Tuesday, December 16, 2008

How Will I Ever Eat Steak Again, Part II

A few months ago, renowned international photographer invited for an incredible dinner of Prime Rib Roast at his place. The steak was so good, at that point I wondered how I could ever eat the normal run of the mill steak again. So, it was to my utter delight, that over dinner one night, with the crew from the Everybody Loves Raymond group, it was decided that we should all chip in to sample yet another round of artery clogging gorgeous steak.

To my alarm, my get a call 3 days before the dinner, the conversation somewhat as follows:

JI: Hey, FBB, I'm in Bangsar village. Problem la.
FBB: Argh, don't tell me no beef?
JI: Ya, they've run out of the rib roast.
FBB: What about the wagyu rib eye?
JI: Yeah, that was what I was gonna ask you. It's RM190 /kg, you think that'll be okay?
FBB: Aiya, the prime rib oridi RM165/kg ma, sure okay la. Go for it.
JI: Yer shure? The whole thing will cost about RM800!
FBB: Can la can la. I'm sure no one will object.

Truth be told, I've been eyeing that slab of wagyu ever since I laid my eyes on it (not THAT particular slab, but you know what I mean), and was DELIGHTED that there was now an excuse to try it out.

It was a big logistic exercise. Workaholic Young Lawyer and Wife were hosting at their place. WYL Wife had to swing by to collect my roasting pan. She also would prepare a Shepherd's Pie, and Strawberry Trifle, while I offered cake.

Ah, the aroma of the roasted steak filled the air of a VERY LARGE kitchen, making me weak at the knees as I inhaled that fragrance.

There it was, crusted in black pepper and coarse salt. What was once part of a beer fed massaged cow, was now sitting on a roasting pan, waiting to be consumed.....

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A good meat thermometer is crucial. The Iron Chef brought his own meat thermometer. Mine was not accurate enough, and markings only start at 140C, when apparently for a good done-ness, it should be 120C. This is what happens when you shop at K-Mart. (That's where I got my meat thermo).

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You know, to the cognoscenti of the culinary world, such a meal would cry out for a good bottle of bordeaux, or something something red. There would be swirling and sniffing of a huge balloon glass, and the sipping and the oohs and ahs of appreciation for a fine bouquet, etc etc...
Alas, to my uncultured hoi polloi tastebuds, I can't really tell much difference between a cheap RM29 bottle of plonk vs a RM500 bottle of Chateau Margaux ..... Sigh. What to do.
So, I can't say I wasn't thrilled when the poison of the night was Single Malt. Which was a darn expensive bottle too, I might add. But I reckon it goes a much longer way.

The moment of truth, when the Iron Chef carves into the meat, with the precision and confidence of a leading heart surgeon. (the analogy is ironic)....There it was, the marbled red meat, with that glorious fat that makes up the syllable of my first name, Fatboybakes.... and hence, naturally calling out to me.....

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Perhaps the sight of blood might make some queasy, but trust me, this blood was more like juice, and gravy..... absolutely divine. Perfectly done, I'd say mine was a piece of medium rare. Iron chef was exceedingly generous and seemed to think I needed a big portion. Aiyo, I don't think I've ever had such a huge piece of steak before. [slapping forehead for forgetting to take an elevation view of the thickness of the steak]

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Accompanying the meat was a delicious shepherd's pie, the hostesses' specialty. Instead of the usual lamb, she used a pork mince. How can that be a bad thing? The topping was a generous helping of tender potatoes, and cheese.

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Lest we be thought of as hardcore carnivores, we did have an accompanying salad, which I forgot to take a picture off. Juxtaposed against a meal of such extravagance, the salad this time had no choice but to take a backseat, the way one might forget to take pictures of Mawi when in the presence of .....Justin Timberlake? Heck, that was a bad analogy. I wouldn't have taken pics of the former, period.

Of course, after such a heavy satisfying meal, nothing like the fruits of nature to give that refreshing zing, much like a palate cleanser, before we proceeded to the real dessert.

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A lovely strawberry trifle made by the hostess. Such a gorgeous combination of fruit, giving it such a festive aura. The only thing missing was the strawberry jelly. The cake, a butterish sponge, was yummy.

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Also, my little contribution to the night, my latest favourite cake, the SPENCER'S FOUR SEASONS CAKE. Named after friend of that name, made for his birthday, ....this cake has been rather popular with friends. However, I have yet to be able to capture a decent photo of the 4 layers that define the 4 seasons.

