Freebie Friday winner

Congratulations to NADZ who is the winner of the Grab Your Fork and Alio Freebie Friday competition. NADZ has won two tickets to a pasta-making class with head chef and co-owner Ashley Hughes at Alio.

Missed out this time? Don't forget to enter the Freebie Friday competition to win a $50 gift hamper from Bundaberg. Entries close Saturday 5 June at 5.30pm.

Unfortunately there'll be a small lag in posts this week due to a pc meltdown (power supply). Argh. Replacement parts are being sought asap. Writing a post on an iPhone is finicky to say the least!

The Manse Restaurant, North Adelaide with Stephanie Alexander

"The garden," Stephanie Alexander explains, "is a magical place."

On our recent trip to Adelaide for Tasting Australia, Billy and I find ourselves at The Manse for a Petit Degustation with Stephanie Alexander.



We'd walked past The Manse at first. Tucked away in a leafy side street in north Adelaide, Billy and I have to double-back when we realise we should have turned left a block before.

The Manse is housed in a former mansion, a beautiful old building that sits amongst a carpet of fallen autumn leaves. We follow the narrow path up to the small and darkened doorway. It's opened by a smiling waitress who quickly leads us to our own table, a room that's one part austere to two parts baroque. Gilt-edged mirrors, Italian chandeliers and a backdrop of black patterned wallpaper add colour and dramatics.

Halfway through lunch, Stephanie takes the microphone and tells the assembled diners about the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Foundation, an initiative set up to provide pleasurable food education in government primary schools.



It's one thing to read about the success of the Kitchen Garden Foundation. It's quite another to see its founder speaking with fervour and heartfelt passion about what the program means not just to her, but to the school kids that get involved each year.

The Kitchen Garden Foundation is the only school-based gardening program that is fully integrated into the learning curriculum. It involves primary school children tending a productive organic fruit and vegetable garden, one that is not a small patch, but measuring a sizeable 800 square metres.

A homestyle kitchen is where kids learn how to cook the fruits and vegetables they have grown. The kids -- in primary school years three to six -- spend 45 minutes in the garden and 1.5 hours in the kitchen every week.

Lessons are taught by specialists, not teachers, but accompanied by teachers and volunteers. The success of the program has been phenomenal. There are currently 45 participating schools in Victoria and 88 across Australia, a total of 18,000 kids per week. By 2012 it is hoped that 250 schools will be involved in the program, a total of 30,000 kids per week.


Pamplie French butter

There is no shortage of schools wanting to be involved, but the issue, as always, is funding. The $60,000 government grant to schools can be used for infrastructure only, and not toward the two part-time specialists. The salaries for the part-time gardener and cook will cost schools about $50,000 per year.

Successful schools put their heads together and find creative ways to raise funds. It requires a committed principal, a convinced school council and a supportive community, Stephanie says.

The children are encouraged to design their own gardens, and often beds are in the shape of circles or stars with winding paths between them. The children are encouraged to see the garden as a place of observation, investigation and discovery, as well as a source of food.

The reward is significant. The children plant, grow, make pasta, cook lunch and learn how to share meals and enjoy with friends. Parents in particular comment that their children's behaviour changes, as they become more interested in cooking and shopping.

Stephanie even relates how one mother said she came home one day saying she was too tired to cook dinner, to which her son replied, "Don't worry, I'll whip something up, Mum."


Sunflower seed with leek soil and Meredith chevre
paired with 2005 Chandon Blanc de Blanc, Yarra Valley

In hindsight, then, it seems appropriate, that our first course has been designed to resemble a small garden pot, a sunflower seed mousse that is scattered with leek soil and two carefully placed microgreens that look to be sprouting forth.

The leek soil tastes of toast crumbs, a pleasing sense of crunch against the smoothness of the mousse. Hidden at the bottom is a large chunk of Meredith chevre, perhaps a little too big as by the time you reach it, there is nothing left to temper its distictive sharpness.

