Some weeks ago I attended a pretty special fine dining session hosted by Carlsberg Malaysia at Samplings on the Fourteen, Berjaya Time Square Hotel in conjunction with their participation in the 11th installation of Malaysian International Gourmet Festival.

That was a long sentence in a paragraph, but basically it was Carlsberg introducing Kronenbourg 1664 & Kronenbourg Blanc as the official beer of the festival.

Asahi, Kronenberg, Blanc, Savanna Dry
Asahi, Kronenberg, Blanc, Savanna Dry

It was a night of food and beer pairing, with the food prepared by Chef Jochen Kern and Chef Valmurugan Subramaniam (Sous Chef of the restaurant).

Chef Jochen Kern is a German culinary expert with more than 40 years of experience in the industry, having served many dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II, President Bill Clinton, Dr. M, King of Thailand, Sultan of Brunei and more. With a credential like his, we knew we were in for a treat.

foie gras - one of my favorites
pan fried foie gras – om nom nom nom

We started the night with Pan Fried Foie Gras on marmalade of fresh grapes, red onion, and Kronenbourg Blanc. Two generous slabs of those liver was more than I bargained for, it was as good as the memory of my first time having it at Zipangu. There were also a couple shavings of truffles on top, le yums!

The foie gras was paired with Savanna Dry Cinder, perfectly counter the fattiness of the liver. Good stuff.

savanna dry cider infused porcini mushroom, poached black cod
savanna dry cider infused porcini mushroom, poached black cod, Blanc

Next up was what the good chef called Cappuccino, Savanna Dry Cider infused Porcini Mushroom; and Poached Black Cod, in Kronenbourg Blanc Sabayon & Beurre du mutarde on brown lentille and potato compote. We had these with a glass of Kronenbourg Blanc.

The soup had an interesting blend of taste, with the sweetness of cider crossing with the taste of mushroom, it worked for me. Poached black cod is new to me too, and the beer infused sauce over the fish was perhaps just a tad too much smoothness, perhaps something fresh or crunchy could have made it even better, but I was just nitpicking. It was still very good nonetheless.

grilled American prime beef tenderloin
grilled American prime beef tenderloin

Then we arrived at the main dish of Grilled American Prime Beef Tenderloin. This slab of meat was glazed in peppered Kronenbourg lager and tomato choron with Louisiana corn crisps and tender chilly bean tomato.

Say what you would about Wagyu or Kobe beef, I still love these classic prime beef just as much. It was perfectly prepared, and of course went very well with the glass of lager accompanying the meat.

hot corossol souffle with cafe luwak, cafe amarula iced
hot corossol souffle with cafe luwak, cafe amarula iced

Desserts came in the form of Hot Chocolate Souffle with cafe luwak sabayon (I just had cafe luwak in Bali a week prior) to go with Inniskillin Ice Wine, which was very cold, sweet, and aromatic, perfect for desserts.

To cap the night, we also had a cup of Cafe Amarula instead of the usual coffee or tea. Much creamier, and carries a kick on top of the coffee flavor, good stuff.

chef Jochen Kern
chef Jochen Kern, Siao Ling, Søren, myself, and Suan

It was a fantastic night that was only bettered by the company at our table of 5. Two other media friends, Suan, and myself were joined by none other than the MD of Carlsberg Malaysia, Søren. Whom despite his position, turned out to be a friendly chap who shared with us many topics both in and outside the industry.

Now I shall replay the memory of savoring that foie gras in my brain, on a loop.

KY eats – Fine Dining with Chef Jochen Kern
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25 thoughts on “KY eats – Fine Dining with Chef Jochen Kern

  • October 30, 2011 at 2:22 pm
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    gasp the foie gras!!!! 😯

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  • October 30, 2011 at 4:52 pm
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    ooo, beer paired with foie gras! that’s an unusual but interesting match that i wouldn’t mind trying. p.s. this is the chef from chalet at equatorial hotel, rite? he has quite a memorable look 😀

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    • October 31, 2011 at 8:44 am
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      Sean: I’m not sure, was the first time I saw him tho.

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      • October 31, 2011 at 11:03 am
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        Sorry to barge in here – but Yeah Chef Val is from Chalet.

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  • October 30, 2011 at 4:59 pm
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    Foie Gras?!! You SICK BASTARD!!@

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    • October 31, 2011 at 8:45 am
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      PanFried: i love my foie gras, it’s bred for food and not an endangered species, that’s good enough for me.

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  • October 30, 2011 at 5:39 pm
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    interestingly i noted that this MIGF they actually have a beer pairing. amazing!

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    • October 31, 2011 at 8:45 am
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      missyblurkit: ya, not so “halal” anymore I guess?

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  • October 30, 2011 at 6:12 pm
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    Is cafe luwak all it’s hyped up to be? I always imagine some villagers sitting around laughing about how the foreigners/ tourists will buy anything if you tell them it’s exclusive and rare and coming up with the most gross thing they can think of – coffee eaten and pooped out by the civet and then conspiring to sell it. Hee, hee. I can hear their cheeky giggles now. 🙂

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    • October 31, 2011 at 8:46 am
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      The Yum List: hahaha well I had it at Bali and it tasted like pretty decent coffee but nothing overly special to me. Perhaps the locals did conspire to suckered us all. lol

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  • October 30, 2011 at 8:28 pm
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    Very nice! I saw Suan’s Twitpics of the dinner and it looks delicious. The foie gras and beer pairing with every dish. I would love to have tried that. 🙂

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    • October 31, 2011 at 8:46 am
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      Huai Bin: yah i’d love to try that again, and again, and again…

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  • October 31, 2011 at 9:29 am
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    so was the food OK or not?.. am reading between the lines here ..

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    • October 31, 2011 at 9:35 am
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      ciki: food was damn nice on the line or in between!

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    • October 31, 2011 at 11:31 am
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      Baby Sumo: haha LE YUMS!!!!

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  • October 31, 2011 at 12:13 pm
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    😈 😯 🙄 😆 OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!! Is all I can say!

    Yumz to the max… now what am I going to have my lunch?? 🙁

    Btw, they serve you a different beverage at every course to go with the dish?

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    • October 31, 2011 at 1:26 pm
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      Anonymousmich: yess, different alcohol on different dish, le yums.

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  • October 31, 2011 at 5:54 pm
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    All the alcohols! Nice! Is it a drink all you want type of event too?

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    • November 1, 2011 at 8:59 am
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      JD: it’s more like please stop giving me so much alcohol!

      Reply

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