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And to top it all, a healthy batch of oatmeal cookies, made by the Iron Chef, from his grandmother's recipe that has been in the family since the 1800s!!!! Chewy, and delicious, despite being healthy.....I don't mind healthy food like this.

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Many thanks to our dear host and hostess, and also to the Iron Chef for slaving over the oven for a few hours to prepare suchhhh a fantastic steak dinner. Indeed, now its true, HOW WILL I EVER EAT STEAK AGAIN!???!!!! ARRRRGHHHHHH!!!!

35 comments:

J2Kfm said...

aiyo ... so raw one. the blood looks a bit off lah. would rather have mine medium. 50%. though some may protest the lost of tenderness and such, but i cant stomach mouthfuls of blood.

and no love for Mawi?! hahaha. me too. over-rated, at best.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

ohhh lalalala...looks like u might as well convert to praying to kuan yin and not eat beef la..not that you can stomach the common beef steak rite?

omg..48% single malt???

Anonymous said...

Ah, lifestyle of the rich and famous. One can only drool from afar. The meat looks delicious. I keep scrolling back to that picture and drooling. Unfortunately, it also reminds me of my monthly womanly woes.

Anonymous said...

That's an interesting looking choc cake. 4 seasons, eh? What are the layers? Other than obvious choc?

The beef looks a bit frightening la. Mebbe it's becos I dun take beef..

Aitelyu.. your FOTY and PFOTY bastardised redy. Better get a new acronym! :D

Ciki said...

oh, thx for clarifying.. i didn't know what the FAT in your name meant... pfft.. :P:P hahaha


beer fed, sake massaged and sex aided cows.. no WONDER so tender/fat la (so you see, human being should take their Q from these wagyu - no beer, no sake, sure as hell no sex aids!)

Ciki said...

Cumi: is spencer for hire

fatboybakes said...

cumi, u gotta ask him, but why on urf would you want to hire him? i hear he's quite in demand as a garden gnome these days....

ciki, haha, well, now you know la hor. actually, i think i'm quite like a wagyu cow la, except for the sex aid bit...

GFAD, you dont take beef? religious reasons? you'll just have to wait to taste the spencer cake yourself to figure out what the four layers are.

AWOL, indeed that was some great meat. thamby, why does it remind you of your womanly woes? afterall, you da man ma.

nipples, yalor, 48%! no wonder the bottle lasted so long. actually, i think we only drank half...very soft core compared with our usual macallan crowd.

J2KFM, heh heh, ordinarily yeah, too much blood would be unsightly, but for this particular cut, i highly recommend medium rare!
yup, that fella sure had a lucky star shining on him..... there's no other explanation for the inexplicable rise to stardom....

HairyBerry said...

fbb, i think cumi is toking about the cake lar...hehehe

that conversation between you and JI is so farny lah. it's like, "hey, i cant get a brunette in time. will a blonde do?"...OF COURSE! hehehehe...

and btw, your Spencer is really good lar. from a person who doesnt really indulge in chocolate (and abba), i tot that was really a slice of utmost deliciousness la. *clap clap*

Penang Tua Pui said...

wa... the wagyu look fo delicious la...wanna have a bite.....


yum yum

Precious Pea said...

Fuyoh!! Look at that beef!!! You are so right. After having wagyu steak, hubby just couldn't go for any other steak without a frown on his face. My bro-in-law said those fats trimmed off from wagyu is good for frying rice. HOW SINFUL!!!!!!

Rebecca Saw said...

MAN..WHEN is my chance to taste wagyu??

Anonymous said...

Damn. The pics just jump out at ya, don't they? I am so stunned I don't even have time to salivate.

I'm sure the drool will commence unstoppably later. :P

Seriously, Prada and I want in on some of that wagyu too! :D

Argus Lou said...

I've never been a big fan of steak but you sure made it look and sound good. And I love chewy cookies, too! (Am on a quest to find the best recipes.)

Anonymous said...

argie, aiyo, if you had to eat one piece of steak, it will have to be this....melt in your mouth....i'll join u in the quest for chewy cookies. eh, how's the DBC coming along?

LFB, hahaha, like delayed pavlov reaction ah? i'm wondering if i should attempt to replicate this for the family XMAS EVE dinner. since no one in my family likes the big bird.

TNG, echerlly hor, you buy from BV, not very exp wor. RM190/kg, ...average helping per person about 250gm... thats what? 42.50 per piece? okay ma...

precious pea, actually, i can imagine fried rice with NGAU YAU CHAR..... ooooh......

PTP, aiyo, have i linked u oridi ah? must add, must add. my definitive penang food guide!

hairy berry, awww, i'm glad u like spencer...