I'd already finished my entire bread roll, the accompanying pat of Pamplie butter so smooth and creamy I practically put slices of it onto my bread.


Whipped foie gras with almond, tarragon and grape
paired with 2007 Simmonet-Febvre Chablis, France

Our second course is another beautifully plated dish, a trail of quenelles and foams scattered with almond crumbs and carefully placed micro leaves. The whipped foie gras is so light and airy it dissolves on the tongue. The presence of foam seem a little outdated but the cloud of cucumber does refresh the palate.


Pink snapper with noodle, cabbage consomme and cashew nut
paired with 2000 Will Taylor Semillon, Hunter Valley, NSW

Pink snapper arrives with a fitting pink background, a pink sticky syrup painted on the plate.


The pink snapper plate before the pouring of soup

The pink snapper initially arrives without the soup, a second waiter follows not long behind with a pitcher of warm consomme. The tableside pouring adds a lovely sense of theatrics and attentiveness.


Pouring on the cabbage consomme


Broken glass noodles on the Jasper Conran spoon

The snapper is firm, if a touch overdone, but we relish the sweetness of the cabbage consomme. The glass noodles are pretty but their short lengths make them difficult to retrieve with both the shallow bowl and the elegant Jasper Conran spoon. I manage to finish all my noodles and the soup regardless - where there's a will, there's a way!


Rangers Valley grade 5 sirloin and brisket with onion, peanut and radish
paired with 2008 Syrahmi Maelstrom Shiraz, Heathcote, VIC

Our final savoury dish is an interesting mix of components. A square of grade 5 sirloin is juicy but both Billy and I refer the plaque of brisket even more, pan-fried to a delightfully fatty crisp. Onion cups are a clever idea although I think the peanut sauce inside them tends to overwhelm the flavour of the beef. A tumble of toasted rice and barley add nuttiness and texture, thin slivers of radish add bite.


Lemon mousse with meringue, honeycomb and
lemon gelato with fizzy pink lemonade

Dessert is a substitution from the original menu. It had been a busy week for The Manse who had catered for the Lifestyle FOOD Channel Australian Regional Competition two nights before, as well as a media dinner at Sparrow Kitchen. We'd attended both and noticed similarities in the menu and plating.

The Manse had also swept the awards at the Regional Competition, winning best entree, best main, best dessert and best region in a day-long cook off featuring teams of two chefs and one apprentice. It was the first time one restaurant had won all three courses, and host Joanna Savill reassured the gathered assembly that the blind judging for each coures was done by three distinct and non-conferring panels.

We're disappointed we don't get a chance to try the planned dessert of "chocolate textures, liquorice, blueberries, honeycomb" but find solace in the lemon, passionfruit and raspbery tribute. The lemon mousse is light, the splinters of honeycomb are sweet and the pink lemonade sprinkles pop and crackle on the tongue.

Grab Your Fork dined at The Manse as a guest of South Australia Tourism.

>> Read the next South Australia 2010 post
(Enoteca Restaurant with Antonio Carluccio)

< Read the first South Australia 2010 post
(lunch with Maggie Beer and Rosemary Shrager)




View Larger Map


The Manse
142 Tynte Street, North Adelaide
Adelaide, South Australia
Tel: +61 (08) 8267 4636


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
South Australia - Adelaide Central Market
South Australia - Enoteca Restaurant, Adelaide with Antonio Carluccio
South Australia - Maggie Beer's Farm Shop with Rosemary Shrager + Maggie Beer

Malaysian street food, stingray and durian - Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur

Forget about fancy restaurants. The most exciting food in Malaysia is found on the street. You won't find fancy decor, mood lighting or crisp tablecloths. It's purely about the food. Food cooked in a furious fashion, served on plastic plates, and eaten whilst standing, or - if you're lucky - perched on a plastic stool that teeters precariously on the side of the road.


