Lucky me received an invitation to dinner at Samplings on the Fourteenth where Aaron Craze of AFC’s Rude Boy Food fame would be showcasing his culinary skills.
I repeat, ridiculously lucky me! We started with some Kronenbourg who sponsored the beer for the event. Very glad they did too, I could never say no to a cold bottle of Kronenbourg Blanc!
Getting started with AhFa and Mike
Man of the hour, Aaron Craze with host Jojo Struys
Aaron Craze was energetic and most entertaining, especially during his cooking demonstration (for his recipe for poached barramundi in yellow Darwin sauce, get it at *click*) and Q&A session. This is him getting stuck.
Dinner was based on Aaron Craze’s recipes, diligently prepared by students and lecturers of the BERJAYA University College of Hospitality. In fact students from the school also helped to serve at the dinner. Truth to be told, I never had better service anywhere else in KL =)
First course, beef carpaccio with shaved pickled radish and micro greens.
Thinly sliced delights with a bit of cheese and balsamic vinegar, it was an excellent start to dinner. Wish I’d snatched my neighbour’s plate for he refused to eat beef 😉
Scallop crudo with pomegranate, crispy ginger, shiso cress and coconut. Very delicate flavours, accentuated by the ginger and slice of coconut flesh. The combination of it came off rather well in a bite.
Snow pea and spearmint soup. Like your regular hearty pea soup (but possibly nicer) and tasting of mint! We were pleasantly surprised by this one.
Wasabi crusted lamb with braised Chinese leeks. Did the photo speak for itself? Tasted as good and succulent as it looked.
And the poached barramundi with yellow Darwin sauce and pak choi that Craze showed us how to prepare earlier. The trick with this is that you need to eat it quickly after it was cooked, else the fish would continue to (over)cook in the warm sauce.
For dessert, it was Thai basil panna cotta with Scottish shortbread biscuit and poached rhubarb. Asian basil with Italian sweets?? Boy, you do go to some lengths to be different. And oddly enough, a bit of basil with your panna cotta is just the way to spice up a classic dessert!
Craze with the students of BERJAYA UCH who worked hard to prepare our meal!
And this is me with Aaron Craze!
Catch Aaron Craze on Rude Boy Food on the Asian Food Channel (AFC) every Thursday at 11pm.
For gourmet treats, do check out Samplings on the Fourteenth, a fine dining restaurant at Berjaya Times Square Hotel. It’s actually the training restaurant for Berjaya UCH students so you can expect nothing but the best service in town. Good reviews on TripAdvisor too.
Thanks for having me! =)