This event was an invitation by AsianFoodChannel (AFC) Studio and DBS Indulge.
I am sure most people in Singapore has a DBS or POSB Card. If you have you would have known about the DBS Indulge program that DBS has. You will be able to attend Masterclasses by well known chefs in Singapore.
This Masterclass I attended was conducted by Chef Chan Kwok from Hua Ting. Hua Ting is known for their Cantonese food and if you have read about Chef Chan Kwok, he has won so many awards that Hua Ting's manager spoke to me, she said they have to stop the Chef from participating to give others a chance to win!
His latest honour was the Chef of the Year and Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year in the 2011 World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence.
This is Chef Chan Kwok posing for all of us!
As this was a Cantonese Chef, I thought I would invite my Cantonese mother-in-law to attend the session with me! My mother-in-law was so excited to go with his son-in-law. She said she will replicate all the dishes she learn that night for all of us! She did 2 weeks later! I have photo evidence of it too, but I shall not post it here ;-)
Chef Chan Kwok demonstrated 3 dishes for the audience that night.
His first dish was something made from winter melon.
My mother-in-law was a career woman and she used to entertain a lot at different restaurants. She has tried many dishes in hotels and restaurants but have never tried to cook them herself. She said she wasn't sure how it will turn out so she did not try them.
It was quite entertaining after the masterclass that she said she finally knew how certain dishes are prepared and it was prepared right before her eyes and she got to taste it.
Dish 1: Braised Winter Melon Stuffed with Shimeiji Mushrooms Topped with Salmon Roe.
Chef seems to make cooking such an effortless task! It's kind of a morale-booster for people who don't cook. Something so delicious and can be prepared so easily at home too!
Dish 2: Pan Fried Sea Perch on Crispy Rice.
It started very 'quiet', until this second dish, Chef was speaking few words and he was not
comfortable speaking English. Our dear eloquent MC Anita Kapoor was quick to notice, and
surprise surprise! She ask the audience if we should ask Chef to speak
in Cantonese or Chinese perhaps?
Suddenly the session became so entertaining! Yup, it seems there was quite a few cantonese speaking audience and they were asking lots of questions. Chef was very happy to answer them as well. If you are like me who only understand a few cantonese words, don't worry, the MC managed to translate for us! Anita understands Cantonese? (My mother-in-law was my personal translator! haha)
When the whole audience was excited, people started to walk nearer to the front too. Yes, it became more intimate. For those who still prefer to sit down, there's always a big TV screen to watch chef prepare the food.
I got quite close! Oh, that's Kurobuta he's preparing!
He told us the neck part is one of the best part and it will taste really good.
When someone is comfortable speaking, you can hear the enthusiasm and the 'happiness' that seems to come out from his voice. He starts to give cooking tips too.
I do realised Chef is very flexible. He was cooking with a big metal serving spoon. He does not seem fussy and will make do. To cook the second dish, he pan fries the kurobuta first.
Set aside the pork, and stir fry the capsicums. We did notice that he did not use garlic when he was preparing the dish. He uses spring onions instead of garlic for this dish. He wants a different taste to the dish.
(Now who says every Chinese dish needs to start by frying garlic? No wonder Chef has been winning awards, his knowledge of ingredients and taste of how things will go together is superb)
Dish 3: Sauteed Kurobuta Pork with Assorted Capsicums
Tada! Look how simple it is, but it can be quite tasty.
My mother-in-law made this same dish for us at home few weeks later. We think she did quite well, it tasted and looks just like the above!
Not part of the demonstration, but we were served this pastry.
You might have miss his Masterclass, but if you want to try his food, you can head to Hua Ting Restaurant where he is the Group Master Chef.
Want to learn from the Chef themselves? Register for their Masterclass.
Head on to http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/dbs/ and see who's the Chef presenting the Masterclass.
For the month of July, Chef Ronnie Chua from the acclaimed Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant will be presenting the masterclass. Interesting to see how he prepares a meal in front of you? For Japanese food lovers, this would be an eye opener.
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