness of watermelon and refreshing taste of lychee.
The short but sweet encounter with the maestro of Leeuwin Restaurant proved to be a worthwhile experience.
The dinner series will continue on Sept 24 to 27 at The Restaurant with Prantl while Kamimura will unveil his recipes at Senja in October.
For reservations, call 03-7843 1234 ext 6122, email: dine@thesaujana.com or visit www.shr.my.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
