The Malaysian Insider :: Food
The Malaysian Insider :: Food |
| Jack Daniel’s angers rivals with ‘Tennessee Whisky’ label Posted: 29 Mar 2014 09:28 PM PDT But to rivals, some with their roots in ginning up moonshine in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, Jack Daniel's wants to lock them out of a booming business. In a battle of two global giants of liquor distribution, Diageo versus Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's wants legislators in the state capital Nashville to implement clear standards on what spirit can wear the "Tennessee Whisky" label. The industry powerhouse says only the drink that is made from at least 51% corn fermented mash, aged in new barrels of charred oak, filtered through maple charcoal and at least 40% alcohol should qualify as Tennessee whisky. Unsurprisingly, that is how the 148-year-old Jack Daniel's makes its own bourbon-style whisky. The distiller, owned by Brown-Forman, was able to push that standard through the Tennessee general assembly last year before competitors could mount resistance. Diageo, whose George Dickel brand is the state's number two whisky – and is already made to the new official code – said Brown-Forman engineered the change through "misleading and deceptive political moves" that gives it an advantage. Establishing the pro-Jack Daniel's definition amounts to "effectively reversing the flexibility that has been enjoyed for more than 130 years by Tennessee whisky distillers," said Guy Smith, Diageo executive vice-president for North America. "Diageo is willing to consider a standard for Tennessee whisky," he said. "However, it is imperative that standard be reflective of the collective input from Tennessee whiskey distillers large and small, not just from one oppressive company as is currently the case." Unfair competitive advantage? Jack Daniel's dominates the business from its headquarters in Lynchburg, just west of the Appalachians. It produced 11 million cases last year, compared with just 130,000 by George Dickel, located just a few kilometres away. The fight is over principle, for one, but also over an economic issue that disadvantages especially the many smaller independent distilleries trying to make a mark in the spirits business. The rule requiring the use of new barrels – rather than reusing them – can be a heavy cost, at hundreds of dollars each. Phil Prichard, owner of Prichard's distillery, said the state law violates other laws against monopolies and gives Jack Daniel's an unfair competitive advantage. "We have plenty of federal regulations that define our product type. But it is our choice how to combine those ingredients, how to manage the techniques that allow us to create those products," he said. "The final arbiter of quality, those who will judge our quality best, are those who buy our products," he added. Jack Daniel's says the move is not to protect its market power but instead to help the Tennessee whisky brand, in the same way that other famous drinks – such as champagne, cognac, and scotch whisky – are defined by strict production guidelines. "Not any kind of sparkling wine can call itself champagne," said Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at Jack Daniel's. By maintaining a production standard, he said, "champagne is held in a higher esteem as a higher quality product ... It does not mean that all champagnes will taste the same. It is the same for cognac or armagnac." The new rules, he argued, will help small distillers. "They don't mind being held to a higher standard. They don't want to create cheap products that would become synonymous with the state name," Arnett said. The fight has brought the weight of two industry giants down on the capital of the southern state. Brown-Forman – based in Louisville, Kentucky – distributes Finlandia vodka, Pepe Lopez Tequila, Canadian Mist, Southern Comfort and Early Times whiskies, and Korbel champagne. Diageo is much larger – its brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Crown Royal and Guinness. On Tuesday, the opponents of the Jack Daniel's standard scored a minor victory in the state's general assembly. It decided to put the rule under study that would take input from the entire industry. But it stopped short of revoking the rule, which George Dickel and Diageo had demanded. – AFP, March 30, 2014. |
| Fine and delectable at Way Modern Chinois Posted: 28 Mar 2014 05:51 PM PDT The restaurant has a contemporary and elegant decor, mostly in grey, black and white, with rosewood panels. It's "Way Modern" as its name suggests, and I was told "way" in Mandarin also means "unique". We were in a well-lit private room, all the better to see the food we were eating. Our expectations of fine, contemporary Chinese cuisine were slowly realised in the long afternoon spent there. First we had the Snow Buns, then the Carrot Cake with XO Sauce, Shredded Duck Cheong Fun, Crab Roe Fried Rice, among other dishes. The first and the last especially deserved applause for the chef. The Snow Buns had a cracked crispy crust from the baked custard topping that gave way to a soft inside, spilling out the sweet chicken char siu. This was delicious. The yummy aroma of the Crab Roe Fried Rice filled the room as it was served. The rice, the long grain basmati variety, had been fried with crabmeat and crab roe, and then topped with creamy crab roe that had been blended and cooked with butter and chopped spring onion. It was totally scrumptious. The creamy crab roe reminded me of noodles smothered with this that I once had in a restaurant in Macau. Like this Crab Roe Rice, it was unforgettable. Chef Louis Liu tells us he had used basmati rice as the grains wouldn't stick together while frying. The chef, who is from Huizhou, Guangdong, has honed his skills at restaurants in Shanghai, and also at the Shangri-La Pudong. He has also served as dim sum chef at a dim sum chain in Malaysia. Way Modern Chinois, which is pork-free, serves dim sum both at lunch and dinner. The Snow Buns are part of this, as is the Shredded Duck Cheong Fun which had a smooth, sticky texture and which was bursting with the shredded roast duck with the light fragrance of mandarin peel. I tasted crispy dried shrimps inside, too. The rice roll with duck was good even without dipping into the sweet sauce provided. It's a dense carrot (or radish) cake you get here, packed with flavour even on its own. It's fried with XO sauce which already has dried shrimps, dried scallop strips, and dried chilli in it. Add fresh scallops and our Carrot Cake with XO Sauce was taken to another level. The Salted Egg Chicken Strips tasted ordinary after what we had. This had strips of chicken coated with salted egg yolk and chilli and fried till almost crispy. I'm sure this would be addictive with a cold beer from the bar. We moved on to Way's signature Waterless Chicken Soup, double-boiled kampung chicken without skin. This is done without water added to the chicken, so that what we got was the pure essence of it, with just a little salt added. We revelled in the subtly sweet, almost complex taste of this and felt good. The Crispy Lion Fish is a garoupa skilfully cut so that when it's deep fried it opens up like a lion's mane. It even has two blueberries as its eyes. The menu reflects the owners' preference for deepfried food, and the Golden Tofu was one of these. Cubes of tofu were marinated with shrimp paste and deep fried, then finished with a chilli sauce. The tofu was aromatic and flavourful, the crispy, spiced skin giving way to creamy smooth tofu. Our vegetable dish was Hong Kong Choysam with Crispy Silver Fish, which was quite a nice combination, too. Our desserts were Sweet Red Bean Roll, Musang King Durian Pancake and the Honey Osmanthus Pudding. I loved the bite of the sticky, smooth red roll. The Honey Osmanthus Pudding had a little gin in it which was not really apparent but I liked its texture and floral scent. I would have preferred more durian than cream in the Durian Pancake, which made its presence felt with its intense durian aroma. The prices: The Golden Tofu is RM10, Waterless Chicken Soup RM58, Crab Roe Fried Rice RM42, Choysam with Crispy Silverfish RM20, Snow Buns RM10, Duck Cheong Fun RM17, Salted Egg with Chicken RM18, Crispy Lion Fish RM59. Desserts are RM10 each, with the Durian Pancake RM14. The portions are good for three or four people, and the prices seem reasonable in a restaurant of this class. – March 29, 2014. Way Modern Chinois is at G.01 Work@Clearwater, Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2095 1118, 016-364 6596. |
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