El Meson, Lots of Pork, No Bull

I'm not entirely sure what El Meson means, but a google search said it means The Inn. Maybe, but their logo is of a bull, I presume one that killed a matador. Or got killed by one. Strangely, I have always had the mental picture that the logo was a pig.





But as you can see, this is no pig. Though at first glance, and bad eyesight, I thought it was. Then it dawned on me that pigs are not horny. (Though having said that, a pig's big O supposedly lasts for a few minutes....or maybe that was an urban legend circulated on the internet)


The Makan Fairy Godmother had invited me to join her and Pureglutton at El Meson, on Jln Telawi 3 for dinner. And knowing its reputation as a Porcine Paradise, I could not resist, despite knowing the potential damage to an expanding waistline. There is something about a beer and babi combination that makes it right.


We started off with a tapas of grilled prawns in olio. Gambas Al Ajillo. The prawns were fresh, and crunchy, naturally. (as opposed to being made crunchy with sodium bicarb)


It's like looking at a rainbow. Such divine colors, of different types of pork. Serrano, iberico, chorizo, salami (ooh, it doesnt end with an "O"), proscuitto, and a couple of other meats. I loved the olives that came along with the meat, and chomped on it with the futile hope that the redeeming properties of olive oil would seep through my veins from the olive, to ameliorate the ill effects of consuming so much piggy. And that was only the 2nd course.


Note to self: DO NOT EAT BREAD DURING FOOD TASTINGS, no matter how good the bread is.


Piquillos Renellos, spanish peppers stuffed with mince pork. Spanish yong tau fu? Very good.





Paella, with pork ribs and chicken. Now, to be honest, I have not eaten paella in Spain, or anything else in Spain for that matter, so I have no idea WHAT a real paella is or isnt supposed to be like, but I'm sure just like Yong Chow Fried rice, everyone has their own preference, so we go by gut feel, and tongue feel. I enjoyed this rendition of the dish, but mainly because the rice wasn't soggy and there were pork ribs.


Carilla De Iberico Estofada - such a mouthful. Basically Iberico cheeks. I wonder who were the first to bring in this Iberico pig thing to the country. Hats off to them.


A different angle of the cheeks. I wonder when they say Cheeks, which cheeks? Pigs must have a lot of face to yield so much cheek.


Unquestionably the star for the night, Roast Suckling Pig. Crispy skin with moist tender succulent flesh. So good you can eat it on its own.


This picture shows the triumvirate at three corners taking pictures of the place.


Crema Catalana, the Spanish version of creme brulee I imagine. The difference is the custard is a lot more flowy. Good for the teethless. Lovely caramelized sugar on top.


I just read in Laura Calder's recipe book that Molten Cakes have been done to death, but are considered kitsch, hence their appearance everywhere from Beard Papa to fine dining at Cilantro. Of course the difference would be in the ingredients used. The chocolate used here is decent, so therefore so was the cake.


Now, this Brazo Di Gitano, at first struck me as "huh? Swiss Rolls?", but never judge a book by its cover, or a cake by its color, because this ended up being my favourite. Moist cake, with a delicious custard like filling, rather reminiscent OF a swiss roll, only many times better, that kinda gave it a wholesome, comfort food kinda feel.


In addition to being an eating place, the bar, which takes centrepiece, also makes it a popular watering hole.

If you are into pork, and you're in Bangsar, this is definitely one of the more noteworthy establishments in the mushrooming pork genre.

Delectable Dumplings & Dim Sum at Ritz Carlton

The Chinese people, as an ethnic group, are so pragmatic, it almost steers everything towards material gain. Any opportunity to make money is seized quicker than you can say chink. I recall in my youth, a long time ago, Yee Sang was only served on the 7th day of Chinese New Year, till Chap Goh Mei. Mooncakes were also available 2 weeks before the mid Autumn festival. And rice dumplings, chung, or chang, whatever dialect you may choose to say it in, ...well, it's now like durians, available all year round, so much so, it didnt occur to me that there was an URGENCY to post this post, as the Dragon Boat Festival had come and gone without me knowing.

In a nutshell, legend has it that it's about this chappie called Qu Yuan, a good and erudite politician in the Emperor's court. The bad guys poisoned the emperor's mind, so Qu Yuan got exiled, and as he watched the decline of the empire, threw himself into the Miluo River in despair. Unfortunately I can't think of any modern day parallels within our policitians, so I shall not attempt to compare Qu Yuan with any of them. Oh, so in order to prevent the fish from mutilating his body (in the river) the peeps threw dumplings to feed the fish so that they'll (the fish) would eat the dumplings and not the man. And that is how we now have our glutinous rice dumplings.