Jalan Alor

In Kuala Lumpur's former red light district you'll find Jalan Alor, a wide shopping street to converts to a seemingly endless stretch of food stalls and open air restaurants by night. The air is thick with charcoal smoke, men fan away furiously at satay grills of chicken and beef skewers, and the metallic clang of woks punctuates the air. It's a cacophony of activity, with locals inspecting mangosteen tied together with plastic twine, diners at rickety plastic tables spilling their way across the street, and an occasional car slowly and cautiously making its way through the tide of people.

Competition is fierce, and entrepreneurial staff are not hesitant in encouraging you to sit down.


Satay stall


Open air restaurants


Fruit stall

We find ourselves at Jalan Alor on our first evening in KL, a late night stop for dessert that inevitably turns into supper. For whilst we are seated at Syarikat Makanan Salai Kiew Brothers, Billy explains that our waiter will happily collect food from any nearby stall at our request. This means that whilst our desserts are being prepared, the waiter ducks off to order and obtain the hawker snacks we suddenly find ourselves craving.


Rojak

Our order of rojak arrives to a look of pointed disappointment by Billy. There's not enough shrimp paste in the sauce, he bemoans, and there are no crackers or bean sprouts or tofu either, he wails. I'd been craving this dish as soon as we landed in Malaysia, so I relish this regardless, the tumble of tart green mango, sweet pineapple slices and angled wedges of juicy cucumber smothered in a sauce that is salty, fishy and sweet. We stab at it with long toothpicks, the heat from the chilli coming through in sporadic bursts, tempered by the delicate crunch of toasted sesame seeds.


Grilled chicken wings RM2.20 each (about AU$0.80)

The grilled chicken wings have been cut in half, and I leap on the wing tip side. It's a simple soy marinade, the edges slightly blackened from the charcoal grill.


Chicken and beef satay RM0.70 each (about $0.25 each)

Satay skewers are a revelation. There's only a small mouthful at the end of each skewer, but the chicken and beef are each so amazingly tender, and a little smoky in flavour from the charcoal grill. We baptise them in a pool of satay sauce, alternating bites of the meat with the cool refreshment of cucumber and red onion chunks.


ABC ais kacang RM4.50 (about AU$1.65)

And alongside this all, we feast on our desserts that double as drinks. Ais kacang is sweet with gulaka melaka, a syrup made from palm sugar that has a browned toffee undertone. Grass jelly, red beans, palm seeds and toasted peanut are a rubble of textural contrasts.


Cendol RM4 (about AU$1.45)

Minh and I have to wait a little longer for our cendol, the slippery worms of pandan flavoured noodles that quickly turn into frozen pellets beneath the mountain of shaved ice, cooked red bean and river of gula melaka.


Restoran Meng Kee Grill Fish

We find ourselves at Jalan Alor the following night, this time keen to enjoy a proper dinner. Billy is happy to stop at the first restaurant on the street, but Minh and I are in mutual agreement: try to avoid eating at the first restaurant on the street. Surely things get better somewhere towards the middle?

We simultaneously choose Restoran Meng Kee Grill Fish, it's not just in the middle but it's overflowing with locals. The crowds mean we end up at a table inside the tiny restaurant, and whilst this means we're separated from the hubbub of street activity, we're grateful for the relief of air-conditioning.


Plastic plates and chopsticks

If there was one thing I noticed about eating in Malaysia, it was the plastic plates and chopsticks. Light, durable and almost impossible to break, I loved that our plates and chopsticks came in a rainbow of colours that made every meal seem like a kids party.


Pineapple juice and calamansi lime drink RM$3.50 (about AU$1.30)

Our drinks come in plastic tumblers too. Thick walled and sturdy, they arrive with straws and plenty of ice. Calamansi lime drinks soon becomes a firm favourite, the small citrus fruit is the size of a cumquat and green inside and out. The miniature lime is both sour and sweet, creating a drink that is thirst-quenching and refreshing.


Fried oyster egg RM12 (about AU$4.35)

Our dishes arrive almost all at once, and we dig in eagerly. Fried oyster egg is a significantly different take on the oyster omelette I'd tried in Singapore late last year. The omelette is thin and crispy, almost a lattice at the edges, and the oysters are plump and briney. Fresh coriander leaves add liveliness and we dip fragments into the accompanying chilli sauce.


