Culinary Master Class At Waterfall Cafe, Shangri-La Hotel

A few week ago, I was invited to attend a Culinary Master Class by Chef de Cuisine Stephane Cocu at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore’s new Waterfall Café. This homely and relaxing cafe was officially opened on 19 July 2012 serving savour healthy yet creative dishes inspired by Mediterranean flavours.

Over the years, Chef Stephane's talents have been recognised by many Michelin-starred establishments, such as Le Crayeres in Reims, Restaurant Comme Chez Soi in Brussels and Restaurant Daniel in New York.

Being inspired by Mediterranean culinary philosophy, Chef Stephane crafted a simple menu that embraces the quality of eating well. Immensely passionate about the use of herbs, smoked salts, vinegars and exotic spices, Chef Stephane’s dishes are refreshing and light on the palate.

Above shows the 3 course menu which Chef Stephane had prepared for the Master Class workshop and these dishes are also available at Waterfall Cafe together with other dishes on their menu.

This is their cosy private dining room at Waterfall Cafe, featuring a fully functional show kitchen which is ideal for cooking workshops, small gatherings or corporate retreats.

Being a true advocate of healthy dining, Chef Stephane ensures that all products are sourced from sustainable origins and are free from hormones, pesticides and antibiotics. Here I am sharing 3 recipes of the dishes that we had during the Culinary Master Class workshop which I sure you could also try it out at home using similar ingredients.

WATERMELON AND TOMATO SALAD

A very refreshing starter with using Watermelon, mint leaves and some spices and seasoning that is prepared by Chef Stephane. 

(Serves: 1  | Preparation: 10 minutes )

Ingredients:

• 100g Fresh Tomato
• 100g Fresh Watermelon
• 20g Aragula Salad
• 15g Black Olive(pitted)
• 10g While Grain Mustard
• 40g Parmesan Cheese
• 25g Olive Oil
• 30g Red Onion(sliced) 5g Fresh Mint
• 2g Fresh Basil
• 15g Honey Vinegar

Method:-
1. Cut watermelon into cubes of 1 cm each. Slice sherry vine tomatoes into quarters. Chop fresh mint. Sliced pitted black olives and red onions.

2. To make the crispy parmesan cheese cracker, begin by preheating oven to 150 degree Celsius. Spread parmesan cheese in a non-stick pan and place it in the oven. Bake parmesan cheese until it becomes a nice, blond colour. Remove it and let it cool so that it will get crispy.

3. In a mixing bowl, throw in watermelon cubes, tomatoes, chopped fresh mint, olives and onions. Season with 10g of honey vinegar, 15g of olive oil, whole grain mustard. Add in salt and pepper as preferred. Set aside for later use.

4. In a soup plate, season arugula salad with the remaining oil and honey vinegar. Line the plate with arugula salad before placing the mixture from step 3 on the salad.

5. Garnish salad with crispy parmesan cheese cracker.

Chef's Tip:
~ If the watermelon is not sweet, you may add hone as preferred.

~ Mint leaves can be replaced by basil according to your preference.

ALT ANTIC COD IN BARLEY RISOTTO

Fresh, succulent Atlantic cod with barley risotto, pequillo peppers, Vadoucan emulsion. This is a unique risotto where Chef Stephane replaced rice with organic barley. 

(Serves: 1   | Preparation: 30 minutes   | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 150g Fresh Cod Fish
• 50g Organic Barley
• 30g Pequillo Pepper
• 30cl White Wine
• 30g White Onion
• 100g Heavy Cream
• 100g Milk
• 5g "Vadouvan" spice blend
• 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 Lime
• A Zest Orange
• A Zest Lemon
• Salt and Pepper

Method:-
1. Dice white onion into 3mm thick.

2. In a large pot, suet diced onions with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and fresh butter until the onions are tender and colourless.

3. Add barley to pot and suet for 2 minutes. While stirring the mixture, pour in white wine and let it boil until the wine has evaporated completely. Next, cover the mixture with water.

4.Season barley with salt and pepper as preferred. Add a zest of orange and lemon and continue to stir the risotto as it cooks. When the liquid has almost evaporated and risotto is still too "al dente". you can add a bit of water and let it cook again until the barley becomes tender.

5. Boil milk and heavy cream. Add "Vadouvan" spice blend (consists of fenugreek, cumin, onion and garlic), salt and pepper and let it infuse for 30 minutes. The sauce should turn to a strong yellow colour. Add lime juice.