But since I see them all year round, everywhere, I forgot that the actual date, 5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar, was actually 6th of June in the gregorian calendar this year.

Oliver Ellerton invited us to watch a demo on how these dumplings, and a couple of easier dim sum items, were made by Chef Tan of Li Yen. Aly and I sat waiting, in the fine company of Mr Ellerton, for 25 minutes before celebrity blogger The Nomad Gourmand showed up, and we were set to go.



I find myself highly unlikely to try making these darlings at home, purely because there is SO much work involved, and it takes an inordinate amount of fuel to cook these things...6 hours of boiling. Here at Li Yen, all the ingredients are laid out...hygenically prepared.


These are two ready made ones, for if we were to stay and eat those we make or the ones demo-ed by the chef, we would be there till nightfall.


High quality glutinous rice, pre marinated and seasoned with ....a lot of sauces. Soy, sesame, etc.


Split yellow bean. A crucial ingredient that gives the dumpling a wholesome beanie texture.


Roast Duck, & Roast Pork as well...unfortunately I do not have a picture of the roast pork.


Pigeon brains, otherwise known as chestnuts.



We need to make the dumpling healthy so a few slabs of lard will do the trick.


Chef Tan and Translator, for the benefit of Aly and Wackybecky who speaketh no Cantonese.


Lotus leaves. Not something you see everyday in your supermarket, but apparently quite common.


Hemp...legend has it that Eve, the first woman, used these to make fancy dresses, while Adam used the lotus leaf.


This reminds me of exams. Trying to cram everything into that little space.


In a few fell swoops, and folds that would make Kung Fu Panda proud, the dumplings are wrapped and tied...tah dah....


Wrapped....then tied....


These babies retail at RM32 each at the Ritz Carlton, which isnt bad, considering the amount of ingredients that go in, and that astronomical gas bill to cook it.


It was then the audience's turn to try their hand. The Brit went first....I shall not document the proceedings....suffice to say, the Chef had made it look FAR EASIER than it actually is.


We got to try the ready cooked dumpling....delicious!!! Such a kaleidescope of flavours, and textures. The melt in the mouth lard, the chewy duck, the aromatic and crunchy dried shrimp, simply fabulous. If you ate the lotus leaf it would be a complete meal....carbo, protein and vegetable.





Next we were introduced to tea infused dim sup canapes.


This is sooooo something that I must replicate. So easy, and so delicious. Prawns, basically pulped into a paste, slathered onto a triangular piece of white bread, coated with sesame seeds and deep fried. Excellent!





I loved this too, this unique fruit spring roll. Smithereens of chinese tea leaves were put in as well.


And there you have it! Longji Sesame Sandwich with Shrimp Dumpling and Crispy Shui Xian Springroll with Fresh Fruit.



What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Thanks so much Oliver for the invite. I can't wait to eat at Li Yen again soon.

Hennessy XO Appreciation Grows Redux - Chef Cheong Liew

It appeared in the post, snail mail, if you must know. It is SUCH a rarity to get anything except bills via that medium. There is an immediate transportation to the days of childhood lost, when we would eagerly rip apart a package that came via registered mail. Truly, there is something thrilling about receiving something via post.

There it was, that classy black invitation, from Hennessy XO and Milk PR, inviting us again for this year's Hennessy XO Appreciation Grows, this time around with Chef Cheong Liew. His name is seared in my mind, the way a cattle prod is seared into a lamb, because I remember reading that this is the man who was to helm Senses restaurant here in KL, and he hails from KL, but was at the time working at the Grange at the Adelaide Hilton. So, yes, I was rather excited to be attending this event. Unlike last year's event which was in Bukit Kiara, this year's soiree was held in Suffolk House, Penang. Residence of Sir Francis Light, a UNESCO heritage building, we wondered what secrets those hallowed halls kept, and if only walls could talk.

Hennessy XO (Moet Hennessy Diago) truly outdid themselves. A charming fokker flight from Subang, a night at the swanky G Hotel on Gurney Drive, and a delightful bus journey, filled with anticipation to Suffolk House.


The huge billboards of Henessy XO bottles all but covered Suffolk House, so actually, till today, I don't really know what the actual house looks like, in addition to the fact that a million metres of drapes were used to drape the house.......

