El Gourmet.com

The Traveller

By Elisabeth Checa

Published in Spanish, Editor Chief of the web site El Gourmet.com, the leader in Latin America, written by Elisabeth Checa, from Buenos Aires Argentina, translated by Gourmand International.

Gourmet Travel

This year the Gourmand World Media Awards took place in Kuala Lumpur, where the most absolute modern times live at the same time with a very strong identity given by the mix of races and religions. The Malay cuisine is a very rich source of tastes, textures and flavours. Just like the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Elisabeth Checa was there and tells the story. . .

Thus, unexpectedly, as in the best moments of life, I received a VIP invitation to attend and cover the Gourmand World Media Awards.

The invitation was not limited to four days in the capital of Kuala Lumpur. The invited guests, approximately 200 between chefs, journalists and publishers of the whole world could choose between different destinations in the country: islands, beaches, forests in a overflowing nature, generous and tropical.

In the 25 hours of the never ending flight from Buenos Aires, I already got a sample of the friendliness and welcoming passion of the Malays. Malaysia Airlines received awards as one the best airlines in the world in various categories.

Thin, young stewardesses served during all the trip true national delicious meals, with good Australian wines. There was nothing in common with the usual sad and melancholic airline food.

There was a good start. After arrival at the airport of Kuala Lumpur, at 5 am in the morning, we had to wait until 6 pm for the flight to Langkawi, my chosen destination, a group of 109 islands, in the northeast Malaysian peninsula. This gave us the time to go to town. With Micaela, the wife of Donato de Santis, and a very young journalist of Cuisine et Vins, we took a train, truly well designed, a steel bullet which took us in 25 minutes to Chinatown, with its multicoloured offers, and to the Central Market, a building of the thirties, the Center for Arts and Crafts, with Batik, silk, bronze, and unlimited temptations.

We had a quick lunch in another place where we inflamed ourselves briefly with some unknown and delicious mouthfuls, with Thai beer, the necessary combination for the strong flavours of the tropics.

We came back to the airport, and we had an hour trip to the chosen destinations. In the Langkawi group, there was Alicia Berger, and Maurice Lacharme, from their cooking school, and Mariano Fresco. It was an hour flight to absolute paradise!

The Langkawi Lagoon hotel is a five star hotel next to the calm sea, and luxurious vegetation. We were expected with a welcome dinner with the local specialities. Among the best, the extremely fresh fish breaded with a spiced mix, and a soup not greasy at all, made from ossobucco, with vegetables, lemon crass and ginger, those strong flavours which would not leave us during the rest of the trip.

That day there was no beer, the host, the Ministry of Tourism of Malaysia responds to a Government officially Muslim. Although many religions live together, 66% belong to Islam. It is a moderate and friendly Islam, although there are some cultural habits that are maintained. Many Malays use the chador, just a scarf on the head; the rest of the dress may be adjusted jeans, high heels, never separated from their mobile phones and motos.

In Langkawi we did not limit ourselves to lie on the beach, there were relaxed and fascinating excursions. Among the best, we had a trip on a dark river, with monkeys jumping on the banks, visiting caves with bats, really impressive and necessary for ecological reasons, and a lunch in a restaurant built on water. There the owner of the place has an aquarium with unusual prehistorically fishes, such as a rare lobster never seen, and other impressive and disturbing viscous animals. The food was extraordinary, specially the soup of the sea, and the grilled small calamari with infinite flavours.

Another unforgettable meeting in Langkawi was the master class by Chef Shukri in the gardens of a traditional house, built in carved wood, which is at once a home, a bar and a restaurant, in a small village next to Langkawi. The name of the restaurant is The Light House. It illuminated us with various emotions, not only me, but the small international group, which included Hungarians, French, Moroccans, Irish, Norwegians, etc.

There we were entertained by the owners, chef Shukri and his partner Johny Cordier, a German airplane technician, who came to visit 30 years ago, and decided to stay forever, which many of us tourists considered.

In a extremely warm and friendly way, chef Shukri explained to us the basic aspects of a typical Malay recipe, Beef Rendang, which is meat dressed with ginger, galanga, lemon grass, chillies, raw cut coconut and grilled coconut, mani and lima leaves. Shukri emphasized the main ingredient is love, under the shade of palm trees and flowers.

Before that, a group of musicians with flutes and drums played for two dancers who performed a slow dance for our impeccable and very beautiful host Datin Azrene Abdullah, organizer of all the celebrations around the Gourmand World Media Awards, the eleven years old meeting created by Edouard Cointreau, and which by his initiative takes place for the first time in Asia. Until last year it was always in Europe, mostly in France, and last year in Sweden.

All guests dressed with sarong, men and women, we took off our shoes, and we went up to the first floor of that fresh wooden house with high ceilings to enjoy an incredible menu = from a salad of cold rice with fruits and lemon grass, to locally smoked fish, and other fermented fish, unusual flavours. We found here as well as later that the best drink with those fiery dishes is beer. With them all wines die, except may be Torrontes, at least this is my experience in the Buenos Aires restaurant Sudestada.

In the official meeting there was no alcohol because of the religious prohibition. In any case the flavours and the aromas made us drunk.

Langkawi ended with yacht travel to a few desert islands, pure jungle with a minimal beach, with western appetizers: Australian chardonnay, cheeses, and more. There was a lunch at the Langkawi Yacht Club, with giant fresh prawns, with a hot sauce of extreme subtlety. It was extremely adventurous to navigate in the Malacca strait, in the sun and with the calm rumblings of that sea which was the territory of legendary pirates.

