I Don’t Dream of Christmas White

December 20, 2011

Christmas is that time of year,
When heart should fill with festive cheer,
Alas the joy is lost on me,
What then to me would Christmas’ be?

Though the season may be brief,
It makes for much needed relief,
What then should I anticipate,
When merriment would dissipate?

I don’t dream of Christmas white,
Such things bring not my heart delight,
Perhaps my place is within the dark,
For in the black, I may see a spark.

Darkness taunts the timid and chaste,
Yet heightens the senses of smell and taste,
Alluring, intriguing, with devious charm,
Once experienced, apprehensions disarmed.

Inspired by black, a story is told,
Through food infused with flavors so bold,
I don’t dream of Christmas white,
I but dream of Guinness’ delight.

Bold and strong, yet caramel notes tingle,
Inspiring the season of bells a-jingle,
Food infused with the perfect dark beer,
Making for a Merry Guinness and a happy new year!

Open Guinness lamb shank and mushroom pie

Roasted chicken with Guinness butter

Oysters with Guinness cream

Farmhouse terrine with Guinness mustard

Everyone flocking to see what Masterchef Adam Liaw is conjuring up in his kitchen.

The Guinness-inspired menu for the Guinness Christmas menu 2011 is conceived by Masterchef Adam Liaw.

(Like  Guinness Malaysia’s facebook page to find out where you can have yourself a Merry Guinness with Masterchef Adam Liaw’s Guinness-inspired menu – and loads of Guinness – this festive season!)

Posted in Booze, Food, Poetry | 2 Comments

Merry Christ-Mex (Christmas dinner @ Frontera Sol of Mexico, Jaya One)

December 18, 2011

Twenty years ago, if you asked me what I liked about Christmas, I’d probably say it was the new toys. If you asked the same question ten years ago, my answer would probably be new clothes. Today, I sit here completely unexcited about Christmas all the secular traditions of Christmas – the expectations of gift-giving, the ridiculous decorations, the ridiculous songs of winter and beings that don’t exist. Perhaps if there is one thing I still like about Christmas, it’s turkey.

There is a certain feeling of well-being that comes in a meal of turkey that I somehow associate to the peace that I used to feel during Christmas. While turkey was never a tradition of my own family, it has always been served in the homes of some friends whose homes I’ve always felt at home in. Perhaps it is by this association that the idea of turkey always delights me.

This year, like the past few years, I will not be visiting old friends in old places; and I will not be having turkey the way I used to. While I’m not looking to create new turkey traditions for myself, this year I departed from the familiar and had my turkey the Frontera way.

Only available from Christmas Eve (dinner) to New Year’s Eve, Frontera’s rendition of a “traditional” turkey dinner is a welcome departure from what I’m used to. Having a preference for breast meat, I usually make up for the innate dryness of the meat with plenty of gravy and cranberry sauce; however Frontera’s version suffered no such problem – the turkey breast was tender and flavorful. The unique flavor is attributed to the mesquite wood used to smoke and barbecue the meat, a style that forms the basis of Tex-Mex cuisine identity.

The cranberry sauce also underwent a little bit of Fronterafication , with the infusion of chipotle (smoked jalapeno peppers). The smokeyness of the turkey and the pepperiness of the cranberry relish gave a little zing to the wing and a little zest to the breast. Accompanied with jalapeno corn bread, candied sweet potatoes, and brocolli topped with chili con queso (peppers with cheese), my turkey meal was certainly far from bland; and though at first I thought the flavors would be harsh and overwhelming, the intense flavors only presented in small notes across the entire platter.

(You can enjoy this meal – pick pumpkin soup or tamale for the appetizer, turkey, fish or beef ribs for the main,  peach tres leches cake or key lime pie for dessert, and sangria or agua fresca for drinks – at RM55++ onwards from Christmas Eve dinner until New Year’s Eve at Frontera Sol of Mexico.)

Frontera’s unique interpretation of a Christmas turkey dinner was certainly full of surprises, and pleasantly so. Rewinding back to the appetizer, the traditional Mexican tamale ‘s mild prelude captured my attention without giving away any hints of what was to come. Tame flavors of banana and chicken leaned closer to savory sweet, and got me wanting for more (which I got, from an unsuspecting neighbor’s plate).

It’s amazing what a little bit of wood and chili can do to an oversized bird. I guess that’s what Christmas essentially is all about – little miracles happening right in front of us, exciting us with the unexpected amidst the traditionally ordinary.

Posted in Food Reviews | 3 Comments

A Quaint Re-acquaintance with Tea (@ Pavilions Lounge, Sheraton Imperial KL)

December 10, 2011

Growing up, tea (the meal) was a regular meal in our household but quite ironically, tea (the beverage) itself was rarely a part of this meal. However, when tea is served, it would usually be the regular garden-variety tea with evaporated milk.

As I grew older and left for college, the practice of having tea never really stuck with me, mostly due to the budget constraints of student life. Throughout those years, my conception of tea was the sugar-loaded copper-colored liquid that the local restaurants would serve.

Eventually, my habit of drinking sugary drinks dwindled, and I began appreciating unsweetened tea, which some (snobby?) tea purists would insist is the only way to drink tea. I would try different varieties of Chinese teas with each dim sum breakfast, and would occasionally sample “premium” flavored teas at local cafes. While I appreciated the Chinese teas, flavored teas never really stuck on me. They just didn’t taste quite right to me, and I never could put my finger on why exactly.

