Zen Star Chef Talent Search, Sooka Sentral
>> Monday, July 6, 2009
Date: 4 July 2009
Venue: Zen, Sooka Sentral
Occasion: Media + Food Bloggers Review
I was rather excited to be invited for this event :D For a somewhat "young flogger" that I am, any events that allows me to meet more people & learn more will be more than welcomed. I'm very thankful to BestFoodJunction.com for sending me the invitation. A personal thank you to Brian Chang (contributor) & Aaron Kwan (editor) for the invite! I felt really blessed that I could bring along Lian & Joel as well! *yay*
This event was to introduce the 6 shortlisted young talents from the 14 young chefs who participated in the Zen Star Chef Talent Search Competition in the beginning & to showcase (and sample) their creation of a main dish & dessert each. The competition began on 9th June 2009 with 14 shortlisted talents, & in this event at Zen, Sooka Sentral, the best 6 were introduced :)
I met up with Lian at the KL Sentral station, where we had time to "lepak" before trying to find our way to Sooka Sentral, a relatively new building next to KL Sentral station. We were there by 1:30pm, but the event was supposed to begin only at 2:00pm. *sigh* No choice but to wait. I thought it would be good to arrive earlier, but I was wrong this time around. Malaysian timing was too evident during the event. Lian & I were the 1st blogger+friend to appear at the event :S (I don't know if I should be proud of this or not! Hahaha).
We felt rather lost since it's our 1st time at such an event. The organizers were busy preparing the place & the young talents. People were everywhere, but not many were very helpful & friendly. By the time more people arrived, I noticed that most people kinda knew each other already - media representatives, bloggers, & guests. Hmm...newbie has to find her way somehow...The event started for good only around 3:15pm *faints* I spent at least half an hour or more talking to Pauline, & the rest of the time, just warming the seats, meeting some new faces, doing a wee bit of exchanging name cards, & erm...staring into space! *lol* Ok, Ruth is SO not a social-chick...nope, am not.
Ah well, you can read more about this competition& event in the links provided. Miss Wong will just share with all of you some photos taken at the event :) Feel free to drop some comments! Cheers!
Beautiful ladies at the registration table :) I only know the name of the girl on the right, Magdalene. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to the other girl :(
I met Pauline from Malaysian Today, a weekly newspaper, emphasizing on lifestyle and sport to target young urban readers in the age group of 17-25. A very fun, bubbly young lady, who has just completed her studies in Journalism, Pauline is all out to write on happening stuff that appeals to the youths in Malaysia! Beside me is of course, Lian, my good friend & colleague, whom I can go crazy with at any time of the day :D
Joel, my fellow friend & colleague, whom I am very prone to irritate & disturb without him getting too mad at me! :P
I thought Zen would have their own brand & utensils/items. They're still using Secret Recipe's! I'm just amazed & amused at this humble 'paper cup'. It's really hard for a paper cup!!
Below are photos to introduce the food prepared by the 6 young chefs themselves:
(p/s: Comments are finally out!!)
Too bad the food was cold by the time we got to tasting it :( If not, I reckon this dish would actually taste quite pleasant. The pumpkin curry dip was actually 'the item' that made this dish stand out.
Frankly speaking, I actually liked this dessert best! The texture was really good, though the taste wasn't all that wow. Perhaps it would be better to have fresh strawberry bits weaved in the cheesecake! *drools*
This dish is by far the one with most number of positive comments. The taste of the well-marinated chicken & the couscous (something rarely served everywhere) made the dish stand out. It's one of the most creative combination as compared to the rest of the dishes served. Well done, Trevor!
This is a dessert of "east meets west" - inspired by a humble bowl of black sesame dessert/'tong sui' in Cantonese, Trevor came out with this idea of experimenting the black sesame into an oreo cheesecake. It's pretty interesting, really. I just felt that the texture was way too light & not cheesy at all. It felt like milk/cream instead of cheese...taste-wise, it's a lil salty & a lil sweet, so it's not too bad la...
The mashed yam was a unique idea; it's a replacement for mashed potatoes. The salmon was somewhat overdone - dry & hard-er already. The mango sauce could do with a 'lil more water (or just more liquidy) cos the samples that we had was too dry.
This is actually a lovely dessert. The sweetness of the pineapple & the creamy-feel of the mousse was just perfected with the crispy stick of biscuit :)
I actually enjoyed this dish though it tasted rather 'common'. I guess it's the "ah...home-cooked" feel! Hahaha...I just enjoy tomato-base sauces with chunky chicken, onions, & carrots :)
I didn't get to taste this, so I can't comment. But by 1st impression, it's quite a humble-looking dessert that looks very innocent....hahaha...
Erm...I didn't find anything very 'wow' with the fried rice (being a fan of fried-rice). The green curry was alright, but for the sample, there wasn't any cheese served with the green curry, so it felt as if something was missing from the intended creation :(
The taste was VERY similar to Secret Recipe's Chocolate Banana cake. The only difference is that the cake isn't made from chocolate, but from sweet ripe bananas. A simple & nutritious dessert, but nothing special/new.
The salmon was nicely fried! I love salmon, so I thought this one was just nice. The fried ginger shreds went well with the fish...in actual fact, this combination would never go wrong as it's a common combination in Chinese-style fish dishes. The mashed potato was nice, but I can't taste the celery bits as mentioned by Alson. The overall taste of this dish was rather pleasant & commendable :)
Yet another light cheesecake, which I felt lost the essence of a cheesecake (not cheesy). The kalamansi was a good substitute for the lemon, though it means trading the lemon fragrance with its small citrus conterpart. The base of the cake was common, using high-fibre biscuits, which Alson claims makes the dessert a 'dessert for girls who are afraid of putting on weight'.
Seems like the celebrities ain't the chefs, but their food!! *lol*
Introducing the emcee for the event & the young chefs:
Jamie was the 'emcee' for the event
Of course, after all the introduction & preview to the mouth-watering food, it will only be justified for the guest to get a taste of the young talents' creations! *drools at the array of food*
After SIX main courses, comes the SIX desserts...how not to be full after the affair?? I was SO full after sampling everything, bits & pieces here there, that I could not take in dinner, nor supper! I wasn't even very hungry the next day during breakfast...fuh...PerutBesi Ruth ate a lot... :S
In every competition, there will surely be a panel of judges. There were 4 judges from the media, organizers, & an invited chef from The Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Every guest were also given a vote for the chef whom they believe deserves an extra point :) How fun! I can't wait to know who are the final 3 chefs!! The winner gets to go to Australia for a priceless experience in his culinary career!
Here are some photos of the judges:
Lian & Joel at a nearby cafe that Joel thought looks nice & he SO wanted a photo with the background of the cafe....
I'm looking forward to the final event on the 6th of August at Sunway Pyramid!! Can't wait to know who will be the final 3 talents & who will eventually win the competition & the trip to Australia! Stay tumed with PerutBesi & BestFoodJunction.com for details of the awaited event :D
- Ruth
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4 comments:
nice meeting u tht day!
I was going to register myself for the event but then, something came up last minute. :(
Look like you had a good time.
->thenomadGourmand: Yo Becks! Nice meeting u twice! Hohoho...looking forward to have more meet-ups (and catch-ups!!) in the near future!
->jason: Hello!! The event wasn't all that wow la...just the array of food :) U didn't miss THAT much, but it would be nice to meet u in person & do some catch-ups :)
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