Grilled tofu RM12 (about AU$4.35)

The grilled tofu is infinitely more tasty than its appearance would first have you believe. Julienned strips of carrot, green mango and cucumber are dressed with a spicy shrimp paste sauce and then sandwiched between two fat layers of superbly crunchy tofu puffs.

The earth-shattering crunch of the tofu is more like an airy cracker, and an ideal receptacle for the saucy filling. On our exit later, I notice the tofu being toasted over flames in the makeshift kitchen outside.


Toasting the tofu


Fried sambal chilli lala RM20 (about AU$7.30)

Fried sambal chilli lala are the local version of pipis. The saucy is spicy, a heady mix of garlic, chilli, shrimp paste and sugar, that we scrape at with our teeth, enjoying the small pockets of flesh and licking the shells clean in the process.


Grilled stingray fish RM25 (about AU$10.90)

Stingray isn't a dish commonly encountered in Australia, and in our pursuit of local delicacies we order this with enthusiasm.


Stingray flesh

Cooked simply on a grill, we're all impressed by the delicacy of the flesh, soft and sweet and flaking easily into distinctive ribbons. Its succulence reminds us of eel and the skin is fatty and delicious.


Fried kueh teow RM5 (about AU$1.80)

Fried kueh teow is a snack-sized serve, the slippery rice noodles wok-tossed with omelette and bean sprouts.


Fried sambal chilli four angle bean RM12 (about AU$4.35)

Our vegetable dish is the four angle bean fried with sambal chilli. Sometimes called a wing bean, it's known as kacang botol in Malaysia. The glossy green vegetable has the texture and taste of asparagus, and its elongated surface area is perfect for holding generous amounts of spicy sambal sauce.


Cooks in the outdoor kitchen

Dessert is back up the hill at Syarikat Makanan Salai Kiew Brothers. The hot steamy night calls for a round of ais kacang and cendol.


ABC ais kacang RM4.50 (about AU$1.65)
[Billy likes ais kacang]

And because food bloggers can never say to more food, we find ourselves joining the throngs around the durian stalls.


Choosing the best durian

It's only the start of the durian season - the fruits are quite small and prices are still somewhat expensive by local standards. The air is pungent with the distinct smell of durian and it only whets my appetite. Sure it's an acquired taste but like all the divisive foods in life - oysters, blue cheese, to start with - once you're addicted, you can never get enough.


Opening durian

Our durian is expertly opened and then delivered to our table with an entire packet of serviettes. Creamy, sweet, floral and buttery, we extricate the butter yellow pods with our fingers and relish its flesh.


Durian RM19 [RM16/kg] (about AU$6.90)

Unlike the frozen durian imported into Australian from Thailand, fresh Malaysian durian has a slightly drier consistency. Without the soggy wetness of a defrosted durian, the flesh peels off in strands, and I find the flavour a little milder.

We exit Jalan Alor, picking up a string of fresh mangosteen along the way (RM12 or about AU$4.35/kg). Behind us the crowds carry on eating as plumes of smoke billow up toward the sky.

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Klang Bak Kut Teh and Batu Caves)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)

View Larger Map

Restoran Meng Kee Grilled Fish
39 Jalan Alor
(opposite Wisma City Tower)
50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 9283 4523

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Sunday 6pm - 3am
(closed on Tuesdays)