6. Split pequillo pepper into half and remove the seeds. Cut them into triangles and set aside for later use.

7. In a non-stick pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Using low heat, sear cod fish on one side until it turns dark blond with a crispy exterior. Flip fish over an turn off the flame. Leave fish to cook in the pan for 2 to 3 minutes before removing it.

8. In a pasta bowl, put barley risotto and place fish on top. Spread warm triangular pequillo peppers on fish. Drizzle sauce over the dish ad serve.

Chef's Tip:
~ For a big piece of cod fish, you may slice it into 1cm thick so it cooks better.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

As a chocolate lover, I dote this cake flourless cake a lot. I love it's semi-moist texture with a rich chocolate after taste which I would definitely try making some with this recipe soon.

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
90g Dark Chocolate
33g Water
50t Sugar
60g Butter
2 Egg

Method:-
1. Prepare a pot to boil water and sugar.

2. Add chocolate to a mixing bowl and set aside for later use. Dice butter to soften it.

3. When the water and sugar has boiled, pour them into the mixing bowl with chocolate. Stir well until chocolate melts completely. Next, add in butter, bit by bit.

4.Crack an egg into the mixture and stir well. Repeat this step for the other egg.

5. Set the mixture aside so that it gets thick. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven at 160 degree Celsius. Using a brush, oil your pastry ring (or a ramequin, if preferred).

6. Pour the mixture into the pastry ring until it is 2/3 filled and bake it for 15 minutes.

7. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes before you serve it warm with a scoop of bourbon vanilla ice-cream.

Some of the snacks, bread and beverages that are available in the cafe. Love their organic juice and soda too!

A cosy corner which is good choice for an afternoon tea gathering

With a seating capacity of 92, including 24 seats in the al fresco area, Waterfall cafe is open from 6:30 am to 10:30pm daily, except dinner on Sundays. It also serve as an all-day dining cafe starting from breakfast, light snacks, lunch and dinner.

WATERFALL CAFE
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
22 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258350
Reservation: (65) 6213 4138
Website: http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/dining/restaurants/waterfall-cafe/

Opening Hours: Daily (except Sundays)

~ Breakfast; 6.30am - 11am

~ Light Snacks; 11am - 12pm, 3pm - 6pm

~ Lunch; 12pm - 3pm

~ Dinner; 6pm - 10.30pm

The Official Launch of Joyoung Soymilk Maker

About 2 weeks ago I was invited to attend an official media launch for Joyoung Soymilk Maker (九阳豆浆机), the No.1 Soymilk Maker in the World which sells about 13 million sets per year. This easy to use soymilk maker is remarkable with only 2 simple steps such as add in soy beans and water, select the function and homemade soymilk will be ready in just 25 minutes. For your cleaning convenience, the soy milk maker also comes with an easy-wash function too.

As you can see from the above, Joyoung Soymilk Maker comes with a stunning, elegant design and its inner jug and grinder is also made stainless steel. And with the ultra fine technology, Joyoung Soymilk Maker breaks each soybean down into bits and particles which make it more nutrients and richer in taste and fragrance.

Above shows the two models; DJ13C-D08D(S) (S$268.00) on the left and DJ12C-A11D(S) (S$218.00) on the right which are available in Singapore retailing at Audio House, Best Denki, Gain City, Harvey Norman, Isetan, Mustafa, NTUC X-tra and etc. And with these two newer models of Joyoung Soymilk Maker – DJ13C-D08D(S) and DJ12C-A11D(S) it also boast new technologies that allow you to choose your own preference such as smoother, healthier or thicker soy milk.

Ms Lim, General Manager of Happiness (Pte) Ltd sharing the function of the soymilk maker which has over 200 patent rights during product development stage. According to her this amazing soymilk maker can used to make different types of recipes for everyone in the family such as:-

~ Rice gruel with fresh vegetables and meat for babies
~ Western style cream soup
~ Smoothies
~ Dessert
~ Homemade Jam
~ Flavoured Soymilk
~ Grains

Owner of Joyoung Soymilk Maker sharing their company profile with the media. Joyoung Co. Ltd was established in 1994 and it is now a modernised enterprise that specialises in Research and Development, manufacture and sale of kitchen appliances. Joyoung has 8 product lines containing over 200 models which include soymilk maker, blender, juice extractor, electric kettle, rice cooker, slow cooker and induction cooker.

And being the pioneer and leader of soymilk maker, the pioneer of juice extractor and blender commanding top 3 market share, Joyoung's products is available in Chinese and 30 other countries and regions including Japan, USA, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

During the official launch, Chef Anna Phua also shared 8 recipes which she had created using Joyoung Soymilk Maker where you could take look from the photos shown below.