CJL studio said...

hey FFB.. jared here. am work as a pastry chef, currently work at Bijou, located at mont kiara. been there before? you guys should come for a try some day. follow ur blog for quite some times already.

Anonymous said...

wah u guys really know to live well. :P I want friends like yours! Lol.

Anonymous said...

Err... I somehow agreed with your "how-will-I-ever-eat-steak-again!" phrase...

Precious Pea said...

Yes wor..dunno why wagyu fats has got this very distinct aroma. So heavenly good isn't it? Ermm..ngau yau jar should be healthier than jue yau jar, right? Right???

fatboybakes said...

precious pea, of course ngau yau char is healthy, its made from grass, which is a vegetable....

jason, you can afford to eat more...

jasmine, not really la, once in awhile only ma. young ppl these days live so much better...i only heard of wagyu when i was errr..39?

jaredc, wow, i always admire pastry chefs. yes, i've been to bijou before, but awhile back. invite us la, i am sure i can muster up a group of eager beaver food bloggers to descend upon you to try your yummy stuff. hey, thanks so much for being one of the silent readers....hope to hear from you more often.

UnkaLeong said...

*Picks jaw up from ground* That's one mean slice of steak...

Argus Lou said...

FBB, I don't think I'll have time to do the DBC, what with looking after the pup 24/7 and all.

By the way, I discovered that molasses make cookies nice and chewy. Try it and see. Can't get brown sugar (supposed to aid in chewiness too) in CH, so I found that a sub for it is 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup molasses.

GFAD said...

Hey FBB. Can share recipe for stuffing ah? I had stuffing at a friend's place - it was yummy, but it included a stuffing premix. If you have a good one, esp if it include sausage meat, pls email to me. Mucho gracias!

Sze said...

HOW are you still alive and standing with all this decadent eating?!?!

i.don't.understand.

Selba said...

Whoooo... yummy food... the beef looks juicy though it's too raw for me.

Simon Seow said...

This bring up the standards of steak to a whole new height. I hate you FBB. Now even Angus House can't satisfied me.

CJL studio said...

Hey FFB,we got wagyu cheeks as a main course. our signature chicken and duck liver parfait, dangeouness crab cake, and my proud, warm chocholate chip cookies, come on, u should try!!!

invite?? em...my position still not allowed me to sign a bill for PR la. small little person in the kitchen.

i had met up jackson, look forward to meet up some other flogger too!!

Steve said...

No FBB - it hasn't nothing to do with the question "How will I ever eat steak again?". More to the point, "How will I ever eat out again?"

This post is testament that the best meals are oft prepared in our homes, amongst our friends. What a great meal.

And AWOL's comment made me wet myself (...again... she has the habit of doing that to me!). Too funny for words.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear....*handing Steve a towel*

Dei tangechi....can you make my effort to locate a PC in Australia worthwhile ar by updating ur blog?? Ciz bedebah.

(deep down missing ur wife and kids very much wor....)

daphne said...

hahaha..close your eyes and chew!... LOL

Merry Christmas!!!

fatboybakes said...

haha, daphne...aiyo, tonight xmas dinner with family i only serving regular rib eye...hope can eat.

thamby, oz very few pcs ah? have to travel many km to find izzit? i bizi la, meeting and making new friends and all..... buwahahahah

steve, haha, AWOL has that effect on you eh?!!! heh heh. so when u visiting us in KL?

jaredc, okay la, we'll gladly fork out money to eat, ON condition its YOU cooking for us.

simon seow, haha, oh well, but you have all these beautiful women left and right of you to satisfy you la.

selba, ya, ordinarily it would have been runny, but this is WAGYU blood wor!!!

fatboybakes said...

sze dear, many other floggers out there lead far more decadent culinary capers, mine are a drop in the bucket. maybe its because they're so rare, they seem so regular.... get wat i mean?

kat ah, i buy my stuffing from bangsar village. cheap and good wor.

argie, ah, that explains why when awol used gula melaka for her cookies, they didnt set.

unkaleong, we all do one day hor...damn good.

OOOOOOH, its 12.20am, BLESSED CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

CJL studio said...

FFB... of course..i wil done all the starter and dessert for u all... coz im incharges of cold kitchen and desserts.... hehe!! do come soon.. coz am leaving Bijou on January to Godiva chocolate in Pavilion.. hehe!!!

do u MSN???

Henry Yeo said...

Don't eat steak, eat EVERYTHING with TRUFFLES!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I salted one steak just prior to searing, the second immediately after removing from the oven but prior to resting, and the third one I did not salt until I was ready to eat.

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