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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:11 PM PST

The CaramelCrisp flavour also comes in nut variants. — Pictures by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Imagine this: people lining up to pay on average RM16 for a packet of popcorn. Yes, popcorn. And this isn't at the cinema either where an average-sized caramel popcorn sets you back only RM6.90.

Yes, Garrett Popcorn — a Chicago gourmet popcorn chain — opened its first outlet at KLCC here in November and the queues were incredible. People were talking about it on Twitter and Facebook even before it opened.

(The fact that the machines broke down on its test day also made it to Twitter!)

The lunch crowd at the KLCC branch... popcorn for dessert?

While there are no longer long lines of people at the outlets (there is now another Garrett in 1 Utama in Petaling Jaya) — except for public holidays and weekends — Garrett is still talked about. The heavenly, sweet aroma hits you first and most people can't help but look or linger as they watch others queue up for this premium snack.

Available in Plain, Buttery, CaramelCrisp, CheeseCorn, The Chicago Mix, Macadamia CaramelCrisp, Almond CaramelCrisp and Cashew CaramelCrisp, with prices ranging from RM9 to RM229, Garrett Popcorn is the latest food fad to hit town. Move over, bubble tea.

So what is it about Garrett Popcorn that has Malaysians willing to fork out so much money for what has long been thought of as a movie snack? Those of us who frequently go across the border to Singapore would have heard of Garrett Popcorn before this.

Clockwise from the top: CaramelCrisp, The Chicago Mix and Spicy CheeseCorn flavours.

My group of friends, who frequent Singapore for work, used to take turns to bring back packets of cheesy or caramel goodness for each other. When the news broke that Garrett Popcorn was going to open in Malaysia, there were many enthusiastic tweets about it and many wondered if the pricing was going to be sky high. In Singapore, a packet would cost about S$9 (RM22) or so.

"The shops themselves are very similar to the Singapore branches and the pricing is roughly about the same as the Singapore ones too, if you ask me. As for the taste they're about the same which is a good thing though I have to admit that the Singapore Garrett popcorns do look a bit bigger than the Malaysian ones," said Nazrin Zain, a Garrett fan.

According to one staff member at the KLCC outlet, the most popular flavour is Macadamia CaramelCrisp. I've tried it and it is indeed yummy. At RM19 a pop, this is no cheap indulgence but there are loads of macadamia in it. In line with the Chinese New Year festive season, Garrett is introducing the Spicy CheeseCorn flavour and the Year of the Dragon tin, which are only available for a limited time. The Spicy CheeseCorn flavour is also available in other countries.

"Some of my friends call me crazy for queuing up and paying big bucks for popcorn. 'It's only popcorn!' they would tell me but Garrett is not just any popcorn. The kernels are fully popped so you do not get them stuck in-between your teeth.

Available for the festive season only, the Spicy CheeseCorn flavour is worth trying.

"For the caramel flavour ones, each popcorn is coated fully in rich caramel compared to regular popcorn which is basically just sugar syrup almost. My personal favourite is the Macadamia CaramelCrisp... about 90 per cent of the popcorn has macadamia. Yes, it may be costly but I think the price is justifiable," said Sally Ng, a regular customer and obviously a fan.

The Garrett Popcorn outlet in 1 Utama is located within Candylicious, a large candy shop with a wide selection of sweets and chocolates from all over the world. During weekends and public holidays, the queue gets very long.

And guess what, the PJ folks are also fans of the Macadamia CaramelCrisp flavour. I casually asked the guy behind the counter if the Spicy CheeseCorn flavour had taken off yet since we Malaysians are fans of anything spicy but he said it was not a popular choice yet. Or it could be that people like to stick to favourites and are not adventurous enough to try out the Spicy CheeseCorn flavour just yet.

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In New York, a Tanjung Malim man earns rave reviews for redefining Asian food

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:59 AM PST

The sign outside Wong's.

NEW YORK, Jan 4 — In an era where restaurants avoid the fusion moniker, a Chinese Malaysian chef from Tanjung Malim, Perak, who has made a name for himself in the cut-throat world of gastronomy is earning renewed acclaim for what the New York Times this week referred to as "Asian Fusion, the Latest Chapter."

In a review of Simpson Wong's latest restaurant — known simply as Wong — the newspaper highlighted specialities like his duck-fat ice cream in a dessert called duck a la plum.

Simpson Wong: Not fusion; it's "Asian locavore".

Referring to people who try the dessert, the review points to how "first they stop talking. Then they stop moving. Their eyes shut, and just when you're wondering how long this will last, they pop open again, bright with the pleasure of discovery."

Wong does not use the term fusion to describe its fare.

It is known as "Asian locavore."

Some of the specialities at Wong include duck tongues rolled into small meatballs, as well as a Bolognese made with sea cucumbers, pork and shiitake mushrooms. The sauce is served with rice noodles.

According to Simpson Wong's website he used to own two restaurants, Jefferson and Café Asean in Greenwich Village, New York City. But, when he suffered a heart attack at the age of 40, he was forced to close one of these establishments after learning that he has a hereditary problem with metabolising cholesterol.

Because of the rich and fatty foods involved in his line work, he has to make drastic changes in his lifestyle through a routine of diet and exercise. He began changing the way he cooks by incorporating heart healthy ingredients and cooking techniques. At the latest, his cholesterol level plummeted to 150 from a high of 300.

When he was a child, Simpson Wong was often intrigued by his parents' cooking skills. He still recalls his mother's braised duck with young ginger and black bean sauce and his father's delicious silky egg custard.

The dining room at Wong.

With such an early exposure to good food, it is not surprising that Wong ended up as a chief chef in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world — New York.

"I learnt a lot by watching my parents cook. Through the years of exposure, I developed an intuition and palate as to how a dish should come off. Nowadays, I constantly experiment with new methods of cooking," says Wong, who owns Café Asean and Jefferson (Currently Close) in New York.

Wong, who hails from Tanjung Malim, Perak, started working as a bank teller after completing his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia in 1981. Six years later, he decided to call it quits.

He moved to New York in 1988. While he was discovering New York, he also tried living in London in 1990 and worked in a translation firm as well as a part-time waiter in a restaurant, but gave up after a year.

"Although London is a great city, the weather is a major drawback. It rains far too often and is overcast and gloomy. It is also very costly and the mass transit is not very convenient. The tube stops running at 11pm. Most importantly, for a foreigner, it is harder to get a job in London than in New York," he says on his website.

"I chose to settle in New York because America is a land of opportunity. Anyone who is willing to work hard for his dreams has a realistic chance of success. Moreover, the city is the most ethnically diverse and progressive in the United States and perhaps in the world," says Wong.

Not forgetting the bar where your favourite cocktails are served.

Wong's fame has spanned the better part of the last decade.

Around 2004, his Jefferson restaurant's dining room was featured on Sex and the City.

He closed the restaurant after his heart attack.

According to the New York Times' review of Wong, he travelled back to Malaysia to be with his mother for inspiration before embarking on his latest venture.

Together with his 80-year-old mother, Wong embarked on eating tours around Asia, the newspaper reported, and what they found served as inspiration for his latest restaurant.

"At 48, Mr. Wong has closed a popular and acclaimed restaurant. He knows what a heart attack feels like. For future reference, if those things happen to you, there are worse ways to react than to invent duck tongue meatballs," the newspaper wrote of the Malaysian, who is a permanent resident in the United States.

Inside Wong's kitchen where all the delicious food is cooked.

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 4 Januari 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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