Celebrity chef whips up awesome meal with a touch of spice
By ESTHER CHANDRAN
CHEF PATRICIA Yeo has been away from Malaysia for about 20 years but like most Malaysians, she enjoys pepping up her food with a touch of spice.
Although she did not use bird's eye chilli, the local favourite, for any of her dishes at the recent Celebrity Chef dinner platform at The Westin Kuala Lumpur's Qba, Yeo did however toss in the unique flavourful lantern shaped Habanero, fruity sweet Mexican Ancho and Aleppo chilli from Syria.
“I like using spice in my food as it makes you sit up and pay attention to what you are eating,” the humble and unassuming chef said.
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The hot chef: Chef Patricia Yeo enjoys spicing up her food with all sorts of chillies.
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The first of the chillies to tickle the palate was the notorious Habanero, which she cleverly fused in a serving of Pickled Mackerel Carpaccio, Orange Habanero Emulsion.
She gave diners a break before serving her next dose of spice as she let the Confit of Baby Artichoke Orecchiette Ricotta Salata and Slow Poached Salmon in Chilli Oil, Asparagus Risotto, Asparagus Fritto Misto impress the palate.
The Grilled Lamb Porterhouse, Harissa, Fattoush, Pomegranate Molasses had hidden doses of the sharp dark red Aleppo and it offered a smoky touch to the lamb offering.
It was probably the dessert that got everyone's attention although when it was first placed before us, it looked pretty harmless.
Then the prickly sensation of chilli in the mouth got diners digging their forks into the cake.
Just where was it coming from?
The Molten Chocolate Ancho Cake, Yoghurt Ice Cream as its name suggested had the naughty peppers thrown in for a tease.
Chocolate and chilli tango well together and it was just a testament of Yeo's years of knowledge with food and flavour and of her culinary expertise.
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A spicy creation: The Grilled Lamb Porterhouse, Harissa, Fattoush, Pomegranate Molasses had hidden doses of the sharp dark red Aleppo and it offered a smoky touch to the lamb offering.
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Yeo believes learning on the job was the best way to learn the joys of cooking, like she did.
Her foray into the gastronomic wonders of the world had its roots in college where she used to cook for her housemates, who in turn would clean the house.
“I was on the track and field team and I lived with four guys. The arrangement was I would cook for them while they cleaned the house,” said the chef with an international upbringing from Malaysia to England and United States.
This led to her to a six-day course for housewives before she applied for a job with
Chef Bobby Flay.
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