Brandon Keong with San Celeste & Winston Yee
Updated: 09th July 2002
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Brandon Keong with San Celeste & Winston Yee
SAM CELESTE'S PENINSULA JAUNT
The wine scene in Malaysia is certainly hotting up, with more wine dinners & tastings being held in the main centres of Penang, Kuala Lumpur and, more recently, Johor Baru. A developing wine affair in Johor Baru is certainly not a bad thing specially for Singaporeans not keen of the asking prices for such affairs in Singapore.
I was able to attend one such wine/food promotion at Sofitel Palm Resort, Johor Baru on 29th June. This was arranged by Winston Wine Cellar, who brought in Chef Sam Celeste for a gourmet tour of the major centres in Peninsula Malaysia from 19th till 30th June 2002. Chef Sam Celeste is owner-chef of Trattoria Severino in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Chef Celeste whipped up an array of his traditional Sicilian specialties to match a range of Australian wines from Winston Wine Cellar's portfolio. The wineries participating in the tour were Virgin Block Winery, Happs Winery, Redgate Winery, Driftwood Winery, Green Valley, Piano Gully, Hotham Valley, Rivendell, Riverina Winery and Deep Woods.
This Peninsula Tour of gourmet dinners were held at Eden Garden Hotel (JB), Mutiara Hotel (JB), Puteri Pan Pacific (JB), Sofitel Palm Resort (Johor), Pulai Spring Resort (Johor), Sunway Lagoon (Kuala Lumpur) & Rasa Sayang Shangri La, Penang.
Prices ranged from RM120 to RM180 (S$60 - S$90) depending on the location & event style.
At Sofitel Palm Resort, Johor Baru, the menu featured Spicy Seafood Soup (Cozze alla Marinara) to start with Riverina's Semillon Chardonnay 2001. The weighty wine held up very well against the spicy soup base & matched well with the seafood nuggets of fish, mussels & prawns.
A substantial plate of Spaghetti Marinara followed to be matched with a Riverina Shiraz 2001. The Shiraz was not heavy but its light fruitiness & soft acidity was a good match with the spicy Napoletana sauce of garlic & chilli. I continued to enjoy the Semillon Chardonnay with this dish.
All this while, I was buttering their offerings of olive bread, fragrant & fresh from the oven. It was to be my undoing, as the two main courses were just as substantial.
The white fish fillet with a green vinegriate sauce of capers, garlic & onions was a little too light for the more substantial Merlot that accompanied this dish. This is certainly a case of catering to the masses by serving more red wine in any promotion.
A mango sherbet was a welcome relief before the meat course.
The Bistecca alla Boscaiola was scotch fillet chargrilled & finished in garlic, mushrooms, wine & a touch of cream. The accompanying Cabernet Merlot 1998 was well matched & a good finish to this very substantial meal. The surprising thing was that we were not asked how we wished the beef to be done. I would have enjoyed more if I had a rare fillet of beef, crispy-charred on the outside & juicy red inside. I guess Malaysian restaurants are still lacking in the finer touches of a Western dining experience. In good time, I am sure they will perfect it.
Certainly a worthwhile trip to Johor Baru for a completely full course meal with free-flow wines for RM150.00. I stayed overnight at Puteri Pan Pacific for under S$80.00, which was excellent for a weekend break.
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