Ideal Celebrity Chef featuring Blogger Queen Lilian!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Watch out for the final on Monday 2nd August, 2010 at 6 pm on TV3. If you miss it, you can wait for the Youtube version.
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Feringgi Grill, Rasa Sayang Penang
I had dinner with food blogger Lingzie, her brother and my son the other day with the invitation from Feringgi Grill to test out their new menu by Chef Adam.
But what struck me first is how romantic the place is. So, I told Aimee, the PR person that it is the perfect place for couples and also corporate entertaining. The sun was just setting and the hues of the sky is just breathtaking.
Feringgi Grill is in Rasa Sayang Resort and though it has been around for years, this is the first time I stepped foot there. Previously, I thought it must be a very posh and expensive place so I have never ventured.
Suprisingly, the prices are not exactly expensive. Prices of appetizers and soups are around RM20+ while main dishes are around RM40-50+. If you are looking for something more extravaganza and special, they have them too.
Please note the foods shown in my photos here are all sample sizes, i.e. small portions for food tasting. The above is the appetizer which consist of seared scallops, peach chutney and salmon cheesecake.
Chef Adam is an American, young and I suppose have plenty of innovative and fresh ideas for preparing foods. Can I call it crazy? I was like, huh? Salmon? Cheesecake? Serious? But you know what? It turned out very unique. The outer layer is made of crispy muesli. The cheese part is slightly sweet and creamy and that goes well with the savoury salmon.
As the name implies, Feringgi Grill serves grilled foods. It is healthy option, no deep fried, greasy foods. You can view the chef grilling the foods behind the glass pane, so there is no smoky ambience. They have some expensive cuts of meats, so the limit is only your pocket.
Our main dish was a combination of fish and steak. The fish is very fresh and though I am not a fish person, I enjoyed it with the red wine sauce. I saw two interesting items on the menu and will make a second trip to enjoy them. One is duck and the other is beef cheek. Both sounds very exotic to me.
I forgot to mention the soup! I thoroughly enjoyed these miniature cups of soup. I wish every restaurants will do that, give us small portion of different soups. The serving staff told us to start from the right to the left (or is it left to right?). He said that way, we will enjoy the taste even more. So, I started with the carrot and chicken soup which is mild in taste. Then, I moved on to the “She” Crab corn chowder. It is my favourite. Chef Adam named it “She” Crab so I guess the crabs are all girl crabs? The dark coloured soup is Feringgi Grill signature dish, which is Burnt Pumpkin soup with duck dumpling. It has a layer of pandan oil which immediately gives you a nice pandan fragrance.
We get American classic desserts and I love the peanut butter icecream made by Chef Adam. It is really one of a kind, never found anywhere else. Worth making a trip just to enjoy the many varieties of handmade icecream. The classic chocolate lava thingie is call a ‘Bombalai” Can you guess where the name comes from? We made a wrong guess, thinking it is Balai Bomba as in Fire Department. You know why? Because inside is hot, melting lava of chocolate. (read the comment to find out where the name comes from)
We ended with coffee and pralines. By then, I had a little bit too much of red wine so my son quickly dragged me out before I start on my laughing like hyena burst of giggling. Once I start laughing, I cannot stop because everything makes me laugh. So, we thanked Feringgi Grill serving staffs and left with a happy note.
I tell you what? It is definitely a nice place to go with someone special, ask for a nice private corner where you can gaze into the sun setting. They have a couple of singers who will croon your favourite songs. Or ask for a private dining room suitable for 10 pax and have a nice family dinner.
The evening when we were there, there were a couple of tables which are regular dining guests. We could only wonder what they ordered because the serving staffs were doing all kind of stuffs like burning orange peel with brandy or something, mixing all kind of salads and brewing coffee etc.
Did I tell you the good news that Feringgi Grill is offering a 35% discount until the 31st of this month? It is their promo to promote Chef Adam’s new menu. Grab it while you can.
Sunset like this is priceless. So are the companies you spent over a quiet, elegant dinner. The Feringgi Grill is open 6.30 pm till 10.30 pm every day. More details found here on Rasa Sayang website.
Quick bites meals
Gone were the days when I have too much time on hands and spend a long time in the kitchen, meddling with cooking. Lately, I have less time but that doesn’t mean eating out all the time.
The other day, I decided to have party foods for our daily dinner. I baked a fish pie as the main meal. Then, I prepared several snacks.
One of them is cheese sandwiches. It is just mayo, cheese and bread. One of my kid dislike butter so I didn’t bother with it.
I have always love making these tiny deviled eggs but unfortunately, I am not of those who has patience when it comes to cooking. My eldest son said deviled eggs are supposed to be quail eggs, not large chicken eggs. But who cares, it is tasty.
I made hard boiled eggs. Cut into two, take out the yolk, mash and flavour with meat curry powder, salt, pepper and evaporated milk. I added enough milk to make the eggs soft and smooth enough to be piped.
I made a fish pie with pre-made short crust pastry. I have four squares extra. So I opened a tin of chili tuna and turn it into tiny curry puffs. It is really simple. Just put some of the tuna, roll up like a cigar and then, cut into small sizes. Puff pastry will puff if you cut it tinier.
Lastly, the treat is smoked salmon with brie cheese on crackers. The table water cracker is so expensive. Local stores just don’t bother to carry table water crackers anymore. Even brands like Arnotts are not available anymore. Table water is the nicest and easiest complementary thing to turn foods into stylish snacks. What you put on top is up to your imagination.
I am going for another battle in the kitchen. Huge prizes are for the taking. Wish me luck and remember to send good vibes and prayers to me. I need that cos I am probably the least prepared contestant.
I have strong feelings that I shouldn’t focus too much on what to cook. I want to have a relaxing and enjoyable adventure, doing something I am familiar with. Though we have a chance to have some practices at home, I do not want to practise too much, only to be challenged when I do not have the ingredients I am used to. So, I shall have a ‘come what may, I can cook’ attitude and just jump in and put on my cooking mode.
So..did you watch the Ideal Celebrity Chef on TV3?
I forgot to mention that I will be on TV3 on every Monday at 6pm. Yesterday was the promo video. All of us, 10 contestants appeared in that promo clip.
Then, from next Monday, you will be able to catch the cooking contest. There are ten contestants. I am the last one. But in each week episode, a few of us will be featured because we are also the judges of the other contestants’ foods.
Yesterday Ideal Celebrity Chef promo was exciting, lively and I can promise you an interesting 30 minutes series from now till end August, on every Monday at TV3.
Catch it ya? I speak only in Bahasa Malaysia and even my sister said my BM is gooood….. Hehehe.