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Klang Bak Kut Teh and Batu Caves)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)

~~~

FREEBIE FRIDAY WINNERS

Congratulations to the winners of the Freebie Friday competition to win a magic Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs umbrella. There were so many mouthwatering entries! Congratulations to atv, Chocaholic, pristine, Jenny C and jmnash.

Don't forget to enter the other competitions still open. Remember you can enter once per day as long as each answer is different.

• Win two tickets to a pasta-making class at Alio (Entries close Mon 31 May)
• Win a Beerenberg gift hamper worth AU$50 (Entries close Sat 5 June)

A Malaysian Food Tour - Food Blogger Style

Petronas Towers

I'm back!

After a week in Adelaide, there was only a day-and-a-half to do laundry and re-pack for a 16-day holiday to Malaysia and Thailand. Along for the ride - foodbloggers Billy, Minh and Simon along with The Pom and Yewenyi.

It was my first trip to Malaysia, a vibrant melting pot of Chinese, Indian and Malay people with a cuisine that includes influences from China, India, Thailand and Indonesia.

We arrive in Kuala Lumpur mid-morning, our cheap Air Asia flight involving a circuitous route via Melbourne. We exit the airport, past the McDonalds selling ayam goreng fried chicken, and past the crowds sipping teh tarik sweet pulled tea at Old Town White Coffee, and walk straight into a wall of humidity that makes our bodies slump and our arms prickle with stickiness.

The taxi ride to our hotel takes us through a whirlwind of images, a collision of contrasts that includes skyscrapers, rickety vendor carts, palm trees and temples. Families of four crowd onto a single motorbike, outdoor markets bustle with activity, pandanus leaves grow on the side of the street. And whilst we seek refuge in the air-conditioned comfort of our taxi, the locals hurry on, dressed in jeans and long sleeves, oblivious and unperturbed by the stifling heat and relentless humidity.


Fountains near the base of the Petronas Towers

If there's one thing that symbolises Kuala Lumpur, or KL, it's the Petronas Towers. Completed in 1998, they remain the tallest twin buildings in the world, and dominate the city skyline. You can spot them from almost everywhere. From a distance, they are impressive, two powerful monuments made of glass and steel connected by a small but distinct observation deck. Up close, they are even more fascinating, a gleaming repetition of angle and curves that shimmer in the afternoon sun.

Billy tells us that the locals call the Petronas Towers the Corn Cobs, or Coin Stack Towers, their graduated structure really do look like towers of coins. The Towers also featured in the 1999 film Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.


Nasi lemak with ayam goreng RM8 (about AU$2.90)
with teh halia ginger pulled tea RM1.70 (about AU$0.60)

We grab a late lunch at Suria KLCC, the shopping centre located near the base of the Petronas Towers. The food court offers a more upmarket version of the hawker-style food courts, but even then, the prices are still jaw-droppingly cheap. With a current exchange rate of roughly 3 ringgit to one Australian dollar, the local staple of nasi lemak - coconut rice with fried chicken, boiled egg, cucumber, sambal spicy sauce, peanuts and crispy fried anchovies - equates to less than AU$3.


ABC ais kacang

At the Just Desserts stall, the boys opt for ais kacang, colloquially known as ABC which stands for air batu campur. Air batu translates as "stone water" or ice, in Malay, and campur means mixed. Ais kacang translates as ice bean in Malay. Beneath the mountain of ice drizzled with rose syrup and creamed corn is a mixture of red beans, palm seeds and cool cubes of glossy black grass jelly. The consistency of the ice here is significantly finer than the ones you will find in Sydney, the ice made by a hand-operated ice shaver that creates soft crystals that melt instantly on the tongue.


Red ruby RM4.20 (about AU$1.50)

I spot the red ruby on the menu and order it immediately. The red rubies are in fact small chunks of water chestnut that have been tinted red, dusted with tapioca flour and then boiled. The result is a slightly starchy chewiness that gives way to a crunchy waterchesnut centre.

The dessert has its roots in Thailand where it is traditionally served with coconut milk and poetically described as "pomegranate seeds". In Malaysia, these shiny red rubies are piled on top of shaved ice, scattered with slices of jackfruit and splashed with salted coconut cream. It's cool, refreshing, rich and sweet, all at the same time.



