MasterChef Australia George Calombaris Exclusive Dining Experience
MasterChef Australia George Calombaris Exclusive Dining Experience
I have seen him on TV so many times, I have lost count. He is the celebrity chef and judge of Masterchef Australia, George Calombaris. Calombaris had a meet and greet session at The Gardens on Sunday (26/10/2014). Hundreds of MasterChef Australia fans had the opportunity to see celebrity chef and judge George Calombaris when he stopped by to not only say hello to his fans, but to taste local delicacies as well! Calombaris’ visit was to promote the new season of MasterChef Australia Season 6, which airs weeknights at 7pm & 11pm, on Lifetime (Astro Ch 709).
(Calombaris talks about his opinion on rojak and other Malaysian food)
Through Lifetime’s website, Malaysian fans of the MasterChef Australia series voted for their favorite local dish that they would like Calombaris to eat while on his visit. The top three dishes presented to Calombaris for a ‘taste-off’ as voted by fans were Nasi Kerabu, Assam Laksa, and Penang Style Oyster Omelette.
The exclusive dining experience took place at Pullman Bangsar Kuala Lumpur with 150 invited VIPs, guests, bloggers and contest winners on Monday evening (27/10/14). It was a four course dinner with inspiration of the local Malaysian dishes. They are Chicken Parfait with Bitter Chocolate Baklava, Coffee, Cumquat, Pickled Onion and Pumpkin Seeds, Green Greek Salad with Stir Fry Abalone, Poached Chicken with Miso Hummus and Green Mango Salad and Chocolate Cake.
(Calombaris talks about his inspiration in creating the dinner menu)
During dinner, Calombaris shared a few tips and tricks whilst bringing the MasterChef kitchen to life when he started cooking his signature dish with an Asian twist, namely Poached Chicken with Miso Hummus and Green Mango Salad. Fans at the event were given the opportunity to ask the MasterChef Australia judge questions through Twitter by asking a question while including the hashtag #AskGeorge.
Chicken Parfait with Bitter Chocolate Baklava, Coffee, Cumquat, Pickled Onion and Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken Parfait with Bitter Chocolate Baklava, Coffee, Cumquat, Pickled Onion and Pumpkin Seeds offers a very interesting journey of flavours. While some of the guests said that it is a taste of four seasons, maybe this dish was inspired by rojak. He loved the different texture and flavours of rojak and probably this chicken parfait is his translation of rojak. There are a few distinctive flavours here, the chicken parfait, the cumquat and pickled onion.
Green Greek Salad with Stir Fry Abalone
Interesting combination of vegetables was used for the green Greek salad with stir fry abalone. Love the fact that the taste of the salad didn’t overwhelm the stir fry thin slices of abalone.
We wished to have a bigger portion of the abalone
Poached Chicken with Miso Hummus and Green Mango Salad
Interesting way to pair poached chicken with miso hummus and green mango salad. The hummus is unforgettable and it is as good as the one I had in his restaurant, Gazi in Melbourne CBD. The poached chicken’s texture was soft and it goes very well with the refreshing green mango salad.
Chocolate Cake.
When we read chocolate cake, it appears as a boring dish. However, the best dish of the night goes to this chocolate cake. The diced chocolate cake comes with flavoured foam, ice cream and salted caramel. This dessert is so good and it left everyone talking about it. Chef Calombaris really nailed this as the sweet taste of the cake and the ice cream with hints of the saltiness of the caramel creates a harmony of flavour. Now, I wonder if he sells this dessert in his restaurant in Melbourne.
“MasterChef Australia returned to Lifetime on 29 September and already is #1 in its timeslot*. This season, we meet the best group of amateur cooks the competition has seen. Lifetime has created a huge fan base for MasterChef Australia, so we’re thrilled to be bringing George to meet some of his fans around the region,” said Michele Schofield, Senior Vice President, Programming & Marketing, A+E Networks Asia.
On his trip to Asia, George Calombaris shared, “I am excited to be on this MasterChef Australia tour in Asia. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited Singapore and Indonesia, and this will be the first time visiting Malaysia professionally. I loved sharing my passion for food with everyone, got a taste of the delicious local dishes and soaked in the local culture here. To me, food is family, family is life, and life is everything.”
If you noticed carefully, Calombaris has lost tremendous weight. He lost 20kg in total by eating healthy and that is something I need to do!
Continuing his tour of Southeast Asia, Calombaris will make his way to Singapore on 28 October and Indonesia on 30 October.
For more information, please visit LifetimeAsia.com/GeorgeinMY.