Company does indeed make the night, and having Alilfatmonkey, Awhiffoflemongrass, Aly in Wonderland, famed master baker Nigel Skelchy and Masak Masak as fellow diners certainly ensured that we would never have a dull moment. That handsome fellow, Arnaud Mirey, the regional brand ambassador, was in the midst of presenting to us the history of Hennessy XO, when suddenly, the lights went out! Ooooh, flustered organisers and stress mounting...but hey, we were all having a good time, and all the more time to savour the smooth honeylike XO...


Frederic Noyere, the MD of Moet Hennessy Diageo was like an old friend...as we all listened in rapt attention to his introduction. We also found out that the choice of venue, Penang, was because the first shipment of Hennessy XO to Malaya was to Penang, more than a hundred years ago.

Chef Cheong Liew makes his appearance, with the lovely Karen of MHD by his side. A rather jolly avuncular fellow, with no airs, and who loves his char kuey teow, and wouldn't mind a dash of Hennessy XO in the char kuey teow! An excerpt from the Press Release (no point reinventing the wheel)

Hailed from Malaysia, Liew is one of South Australia’s most well-known chefs whose fusion of Asian culture, Australian ingredients and classical French technique has made his name synonymous with the world of gastronomy. Liew has been honoured as one of the 10 “hottest chefs alive” by the prestigious American Food and Wine Magazine inducted into the Hall of Fame in the World Food Media Awards. He was bestowed the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honours for service to the food and restaurant industry through involvement in developing and influencing the style of contemporary Australian cuisine.

Fun fun fun...and building anticipation to the banquet that was to come. Finally we were ushered through the final passageway, to the huge dining area, which was a fairyland of lights, candles, and multimedia projection....

A brief introduction to dinner and what lay ahead.

Ocean Vivacity...fresh plump oyster with a ginger dressing, coupled with a crisp, saline ocean trout fravalax (? that's what it says, fravalax...not gravalax), finger. Being the first course after a few drinks, this disappeared rather quickly.

If the oyster was any fresher, we'd have to be swimming somewhere in the sea....

Next, the Piceous Pearls, a fusion salad with green lip abalone and black sausage with fresh tomato dressing and ginger crisps. Such a pretty dish, with such an amazing of contrast in textures. The chewiness of the abalone, the tang of the dressing, the unique black sausage....

Apparently the MC is kind of a local celebrity. Will Quah. Something like that.

Ah, Neptune's Desire...love the name. A saffron blue swimmer crab consomme with salmon roe cream in a unique crisp pastry. I PARTICULARLY loved the salmon roe cream in the pastry tube. The soup...well, it wasnt hot enough, and being of Chinese descent and all, I like my soups piping hot...to tongue scalding proportions if possible. Nevertheless it was a lovely broth.

Essence of the Sea....I was beginning to feel like the Little Mermaid, with all these marine sounding dishes...pan roasted sea scallops, in a gorgeous sea essence sauce topped with roasted shrimp garlic and white asparagus. All my favourite ingredients.

For mains, we were given a choice of Chicken, Wagyu or Vegetarian. Now, in my mind, one doesn't go to an event like this to eat chicken, and definitely NOT vegetarian,...but I have to say I erred on judgement big time. I blame Lil Chef, Michael Elfwing, Aly's consort for the night, for not recommending this earlier. Now, the fler had trained under Cheong Liew, and KNEWWWW that this dish was outstanding! Chis...and he didnt share the good news ahead of time, though he did share his food. The Laksa Ardor, truly unique...chicken fillet in a laksa sauce served with almond slices and bacara. Very good indeed......

Meanwhile, we had settled for this, the Wagyu Exquisite, which of course, was excellent as well! Tender moist wagyu rump, wrapped in a cardamom crust, flavoured with soy sauce & extra virgin olive oil. Truly a treat to the palate, washed down with a gulp of Hennessy XO. Exquisite.

Now this for me was truly the highlight. Bittersweet Rhapsody, a black rice palm sugar pudding, like a cream caramel, sandwiching Pulut Hitam, a fabulous coconut sorbet and caramelized pineapple cubes....exceptional. Such a dizzying array of flavours, and a fitting end to an extraordinary dining experience.

Oh and we were also treated to the Mathusalalam, a 6 litre bottle of Hennessy XO, limited edition...and Aly trying her hand at that rod....very adept at it too she is.

A truly fabulous evening, one that will be talked about for a long time...the entire experience was extraordinary, enhanced by fabulous organisers, (special thanks to MHD and Milk PR), basking in the love and company of good friends, and fed with the fabulous cuisine of Cheong Liew. Can life get any better????!