I never thought I’d be blogging a 3-part blog series for Malaysia Kitchen alone! I will still need to do a full recap for the rest of the show other than Malaysia Kitchen and that is coming up next. I am so, so impressed at my fellow food bloggers who have somehow managed to “compress” everything into one single post. I’d like to believe that I tried.. but failed miserably, lol. So instead I’m going for the “small chunks” like short stories in a big book – come back tomorrow and read the new chapter!

I did, however, manage to compile ALL the best photos I took on the day into one single Flickr album. Click here to access my Flickr album: Good Food and Wine Show 2011 (Melbourne)

Another highlight for me at Malaysia Kitchen was when the team from Chai prepared amazing looking Nasi Lemak styled Beef Rendang. It looked so good, but on the Friday the queue was massive and I had to rush back to work so I missed out.

The little tasting boat plates were beautifully assembled with a bit of fragrant coconut rice, sliced cucumbers, hard boiled egg, fried anchovies and nuts and topped with a small serving of the Beef Rendang. I was drooling… but the queue was massive. So on Day One I left feeling deprived.

BUT! On Day Two I went back and was so happy to see that Chai is back and Beef Rendang is back! The queue wasn’t overly massive, so I finally got to taste it. Was it worth it? Oh heck YES!! It was sooo worth it. The Beef Rendang was probably one of the best I have ever tasted and the flavors all blended together so well. I may be a bit biased, as Nasi Lemak is one of my most favorite dishes in the world – but it’s actually quite difficult for me to like every variety of Beef Rendang. The meat has to be really tender and the flavors must have a good balance. And THIS had a great balance and amazing flavors and the beef has been cooked to the utmost tenderness! Just wished I had a whole plate of this rather than just a tiny little tasting boat plate, lol.

Later that day, the team from Chillipadi took over and did a little “Teh Tarik” demonstration for me. Teh Tarik is directly translated as “Pulled Tea” which is basically just black tea with sweetened condensed milk, pulled to get that froth just before serving.

The Chillipadi gang was there to demonstrate how to make Roti but unfortunately I couldn’t stick around for this as I had to rush off into the Celebrity Theatre to see Gary and George! Wish I did though… nothing quite beats the fluffiness of authentic Malaysian Roti… sigh.

I did however, manage to convince the Chillipadi boys to do a little “pose” for me. Hahahahaa… Malaysia Boleh 🙂

As I’ve said at the beginning of my post (Part 1) the thing I love about the Malaysia Kitchen stall is that nothing was for sale, everything was free and to sample. Even the drinks in the fridge and at the end of the day, they were giving out Malaysian Savoury Buns but I was just too full by the end of the day to eat it. Took a really nice photo though!

So that finally wraps up my Malaysia Kitchen Recap at the Good Food and Wine Show 2011 in Melbourne. Overall, I think it was a huge success for them. I think they did a good job at showcasing Malaysian cuisine to the Australian market. Melbourne itself is a multicultural city so people were more adventurous with their food and are willing to try new things. I was glad to meet some people while I was there, including a representative from Malaysia Kitchen who traveled all the way from Kuala Lumpur to be there for the weekend!

If you have any questions with regards to authentic Malaysian cuisine, please do not hesitate to drop me an email at kimbasworldkitchen@gmail.com – if I know the answer, I will be more than happy to help 🙂

Stay tuned for more Good Food and Wine Recap in my next few coming blog posts!