Hennessy XO Appreciation Grows With Susur Lee

He kind of reminds me of a Red Indian Chief. If he was, he would probably be named Dances With Woks or something like that. The great thing about these Hennessy XO Appreciation events, that I've come to appreciate (ironically, as the name implies), is the constant surprise thrown at us, in the various celebrity chefs that grace our sunny shores.

Chef Susur Lee is honored as one of the "Ten Chefs of the Millennium", and dubbed as an "improvisational artist and culinary genius" by restaurant reviewers and international critics alike. Alas, I fall into neither category, just someone who enjoys eating, and writing....oh, and occasionally, drinking.

This time the event was held at the Live Centre, that white building at the corner of Sultan Ismail and Jalan P Ramlee. Strange choice of venue, I thought. Hennessy XO and Moet Hennessy Diaego spare no expense to make their guests feel special, starting with the free valet parking.

The entire area used for the event is draped in their signature black, and the various partitioned rooms are used for different functions. There is the holding room, and reception area, followed by "the tour", encompassing a video and narration on Hennessy XO, (I hope one day they'll bring us on a REAL tour, not just the virtual one), and the process of making the Extra Old cognac. The new nugget I gleaned from this round of lessons is that cognac starts off its life as a clear liquid. The brown comes from the barrelling etc.





The glamour crowd resplendently dressed to the nines.




Bottles of Hennessy XO everywhere you turn. There's such a high society feel, when one sips the lovely cognac and indulge in idle chit chat.




I personally like my cognac on the rocks, with no added water. There is no correct way to drink this really.


To the usual fare and pomp, dinner is announced. The emcee, Will Quah, is fast becoming a familiar face.


Now, quite honestly, one never knows WHAT to expect, with all these fancy chefs, and fancy dishes, that are usually unpronouncable. To start, we had the SASHIMI EXQUISITE, a delicate oceanic tantalizer of fresh sashimi with lightly frizzled wraps, topped with crest, paired with sea urchins in a rich edamame sauce. Wow! A real treat for the palate this dish. Every item was super fresh, and sea urchin was such a treat. The sauce was so good that we could see many people trying to spoon all the sauce. If it were not impolite to do so, I'd have just tipped the plate into my mouth and drank up the sauce. The lovely bits of edamame added an extra zing to the whole marine dish.








Now what came next was a total surprise. A brilliant SAND ARTIST, drawing a canvass of sand while a narrator had a running commentary on the history of Hennessy, its arrival in Penang etc. Sheer brilliance. At first, we thought it was a video, but it was actually live.


This brilliant sand artist guy, I am truly in awe. I doubt he comes cheap, so you can forget about getting him for your kid's birthday party.


ALLURE OF THE ORIENT - Basically deconstructed Sang Har Mee, but SOOOOO GOOOD! Cantonese wok fried king prawn, served with steamed pumpkin in savoury tomato jam. All of us polished our dishes, esp Alison, who is a Sang Har Mee fan. Problem is, where can I try this again?





QUESO AMBROSIA - Sumptuous Mexican Goat's cheese art baked with jalapenos and red capsicum garnished with minced duck sausages. Susur really marries the ingredients from East to West. I was honestly surprised at the puff pastry, which was still warm, light and fluffy, despite the mass production. In Malaysia, you'll be lucky to get puff pastry that isnt a distant relative of leather, when eating individual portions, let alone at a big shindig like this. The tart worked really well, the buttery puff pastry totally complementing the tangy goat's cheese. Gorgeous.


The upper echelons of MHD, showing of the limited edition Methusalem. (a huge 6 litre bottle).


I opted for the Tenderloin Ardour, grilled to "amorous" perfection, described in the menu, served with eggplant polenta cake in rich chu hou sauce. It was very good, but I should have opted for the Sable Sensation, which was ...


A lush palate of titillating flavours in this fusion of specially marinated sablefish and radish cake, served with miso mustard and chinese mui choi. I had a small morsel of this from Alilfatmonkey, and it was truly sublime. Drat!


Famous blogger Wei Zhi (Kgboycitygal) in her virgin attempt at using the pipette to extract the precious nectar from the Mathusalem.


Panna Cotta Serenade - Sweet creamy vanilla panna cotta together with a fruity symphony of raspberry, pineapple and passion fruit coulis. Lovely, light and refreshing and a perfect end to a perfect meal. Oh, with lots of free flow Hennessy XO I might add.


At the end, Susur greets the guests, and he really comes as a nice friendly fellow, with no airs and no pretensions. He the man! I believe he will be opening a restaurant in Singapore, so hopefully we'll get to try more of his dishes.

Thanks to them at MILK PR for extending the invitation, and thank you to Moet Hennessy Diaego for a lovely event.

