Apr 22nd,2017
‘So’ wonderful … with Chef So Chai Huan, who not only took us through a fun masterclass but also provided my opening pun here 😀
Chef So Chai Huan has flown in from JW Marriott, Singapore to bring to us the Singapore street food festival Lau Pa Sat at the Feast, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru at Brigade Gateway.
The festival is named after the famous street Lau Pa Sat in Singapore, where in the evening the ends of the street are cordoned off to the traffic and the place turns into a buzzing hub, serving the most delightful traditional foods. With excitingly varied options and the added advantage of being hygienic, such fare attracts the hungry hordes in the disciplined, tiny little country that is quite the foodies paradise !!!
An invite to a Singapore street food culinary Masterclass followed by a Singapore meal, is enough to make anyone Sing loud in joy and though I mercifully did not do that, there was certainly a song in my heart as I joined a group of fellow food enthusiasts for an afternoon of learning and dining.
The Oriental section of the buffet at the Feast (which is a restaurant at the Sheraton), was decked up with Chinese lanterns and buntings, that played their part in creating an ambience to match. Ethnic and traditional ingredients, displayed themselves on neatly arranged shelves.
The affable chef instantly endeared himself to us with his smiling face. His friendly demeanor and our perpetual enthusiasm, ensured that all his apprehensions of differences in accent and culture vanished in seconds and we carried on as if we had always known each other 😀
Chef So took us through the creation of 4 dishes, namely Sweet and Sour Pork, Shrimp paste crispy chicken, Stir fried prawn with home made Sambal chilli sauce and fabulous Chicken kut teh, which was a clear broth made with chicken stock, Angelica root slice and the Chinese wine Shaoxing jiu.
The nondescript appearance belied the stunning flavors trapped inside … flavors that released themselves on our palate and unleashed on us one of the best items of the meal !!!
As for the pork and prawn, it goes without saying that they were excellent, though the pork could have been a bit more tender. Working with local piggies might have been a Tough challenge for the chef 😀
And despite the fact that I generally don’t much care for chicken, it was excellent too, with its unusual sprinkling of oatmeal and milk powder garnish. Of course, I would be partial to anything coated in shrimp paste right ? 😀
Well the chef also took us on a little tour of the dishes in store and we then began with our meal with a hearty Laksa where I opted for the seafood.
The salad counter had the Gado gado – the medley of seasonal veggies in peanut sauce) and prawn crackers on the side, a Seafood Salad with squid and prawn and Rojak – the fruit and vegetable salad.
In addition this counter had the Honey dew sago – musk melon in sago and coconut milk, Bubur cha cha – a sweet congee with sweet potato and taro in coconut milk and the Tau suan which was like a mung dal payasam. I eventually had these as desserts, and they were cool and refreshing and not overly sweet and satisfied the coconut lover in me.
According to the chef, the Tau suan is traditionally served hot but apparently he had been told that we like our ‘payasams’ cold. Well no complaints from me on that sweltering afternoon because a hot dessert would have not have been much fun 😀
Apart from the dishes that we tasted at the class, the mains had Stir fried tenderloin with sambal, a fabulous Sliced lamb with curry potato in a creamy finger licking sauce and a spicy Chilli and black pepper mix seafood stir fry.
Singaporean Chicken Curry, Stir fried Bok choy in garlic sauce, Stir fry vegetables, varieties of fried rice, Cereal Prawn Mee Goreng, Fried Hokkien Mee and a lot more, were a part of the main course.
Of course there is no street feel without live counters and Fried fish and chicken, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Popiah – the fresh spring roll, Kuih Pie Tee – the cutie pie pastry filled with vegetables and prawn 😀 etc will also be available.
The festival is a part of their usual larger buffet spread which includes the regular multi cuisine fare.
The details are as follows –
Dates – Apr 21st to 30th, 2017
Cost – Lunch INR 1545 plus taxes
Dinner INR 1695 plus taxes
Contact – 080-42521000
Apr 22nd,2017
For more pictures see My Facebook – Sheraton Grand-Singapore Street Food Festival
#singaporestreetfoodfestival #laupasat #sheratongrand