Keen to explore Hakka cuisine, we catch a taxi that evening for dinner at Hakka Restaurant. Strings of fairy lights cascade from the steel support beams, and whilst there is seating inside the air-conditioned restaurant, most people opt to sit outside, beneath the glow of Chinese red lanterns and the distant city skylights twinkling overhead.


Patrons at Hakka Restaurant


Steamboat being delivered by trolley


Homemade Hakka noodle RM20 (about AU$7.30)

We order a mixture of dishes, the tofu with minced prawns, mushrooms, chilli and spring onion (RM10 or about AU$3.60) uses fresh tofu made on site, the soft wobbly cubes taking on the saltiness of its surrounding ingredients.

Homemade Hakka noodles have a satisfying chewiness, interleaved with the crunch of fresh bean sprouts and lengths of peppery garlic chives. The signature dish of moi choy kiao pork (RM14 or about AU$5.10 for three pieces) involves thick slices of stewed pork belly - generous with slippery layers of fat - served with preserved vegetables in a thick and sweet black soy sauce.


Bitter gourd RM13 (about AU$4.70)

Herbal chicken (RM20 or about AU$7.30) has been simmered in a fragrant concoction of Chinese herbs and spices. I find myself relishing the bitter gourd dish, slightly undercooked so the vegetable is still crunchy.


Kem Heong style prawn RM30 (about AU$10.90)

Kem Heong style prawns are sweet and succulent, stir-fried in a sticky mixture of dried shrimps, minced garlic and curry leaves.


River white whisker catfish RM60 (about AU$21.80)
(Market price RM70/kg)

Fresh catfish is our splurge of the evening, the whole fish steamed and dressed simply with soy sauce, coriander and chilli. I can't stop staring at its whiskers which are so long they look more like tentacles. When I'm dared to eat them, I take glee in doing so, using my teeth to scape the gelatinous layer off the inedible tendon, and crunching my way through the thinner point at the end.


Petronas Towers by night

We dine beneath the glittering presence of the Petronas Towers, easily spottable through the steel girders overhead. By night, the Petronas Towers come into their own, so powerfully illuminated they take on a white glow. They're a sight to behold, a reference point and calming visual anchor for the sprawling city of KL.


Petronas Towers from the roof-top Luna Bar

The soaring presence of the Petronas Towers means they cannot be escaped from anywhere, even from the Luna Bar on the top floor of the Pacific Regency Hotel. By day, hotel patrons use the roof-top swimming pool but at night the pool is closed and the area converted to a swanky poolside bar, offering members of the public spectacular 360-degrees views of the city from the 34th floor.


Bar stools

At RM30 (about AU$10.90) for cocktails, drinks aren't cheap, but it's a small price to pay for the glamourous surroundings.


Windowside lounges

The windowside lounges tend to be reserved in advance by cosy couples looking for a romantic evening, but we're happy to sit at the bar leisurely nursing our drinks. The only drawback is the open rooftop means there's no escaping the humidity, and despite the crystal blue waters of the inviting swimming pool, we're soon sweltering as though we're in a sauna.

And thanks to Billy's cheeky opportunism, I can say first-hand that the men's bathrooms offer unprecedented views. "Look at the urinal!" Billy says with excitement, and I do, an impressive glass-backed facility that backs directly onto the 34th-floor window.

Whilst the women's bathrooms are lovely, we don't get the same backdrop. Sometimes men have all the luck.

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Street food, stingray and durian)

PS Today is the last day to enter the Freebie Friday competition to win a magic Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs umbrella. Entries close at 5.30pm so hurry and enter now!


Pool-side lounge chair


View Larger Map

Suria KLCC
Jalan Ampang,
50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2382 2828‎


View Hakka Restaurant in a larger map

Hakka Restaurant
6 Jalan Kia Peng
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2143 1907


View Larger Map

Luna Bar
Pacific Regency Hotel Suites, Level 34
Menara PanGlobal, Jalan Punchak
(off Jalan P.Ramlee)
50250 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Tel: +60 (03) 2026 2211

Opening hours:
Mondays to Sundays 5pm - 1am (until 3am on Fri and Sat)

A cover charge of RM50 (inlcudes one drink) may apply on weekends after 9.30pm

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Street food, stingray and durian)