Kelantan Delights, Wisma Consplant, Subang Jaya

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember that the KLCC food court used to have this warong (the first one on the left as you ascended the escalator) called Kelantan Delights. I used to love the place because it was not easy to find nasi dagang those days, and I love nasi dagang. Be it the colorful Kelantanese or the pure white Terengganunian version. And Kelantan, such a microcosm; I find the Kelantanese people to be friendlier and warmer than the rest of the peninsula, even in school, and very entrepreneurial. In fact, all the "millionaires" from my batch in school hail from that region.

Eventually the warong moved from the food court to a proper restaurant somewhere in KLCC, and I haven't visited since. I know they also opened a branch in Sooka Sentral, and has a reputation of attracting who's who of Malaysian society. Once when I was in Sooka, at another outlet, the place had been cordoned off because TDM was visiting.

Well, I didnt know they had such a HUGE outlet in Wisma Consplant, and thanks to Pure Glutton, we were invited to try out the place. The wait staff are very impressive, all conversant in English, and very knowledgeable about the items on the menu.

To start, we had these traditional Kelantanese sweets, something like Bahulus with Gula Nisseh.





Keropok lekor. The chewy kind. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Very fragrant too, and truth be told, would have been the perfect accompaniment for (GASP), beer. Alas, I don't think that combination was available here.


Sireh Daun Kadok - a bit of a misnomer, since sireh and kadok really are two different leaves. This dish is similar to their Thai cousin, the Mieng Keam. Perhaps the slight variation is in the sauce, but blindfold me, and I would not be able to tell the two apart. Afterall, Kelantan does border Thailand.





Their special version of Teh Tarik, which is called teh 3 lapis or something like that.


My folded Sireh Daun Kadok. I love this dish, its probably quite healthy, and absolutely delicious.








We have here Pureglutton and Ipoh Celebrity Blogger, who after posing for the picture, decided he was shy.....





The Puyoh Goreng was well seasoned, and also crispy on the outside, while moist and tender and succulent inside. It's a perfect accompaniment for white rice actually. There's something rabidly fascinating and primal about chomping down a whole bird. Reminds me of V, the miniseries.


Nasi Kerabu, such a gorgeous shade of blue from the dye extracted from the Clitoria (Bunga Telang). Nasi Kerabu is laborious work, that requires shredding of the raw vegetables with surgical precision and fine-ness.


The Nasi Kerabus come with a choice of beef or chicken. The beef is almost like a jerky. Gamey and chewy.


Nasi Tumpang - You can read about the origins of it here, from famed Masak Masak's blog. The rice is wrapped into a cone, for ease of transport. It is layered, and is a rather intriguing way of presenting rice.


Ah, nasi dagang. What can I say? This is the golden standard.


Siakap done either with Kadok leaves, or Serai, (Lemongrass below). The fish is deep fried before it is soaked with the sauces that burst forth into a kaleidescope of flavours.





Oh, we had each ordered our own mains, and I chose, based on the friendly waiter's recommendation, nasi gulai kawah. Judging from the exciting flavours of my fellow diner's choices, I felt I had opted for the healthiest item on the menu. Ulams, grilled kembong, and budu, the Kelantanese fish sauce. I can't really complain, as I love ulams, and the budu was vintage!


Tomyam Kelapa Muda. Spicy Tom Yam soup, cooked in young coconut. I always welcome a bowl of hot, spicy and tangy tom yam. Chock full of ingredients, one can get full on this soup alone.


Laksam, ...with an interesting noodle that is similar to chee cheong fun.


Belud with Fried Chillies. Belud is a snake like fish, presumably an eel of sorts.


Squid for dessert? Now there's a new one. Ketupat sotong. Rice stuffed into squid, in a sauce that is both savoury, sweet and spicy. I have to say this is probably my new "Dish of the Year", as in, something I've never had before. I actually wouldn't mind eating this for what it is, not necessarily as a dessert.


Lopes, something like deconstructed Onde Onde, whereby you pour the gula melaka onto the dumplings. Can't really go wrong here if you like Malay/Nyonya style kuehs. That sticky dumpling, with the fragrant gula melaka.


Pulut Durian. Again, like its Thai cousin, except our local durians are so much nicer. Swimming in a pool of santan, (coconut milk), a blob of glutinous rice with fresh durians. I can't think of a nicer combination.


The royal plate, comprising famed Kelantanese delicacies like tahi itik, (duck's poop), Akok, Jala mas (golden net), and apam. The duck's egg is separated into white and yolk, deriving different desserts from each.


Such a fascinating loom of golden threads.


The backdrop showing the famous Kota Baru market.








A special thanks to Encik Ashari who took such good care of us, and to Pureglutton for the invite. For other reviews, check out Pureglutton's Blog.

Kelantan Delights
Ground Floor, East Wing
Wisma Consplant 1
No.2 Jalan SS16/4
Subang Jaya
Tel: 03-5590-2753/019-217-4774 (Intan Razak)