Dining with Masterchef finalist Alvin Quah at the Perth 2011 Good Food and Wine Show

burger boy and I had the pleasure of attending a special food blogger dinner catered by Makan 2 Cafe with 2010 Masterchef finalist Alvin Quah at the Perth Good Food and Wine Show’s Malaysia Kitchen stand on Friday night.

For those of you who have been following my food blog, you’ll know that I don’t normally eat lamb and it’s on very special or rare occasions that I do. Most of the time it’s by accident because someone has ‘forgotten’ to tell me it was lamb, however of late I’ve been a bit more adventurous and actually willing to try a piece or two. Tonight was one of those special occasions!

First up on the menu was mini murtabak lamb which is a Malaysian Indian styled roti (flaky pastry parcels) with spiced lamb filling.

burger boy and I normally have plain roti so it was great to try something different. Despite the fact that I don’t really eat lamb, I thought it was quite nice.

burger boy who loves lamb enjoyed this entree and thought the lamb tasted great with the roti and the chilli dipping sauce.

For our mains we had nasi lemak served with beef rendang.

Although the flavours were right, I felt the beef wasn’t tender enough. As I haven’t been to Makan 2 Café before I’m not sure if this is because of the limitations of cooking at the Good Food and Wine Show or if this is how it’s normally cooked at their restaurant in Vic Park.

The dessert was the highlight of my night. We were served a soft crepe with palm sugar coconut filling (kuih dadar), a sweet sago with coconut (bronok) and a Malaysian donut with sweet potato filling (kuih keria).

My favourite dessert was the sweet potato donut. The outside of the donut is deep fried and covered in sugar, although it didn’t taste ‘deep fried’, it was soft inside and out and the sweet potato filling was unique but worked. I was curious as to how hard these donuts would be to make so I did a quick google and was excited to find a recipe for these donuts on a Malaysian food blogger’s website which I’m hoping my fussy mother will make for me. Otherwise I will be visiting Makan 2 Cafe specifically for these in the next few weeks or for as long as my craving can hold out

burger boy’s favourite dessert was the soft crepe which was filled with palm sugar coconut. He really liked the crepe and thought the filling had a unique taste which he loved. We think that this is the type of dessert you really like or really don’t like. I liked the crepe but despite loving anything sweet, the filling was just a bit too much for me.

The sago we both thought was ok but nothing special.

Last item on the menu was the Teh Tarik which is a literally a ‘pulled’ black tea with condensed milk.

From reading various Malaysian food blogs, my understanding is that the tea containing the condensed milk is poured from mug to mug to create air bubbles which creates a lighter texture and in doing so creates a more flavoursome tea. And flavoursome it was!!

burger boy and I were one of the few non-Malaysians at dinner and found it wonderful to hear Alvin Quah and Perth food bloggers Libertine Eats, The Food Pornographer and Jujichews’ talk about their childhood favourites and how tonight’s dinner compared to what their families’ cooked for them.

Alvin was a lovely host and was both entertaining and easy to talk to. We heard about his time on Masterchef and his experiences now as a ‘celebrity foodie’ where he is often confused as Adam Liaw the winner of 2010 Masterchef (and vice versa). To read more about Alvin Quah and his foodie journey, visit his food blog cinnamonpig.com.au.

Big thank you to Malaysia Kitchen for inviting us, we love Malaysian food but don’t always eat ‘authentic Malaysian’ dishes like we had on Friday night so it was a wonderful and insightful foodie experience.

If you haven’t been to the Perth Good Food and Wine Show yet and are planning to today, be sure to check out the Malaysia Kitchen stand (M18) for cooking demonstrations and samples. And to try any of the food we were served, check out Makan 2 Cafe in Victoria Park.