Walnut Paste:- Although it is a bit dilute compared to the normal walnut paste dessert, but it still taste good and easy to prepare at home.

Look at the texture of the above Cantonese Style Chicken Porridge, can you believe it is cook using Joyoung soymilk maker? The texture is incredibly smooth and silky which makes a great baby and old folks food.

If you like western-style of Cream Soup, Joyoung soymilk maker can also complete your request in less than 30 minutes.

Base on chef Anna demo, making Strawberry Jam is such a breeze by using Joyoung soymilk maker.

Close to "Lao Ban Beancurd" texture and taste but Chef Anna used Horlic (malt) instead of creamer to enhance the taste.

Lastly I would like to thank to Brand Cellar Pte Ltd, Happiness (Pte) Ltd and Joyoung for the complimentary Soymilk Maker to media who attend their Official Launch.

I will be sharing some recipe(s) using this quick and easy Soymilk Maker soon over at my recipe blog. But meanwhile, you can preview what I have made using Joyoung soymilk maker over at my facebook page HERE.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

This is rather my "first post" on making a proper Pandan Chiffon Cake using tube pan (similar to an angel food cake pan) method rather than the previous two (recipes) I made using Happy Call Pan (HCP). Although the recipe is quiet similar but for this round I replaced the usual pandan paste /pandan juice with pandan flavour coconut milk (obtain by blending some fresh pandan leave and coconut milk together) which I have some leftover while making Pandan Kaya (recipe).

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) Food Trail 2012 - Singapore Night Safari

For the last part of our "Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) Food Trail 2012", we get to go for a kitchen tour on behind-scenes of the Ulu Ulu Restaurant with Chef Low as well a special dinner spread prepared by him and his team.

For your information, Chef Low is the man behind Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s unique dining as well as the culinary maestro behind award-winning dining experiences that include Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife at Singapore Zoo, Lunch with Parrots at Jurong Bird Park and Gourmet Safari Express at Night Safari.

After an interesting Lunch with Parrot and some exciting and birds shows, we were back at the Singapore Night Safari for our evening programme.   

Awaiting for us is Chef Kelvin Low who is professionally trained at Le Cordon Bleu and he has whipped up exquisite fare for local and international dignitaries, celebrities and royalty. These include Singapore's former president S.R. Nathan, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, former foreign minister George Yeo, magician David Copperfield and even the Prince of Wales.

Some of the Open Kitchen Concept stalls in Ulu Ulu Restaurant

Chef Low showing us around the behind-scenes Kitchen Tour @ Ulu Ulu Restaurant

Different Food Stations in the Ulu Ulu Restaurant Kitchen.

Chef Low explaining to us about their new Pastry Kitchen where pastry chefs made their cakes and desserts.

For hygiene purpose they have a separated room for handing raw meat.

Some of the prepared the dishes that are ready to be served

Upon entering the dining area, most of us was shock and excited to see the beautiful arrangement and set up for that night's theme. Really appropriated their thoughts and warm hospitality. 

Our Menu For The Night

Surprised to see this olden days serving mug when our beverages arrived.

For starter we had Ulu Ulu Chicken Satay which was so delicious that everyone gave their positive feedback on both the satay and their peanut sauce. Most of us even finished the whole cup of peanuts sauce and asking for more top up. 

Next we had BBQ Chicken Wing which are quite similar to those sold at the BBQ stalls in hawker center. The wings are well glazed and tasty which makes it goes well with the spicy in-house made chilli sauce.

Trio Meat Platter Chicken Rice served with 3 different kinds of Chicken such as Roasted, Soy Sauce and Steamed. Personally I felt the texture and taste of the chicken could have being better.

Other than the impressive Ulu Ulu Chicken Satay that we loved, this is another recommending dish to try if you are craving for some Indian cuisine. The Naan bread is good, not very oil bu yet crispy and tasty when dip with the mint sauce. Even though the fish fillet might look dry but actually it was juicy and full of flavour from the spices used.

Although I am not a crab lover (because I find it trouble and messy to eat the crab meat from the shell) but I love to sink those deep-fried mantou (bun) into the gravy. Overall the Ulu Ulu Chili Crab was a bit salty to my liking but with the accompanied fried bun this dish is still score above average.

To end the dinner, we each had a glass of Sea Coconut with Glass Jelly which was prefer for that warm evening.

After our hearty dinner we decided to go for a short walk at the newly launched Wallaby Trail but unfortunately it started to rain heavily before we reached the destination. Despite being stranded we still having fun running in the raining and I am sure this WRS Food Trail programmes would marked a wonderful memories in our life.