Chef Edward Lee – Hennessy XO Appreciation Grows Dinner 2012

*Dinner was in April. Post was requested to be published only after the video is ready.
Here’s Hennessy X.O KL Travelogue with Chef Edward Lee – Ep. 1 of 4, provided by PR 3 weeks back.

One of the most celebrated gastronomic events of the year is the Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows dinner series, which was meticulously orchestrated by Chef Edward Lee last 18-21 April 2012.

As a foodie, events like this gets me all giddy with excitement; mostly in anticipation of the menu, where diners’ palates are bound to be teased and thrilled.

I loved Susur Lee’s menu during the previous Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows dinner and admittedly, my expectations ran sky-high for this particular session.

Perhaps that was why I was underwhelmed, way underwhelmed as a better part of his menu failed to leave a memorable impression.

But heck, who am I to criticise an Iron Chef?
Chef Edward Lee’s impressive accolades are as below, and I’m sure if I dined at his turf in 610 Magnolia,  Louisville, Kentucky, I would have been suitable blown away.

We forgivingly excused the rubbery scallops, the lacklustre beef and the well prepared but ordinary dessert. Equatorial Hotel, already vacant and silent, was the venue of this dinner. We figured that working in an unfamiliar kitchen without his trusted staff plus the possibly ill-equipped kitchen could be the cause.
Anyhow, some unordothox dishes like MOSAIC and PIQUANT did elicits murmurs of approval.

Dinner started at an almost Malaysian-wedding- dinner -hour of 9pm and most of us were famished beyond comprehension. I picked up my fork even before the first dish touched the table, but thankfully still remembered to grab a quick shot.
For Mosaic, Chef Edward said he was inspired to match the produce of the ocean with the fruits of earth. Beautiful laid out tiles of fish and fruits alternated their space on the plate. We were uncertain of the pairing or sequence of consuming this, and my famished self just greedily lapped up fish first, then fruit. There were mango, dragonfruit, papaya with bits of lychees on top. The fruity sweetness didn’t seem to gel somehow (personal opinion here) with the fish and while the rice vinegar worked well for the fish, the same can’t be said for the fruits.

This, on the other hand; was admirably excellent!

A few of us did mention again that the lobster seems overcooked but all was well because the…

… cream corn soup was ambrosial! Everyone slurped up every drop and some asked if they could have second servings. Jokingly of course.

It was luscious, but didn’t leave a heavy feel in the stomach.  I never thought chilled corn soup could taste so good! Somehow, I detected a slight nutty aftertaste as well. But it was rather difficult to pinpoint the ingredients; as the corn flavour wasn’t heavy either.

These were the famous ‘overcooked‘ scallops.

The Duck. I only managed to steal a bite of the foie gras thanks to Wei Zhi and it was nice, though much firmer compared to the melt-in-the-mouth texture that we are more accustomed to.

It’s no secret I love my beef so this was my choice of main for the night.

It has a lovely pink center and I had hoped that the chocolate and jalepeno glaze was as intriguing as it sounded on paper.

Unfortunately it was rather faint.

Anyhow, it’s time for dessert. Brioche-crusted dark chocolate genoise cake with pistachio and walnut sprinkles and a dash of crimson red beet syrup. 

That night also saw the unveiling of the new Hennessy X.O bottle.

Just like the Susur Lee’s dinner, guests were kept captivated with extraordinary performances. Replacing the previous sandart show is a sketch artist.

Last but not least, a toast to MHD, the PR team and Chef Edward Lee for making this possible! Thank you! 🙂

I wonder who’s next featured chef for Hennessy XO Appreciation Grows Dinner?? 😀