aly's wonderland

Senses 5^th Anniversary Dinner with Cheong Liew

6 Course Menu with Wine Pairing RM 368++ per person

The American magazine Food & Wine named Cheong Liew one of the “world’s ten hottest chefs alive”. He has been at the fore front of Fusion Cuisine, striking a delicate balance between French techniques, Asian twist with fine Australian ingredients.

He is the man behind the success of The Grange at Hilton Adelaide, and the name behind Award Winning Senses at Hilton KL. Under the skilful hands of Swedish born Chef Michael Elfwing, Senses is a breeding ground for new and innovative Modern Australian cuisine. The pair have know each other for 7 years, having worked together from days in The Grange then of and on as time allows. A man of many travels, Cheong was back in Malaysia, to give us a taste of ‘Cheong’s Food’, for four nights only.

I had heard about him, I had read about him, I’ve even watched him on TV. But nothing could have prepared me for the real thing. I was expecting a stiff, reserved and serious man. He was quite the opposite. As I walked into the bar area of Senses at Hilton KL, there he was, this man who has been elevated to almost a god-like status in the food industry, sitting on a stool chatting to paranoidandroid, with a big grin to greet me.

It was my first time meeting both of them, but it was all laughter and friendly chit-chat. His passion for food exuded from every bone in his body. Up rocked booliscious, fresh from a day in Kuala Lipis watching the castration of chickens (I guess I should call them cockrels?) and of course, Cheong wanted to see photos and know more.

They launched into an in depth conversation on the subject as they rooted through the photos on her camera.

The restaurant began to fill up, as that Saturday evening was the last evening of Cheong Liew’s menu at Senses, a wine pairing menu with Dominic Versace Wines.

The rest of our table arrived and we were shown to our seats, eager to start the meal.

Freshly baked bread…

The Menu.

First course… as little taste of the ocean…

Senses Sea Dance

Saffron gin kingfish, Boston Bay mussel jelly, drunken prawn & oyster

2009 Dominic Versace Rossino Rosé, Adelaide Plains

Cheong explained each item in detail, and told us to start with the Kingfish and work our way around the plate clockwise.

First, the kingfish followed by thinly shaved fennel with lime juice and fish sauce. Right next to that was the organic Kipfler potato julienned, mixed with ocean trout pearls (roe). Each item had its own unique flavour yet complemented the next. The prawn had been soaked in Amontillado sherry for 2 hours, and the Coffin Bay Oyster was soaked in Shao hsing rice wine.

Fragrant and very dense in flavour.

The jelly, wobbly and translucent, cuddled one Boston Bay mussel from South Australia.

The delicate casing was made by clarifying the cooking liquid of the mussels, with added heat from ‘cili padi’. Another mussel was placed on top.

We moved on the next course.

Truffled scallop chicken wing, dried octopus custard with game consommé

NV Dominic Versace Premium Sparkling Shiraz, McLaren Vale

I loved this dish. So light! So delicate! The consomme was clear, the result of a tedious refining process of boiling and straining game (venison, duck, oxtail) carcass with stock. The chicken wing is deboned and stuffed with scallop, truffle, water chestnut, spring onion and pickle carrot. The custard is similar to a homemade beancurd, made with unsweetened soya milk and flavoured with dried octopus.

Patagonian tooth fish sausage, snow-pea prawn, cuttlefish rice

2005 Dominic Versace Ruspantino Sangiovese, Adelaide Plains

The sausage skin is coloured black with squid ink. For the filling, scallop mousse.

The scallops are cooked with butter and sweet Muscat wine, veal sweetbreads, chopped scallop and fish. The snow pea was stuffed with a fresh prawn, and together the taste was sweet and the texture crunchy.

Next up…

Salt baked free-range duck with slow cooked abalone

2005 Dominic Versace Casalingo Sangiovese, Grenache, Shiraz, Adelaide Plains

With abalone that went from this…

To this…

Then it was time for some real meat…

Braised wagyu short rib, Japanese pumpkin ricotta ravioli

2006 Dominic Versace Limited Release Shiraz, Adelaide Plains

Everything about Cheong Liew’s cooking, his presentation, is pure poetry. So precise, so planned. It looks almost too good to eat. Almost. I tucked into the seared wagyu first.

The braised Wagyu short rib goes through a long process that results in a texture similar to caramel.

It stays long enough in your mouth for you to taste it, then dissolves and leaves you with a distinct Asian aftertaste. The ravioli was almost weightless, with a smooth pumpkin and ricotta centre.

Of course, after every course was served and every new wine poured, the man himself, Dominic Versace was kind enough to enlighten us on the concept and taste of each wine.

Pallate cleanser: Lemon Basil Sorbet

And then it was on to dessert…

Empress Rice, Green Apple Jelly and Cinnamon Ice Cream

Empress rice is a rice pudding cooked with an organic Carnaroli rice and sago, with vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks. Also in this was dried peach, dried fig, dried apricot and prunes, all soaked in a whole bottle of grappa.

The Cinnamon Ice cream with ginger twill was a hit at the table.

Iced Grand Marnier soufflé with chocolate sauce

NV Dominic Versace Bel Moscato Sparkling, South Eastern Australia

This tasted very alcohol-based, with the use of Kumquats and Grand Marnier. I was so full by this point that I hardly had room, but what I did taste was exquisite.

Friandies

Coffee or tea

An evening well spent. I never realized how much preparation went into producing a dinner like this. Weeks of planning, sourcing of ingredients, cutting, cooking, tasting, cutting, more cooking… and finally, cooking again on the night, for 34 guests at the same time.

Both Chef Michael and Cheong Liew came in to thank us for joining them on that evening, but I think it was us who owed them the thanks.

Making our goodbyes, it occurred to me that I might never eat Cheong Liew’s food again. This could be it, the once in a lifetime opportunity. Although it might mean I’ll have to eat more at more modest places to make up for the obscene amount spent that evening, it was worth it, and I would do it all over again.

The team that made our evening so memorable…

Wherever his path might take him, I hope Cheong Liew returns to cook in Malaysia. Soon. Very, very soon.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur
3 Jalan Stesen Sentral
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 2264 2264
Fax: +60 3 2264 2266
E-mail: kuala-lumpur@hilton.com
Web site: http://www.kl-studio.com