Eventually, I stuck with my Chinese teas during dim sum breakfasts and Chinese round-table dinners; but the tradition of afternoon tea had been reduced to little more than a memory of my growing up years.

It wasn’t until recently that I was re-introduced to the long-lost tradition of afternoon tea; and it was done right with the finest and most luxurious teas in the world from TWG at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur’s Pavilions Lounge. Among the eight different unique blends of tea served during their sweet afternoon affair, three of the blends are created especially for Sheraton hotel only, namely the Crème Caramel,  Grand Wedding, and Alexandria.

While the Crème Caramel red tea appealed to me with its intense aroma and caffeine-free nature (I’m sensitive to caffeine) and Grand Wedding’s black tea with fruity and flowery after-notes delighted the taste buds, it was the Alexandria’s subtle peppermint and spice flavors and aromas that kept me wanting for more; and so I indulged.

Served alongside a variety of desserts and petit fours, my re-acquaintance with afternoon tea was a delightful one. With a free-flow of sweet treats and teas, it’s not so much how much one can consume at RM38++, but how many varieties of the most luxurious and exclusive teas one can enjoy while letting one’s sweet tooth loose for an entire afternoon. I would go easy on the macarons and scones though, as tempting as they are, and instead sip as much tea as I could.

While it may not be everyday that one would be able to indulge in the finest teas and delectable treats during the mid-afternoon, I can say that at very least, I have finally achieved tea nirvana at Sheraton Imperial’s Pavilions Lounge, even for just one afternoon.

Posted in Food | 1 Comment

Cold Crystal Comfort

December 7, 2011

It’s no secret that I’ve been very busy at work lately. Most days, I just  feel completely drained and in need of a good reboot. Who among us couldn’t benefit from some comfort food and a cold bottle of beer?

Certainly not I.

At the end of a long work week, I usually find myself in need of rejuvenation in the form of comfort food, and perhaps a cold one. Being the Malaysian that I am, comfort food usually means anything that leaves a warmth in my tummy, from both heat and spices. Dried chilli, ginger, and garlic, cooked with anything; serve it hot, serve it juicy, and serve it with the right beer.

Tiger beer is brewed specifically in Asia to match with Asian food, which goes really great with hot and juicy Chinese-style dishes; but sometimes, it’s really more about the flavor of the food rather than the beer itself; and that’s when Tiger Crystal is ideal. It tastes lighter, which leaves more room for the flavors of the food to dominate, while still having a refreshingly crispy beer to wash it all down – along with all your worries.

(Incidentally if you need a bigger reboot than just washing away your worries with some beer, perhaps you could try winning a getaway on Tiger Crystal’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/tigerbeer )

I like to save my European beers for when I’m having my European food, savoring them slowly on a leisurely night; but it’s with Tiger Crystal that I really feel at home just drinking them down bottle after bottle as I wolf down some hot, juicy comfort food.

Posted in Booze, Food | 1 Comment

I Hate Beer?

October 24, 2011

Anyone that has seen me pop down a pint of beer in two seconds flat (!) probably won’t believe if I told them that I used to hate beer. It’s true; at the age of six when my dad fooled me into having a sip of his “tea”, I had no love for the bitter brew ever since. I presume the impression that most of my non-beer-drinking friends have of beer is just as unpleasant.

In fact it wasn’t until the ripe age of about 12 that I “forced” myself to “enjoy” beer. You see, as a boy of Malaccan-Portuguese heritage, it was almost customary for me to learn how to drink beer at a young age. Beer is an integral part of our lifestyle and culture. Though it took me some time, I finally got accustomed to the taste of beer. While I didn’t always enjoy the taste (it gets very harsh when not absolutely ice cold), I loved the tipsiness that accompanied the bitterness; and so I grew to love beer.

Kilkenny - the only beer I could stop sipping long enough to photograph (a very good beer nonetheless)

Fast forward almost two decades later, here I sit, still having a bitter-sweet relationship with beer; but no longer do I seek the same brew that I spent the better part of my adolescence (and adulthood) getting friendly with. My taste for beer has refined over the years, though admittedly my behavior in public after a few pints never followed suit. While I have re-embraced my dislike for certain beers, my love for beer in general has only gotten stronger. While I do not partake of the pleasures of the brew very often these days, it is in the month of October every year that I indulge in the amber goodness of what I consider to be real beer.

Balloons - turns a good celebration into a great celebration.

With the German celebration of Oktoberfest comes the finest brews that these fine people have blessed our bars with. Much like their cars, there is a world of difference between having a local brew and a German brew. I have swayed many a beer hater to the light (dark?) side with a simple offering of a German brew. My personal favorite is the Paulaner (Hefe-Weissbeir), with a mild yet complex wheat flavor and crispy, almost metallic aftertaste. I could drink it all day, though I’m yet to be given the chance to prove it. However since Oktoberfest is celebrated throughout the month (of October – duh!), one simply does not dignify the festivities if one does not at least try the specially brewed Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, which tastes much like the regular Paulaner wheat beer, but with a pleasantly strong floral note.

Beer + salty food = joy

If there’s any time for a non-beer-drinker to have their minds changed, it’s during Oktoberfest. First impressions aren’t made to last. Neither is good beer. So have it fresh, at least once a year, every year, at Oktoberfest.

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Posted in Booze, Festive/Seasonal | 1 Comment