We went back to Kuala Lumpur where all groups met together. We settled in an elegant five star hotel The Palace of the Golden Horses, where the awards Gala Dinner took place.

The hotel was saturated with golden horses. Marble is the actor. There is no minimalism, there is Asian luxury with much kitsch overkill: globes, marble, huge meeting rooms, breakfast feasts.

We found out how you can start the day with a kind of hot pancakes filled with hot curry, unusual fruits, an unlimited universe for curious gourmets.

The famous Petronas Towers were designed by Argentina architect Cesar Pelli as the highest in the world. They have luxury shopping centers with the most famous brands in the world; Louis Vuitton, Prada. They did not tempt me and I saw them only from far away.

I preferred to explore China Town or Little India, with animated street markets, full of temptations to look, smell, try and buy. For instance in China Town we discovered a very literary restaurant called Old China Café. It offers Nyonya cuisine, fusion of Chinese and Malay gastronomies.

It is a calm, divine, very melancholic site, which throws us back to films like Indochina or The Lover, with some lovable objects, heirlooms from colonials times. By consensus it was the place most visited by the Latin guests. We were enchanted. Our two favourites were first a blue rice, coloured by small photos and perfumed with herbs, and then a dish of small fish, fried with chilli. We fought these fires with Thai beer.

The welcome party at the residence of the Prime Minister was beyond description. The delegates, the chefs, the Ambassadors enjoyed the luxurious gardens, knowingly lit with Chinese lanterns, with all the food specialities of the country. At the different stands, each region of Malaysia, each ethnic group, offered their Malay, Nyonya, Chinese and Indian dishes.

An orchestra and dancers from the different races were the euphoric backstage. Soon everyone was dancing to this indian-chinese music, in spite of the fact that not one drop of alcohol appeared.

We discovered Putrajaya on the first day: it is the new satellite city which is the seat of the various government institutions, like Brasilia. It is somewhat without soul, an unreal city of marble with stern buildings. But on the night of the feast at the Prime Ministers residence, it lost its marble coldness.

Although it was the first time I participated in one of these events, it was definitely a very pleasant trip. I met marvellous people such as Fatema Hal, her publisher Stephen Bateman. I ran again into Alberto Bali, an Argentinean architect and designer, previously from Di Tellaa, who designs logos for Robuchon, Lucas Carton, Alain Dutournier, who goes beyond rules but was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. I also got to know the Mexican chef of El Gourmet, Alfredo Oropeza, the peruvian Isabel Alvarez, owner of a famous restaurant in Lima, a very cultured and refined sociologist, and I shared these days with Federico Oldenbourg, my Argentinean son living in Madrid, who is a journalist and wine and food critic.

Every day there were cooking classes, roundtables, debates and conferences. We escaped from the programs; we rented a van and went to Malacca or Melaka, a mythical site. The tourists were the journalists from the magazine El Gourmet.com, photographer Torres and publisher Maria de Michelis, Micaela de Santis, the wife of Donato who had been invited and received an award for her book on Italian cuisine, Jean Paul Bondoux, and two chefs from Utilisima Television.

Malacca was overwhelming. The ancient city was founded around 1100, then ruled by Portuguese , then it was a Dutch colony and later a british one. There is a very large Chinese population that has been there for centuries.

In the narrow streets full of Chinese and nyonya remains, colonial bars, flowery rickshaws, and snake charmers, there was the summary of all that one can imagine about a city which is more Somerset Maugham than Salgari

On Harmony street, there live together a Hindu temple, a mosque, two Buddhist temples, and then further on a protestant church and a catholic one. All happy together.

We discovered a hotel chosen by travellers, not tourists, with extreme refinement, The Puri, an old private house, in the heart of old Malacca, on Jonker street . Strangely the hotel floors reminded me of the old houses of Palermo Viejo (in Buenos Aires), maybe Portuguese or Moorish souvenirs, who knows. One can stay there, in another world, for a room cost starting at $100 US dollar, with a SPA. No comments.

Malacca is two hours from cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur, it is another world.

On our way back to the city, Chef Bondoux was impressed with the live lobsters and unusual fish of some fisherman stands next to a beach, and by the prices.

On the next day there was the Gala and the Awards. I just had the time to receive the trophy for the Argentinean Wines Guide which I wrote in 2005 with Miguel Brasco and Martin Cuccorese. Without tasting one mouthful of the feast which was this time irrigated with French wines, we left running for the airport for the long return trip to Buenos Aires.

Another cook from El Gourmet.com won an award: Iwao Komiyama, in the category Best Asian Cuisine Book. From Peru, Peru Legado Milenario, by Antonio Brack got an award. Donatos book Made at Home, Fatto in Casa was awarded Best Italian Cuisinein the world.

One fact to keep in mind for those who are tempted by this place in the world. It is not impossible. Each dollar costs 3,40 ringits, the local currency. It is less expensive than Chile or Peru, somewhat more that Argentina, same as Brazil.

Photos Captions:

1.- In a big platform, a group of women with chador, herbs and spices, while the men prepare a fire with a gigantic wok.

2.- Most impressively, I found wonderful people, the anonymous multitude smiling Malays, extremely friendly, civilized, tolerant, beautiful, in a clean and rich city. Consumer fever is perceived even in the most popular districts, such as in the Chinese or Indian quarters.