KL in Parramatta
A close family friend had organised and shouted a sumptuous dinner last night in a quiet corner of one of Sydney's booming and growing shires, Parramatta. Bordering the now famous Bennelong electoral constituency which recently cost a long standing Australian Prime Minister his seat, Parramatta is the fifth largest growing urban concentration in the Australian economy - after Sydney, Melbourne,Brisbane and Newcastle, and churning a GDP by itself faster than Adelaide,Cairns, Hobart and Darwin.
The day had been dry hot, averaging thirty degrees Celsius and I had been looking forward to some spicy-kick food. A new set-up called Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Cuisine had been established near a primary entrance/exit of the rail station, with a menu that reflects the multi-cultures of the homeland of most of the diners. Cooked by ethnic Chinese, my group of 13 persons could sample the variety of dishes offered, including Penang char koay teow; chicken rendang; bean sprouts stir-fried with salted fish bits;tofu steamed with minced pork; sago dessert soaked in Malacca palm sugar and coconut milk; squid dry curry; whole fish deep fried in sour and hot curry; Hainan styled chicken with flavoured rice; and Chinese-styled spinach.
I could have been in a restaurant in Petaling Jaya or one of the Klang Valley suburbs surrounding the Malaysian capital. The key to Malaysian cuisine is the texture and vitality of the many ingredients and sauces that go into the marination of a dish. The freshness of the curry, or the smoothness of the meat or veg cut in different ways, are important indicators. There is more preparation work, the aroma of the right herbs does help and the mood of the chefs do infuse into the final product served. Having said that, I was very satisfied with two dishes - subtle egggplant and the delicate thin pig slices served with onion and a certain Beijing marinade - at a modest joint, Hangfu, along Parramatta's George Street for lunch the same day. The care and love that went into these two dishes showed throughout.
Back in KL, the waiters and the commercial cooks these days are mostly of Burmese, Bangladesh or Indonesian origin. In Australia, we still get ex or transplanted Chinese-Malaysians running the kitchen and the tables. Food is a passion with my dining companions that evening - whilst eating the food, we talked about food, we compared rival outlets and we analysed the things that went into the dishes served in front of us.
The day had been dry hot, averaging thirty degrees Celsius and I had been looking forward to some spicy-kick food. A new set-up called Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Cuisine had been established near a primary entrance/exit of the rail station, with a menu that reflects the multi-cultures of the homeland of most of the diners. Cooked by ethnic Chinese, my group of 13 persons could sample the variety of dishes offered, including Penang char koay teow; chicken rendang; bean sprouts stir-fried with salted fish bits;tofu steamed with minced pork; sago dessert soaked in Malacca palm sugar and coconut milk; squid dry curry; whole fish deep fried in sour and hot curry; Hainan styled chicken with flavoured rice; and Chinese-styled spinach.
I could have been in a restaurant in Petaling Jaya or one of the Klang Valley suburbs surrounding the Malaysian capital. The key to Malaysian cuisine is the texture and vitality of the many ingredients and sauces that go into the marination of a dish. The freshness of the curry, or the smoothness of the meat or veg cut in different ways, are important indicators. There is more preparation work, the aroma of the right herbs does help and the mood of the chefs do infuse into the final product served. Having said that, I was very satisfied with two dishes - subtle egggplant and the delicate thin pig slices served with onion and a certain Beijing marinade - at a modest joint, Hangfu, along Parramatta's George Street for lunch the same day. The care and love that went into these two dishes showed throughout.
Back in KL, the waiters and the commercial cooks these days are mostly of Burmese, Bangladesh or Indonesian origin. In Australia, we still get ex or transplanted Chinese-Malaysians running the kitchen and the tables. Food is a passion with my dining companions that evening - whilst eating the food, we talked about food, we compared rival outlets and we analysed the things that went into the dishes served in front of us.
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