直凉大吃会 Superfood Feast in Triang

李生（李韩发）与黄秋凤夫妇处理鲍鱼的功夫不赖。
Mr. & Mrs. Lee are quite deft at handling abalones cooking.



五小碟有人参鲜虫草、蜜汁火方、青椒皮蛋、龙湫蟠龙鳝及烤乳猪
An appetizer section of five Chinese starters.



“法海蒲团鱼翅盅”
Signature dish of Sharksfin In Tureen.



“清蒸巴丁河鱼皇”
Patin Munchong Plain-Steamed.

李生来电邮纠正: "现在才注意到当天大吃会里的巴丁鱼是Ikan Patin Buah（一公斤$85) 被误志为Ikan Patin Munchong(一公斤本钱$300-$320)".下图为我们2003年一月(Y3K第10期)在李生的餐馆所拍摄的正牌河鱼皇"巴丁文中".
Mr. Lee inform us: "The fish served on that day was Ikan Patin Buah, but mistaken as Ikan Patin Munchong." Following is the Ikan Patin Munchong shot in January 2003 "Y3K Recipes" issue no.10.





金银鲍脯秃参蹄筋盘
Unique Seafood With Dual Tendons.


龙袍加身鲍鱼饭
Pumpkin Rice Topped With Abalone.


麒麟星斑如意卷
Garoupa Fish Rolls.


姜汁鱼嘴冻花胶
Ginger Juice Sharks’ Lips Chilled Fish Maws.


大漠风沙香笋鹿肉
Ostrich Meat, Asparagus, Venison Fried With Garlic.


“芒汁白玉凉粿条”及“金砖银条黑珍珠”
Mango Sauce White Jelly and Black Glutinous Rice Paired With Pumpkin Taro Strips.



直凉李生广邀

行家聚集一堂

2009年4月6日晚上七时，位于彭亨州一个偏僻小镇--直凉突然间变得热闹起来，来自全马各地的名牌车将“李生海鲜酒家”前宽阔的停车场挤得水泄不通。餐馆老板、供应商、食家不远千里而来，为的是一尝李生夫妇特地为行家而设的宴会，每桌RM1,680。

李生说：「原本只打算宴请三五桌，怎知消息一传出，各地行家不断来电定位，结果超出预算许多，接到十八桌我们就停止接受定单了!」

晚宴以五小碟的开胃菜掀开序幕，计有“人参鲜虫草”、“蜜汁火方”、“青椒皮蛋”、“龙湫蟠龙鳝”及“烤乳猪”。接着推出该餐馆大受欢迎的招牌菜“法海蒲团鱼翅盅”，鲍翅、干贝等将小盅堆的满满的，炖至棉烂的冬瓜入口即化，令人回味无穷。彭亨河盛产巴丁鱼，而“巴丁文中”是巴丁鱼之中最名贵的一种，被誉为河鱼皇。第三道“清蒸巴丁河鱼皇”小则一公斤、大则将五六公斤重的巴丁鱼切片。汤汁清甜可口、肉质幼滑、鱼腩薄薄的脂肪肥而不腻，鱼皮富有弹性，我们给予极高评价！

“金银鲍脯秃参蹄筋盘”采用干螺头、鲍鱼丝、鹿筋、猪脚筋、秃参等红烧焖熟，最难得的是里面还有切丁的鲸鱼皮。李生强调：「这些鲸鱼皮是以前留下的，现在已经无法获得。」

宴会进行至这里，我们已经半饱。李生特地带我到厨房参观为他这次大吃会所准备的惊喜--“龙袍加身鲍鱼饭”。一盅盅金瓜焖饭上置一只大蚝干，猛火炖至绵烂后由蒸笼取出，李生夫妻俩将一个个斗大的鲍鱼放在饭上，再淋上少许鲍汁，单是这种排场已经令人赞叹！经过多年的磨练及改进，李生处理鲍鱼的功夫已经不可同日而语，不论是卖相、口感、味道皆达到大酒家的要求。大家将鲍鱼吃完，留下大半盅焖饭，非常满足。

然而，宴会还没来到尾声。接下来的“麒麟星斑如意卷”（麒麟蒸红星斑及麻鱼鳔）、“姜汁鱼嘴冻花胶”（鲨鱼嘴及花胶公）、“大漠风沙香笋鹿肉”（干香鸵鸟肉及蒜子香笋鹿肉），我们只能够夹一小片品尝味道。

最后的甜品“芒汁白玉凉粿条”及“金砖银条黑珍珠”，前者引起众行家的兴趣，争相向李生询问制做方法。李生大方地公开做法：「以一平汤匙粉加入1.5公升班兰叶煮的水、糖、及少许盐煮滚，熄火后再加入120毫升鲜奶调色，倒在方盘内以风扇吹冷至凝结，卷起成条状后切段，再淋上以新鲜芒果及白糖打烂的芒果浆即可。」相信不久的将来，各地餐馆将会推出这道别致的甜品。
晚上十一点，大家带着满足的笑容向李生告别，宾主尽欢。

最新消息:
另一场<直凉大吃会>将于10-8-2009(星期一)晚上七点举办,每席RM1,200(十个人).欢迎有兴趣参与者向李生报名或询问详情(014-5001599).

Superfood Feast in Triang
On 6-4-2009 towards dinner time, a big crowd filled Restoran Lee Keng Sang, Triang. This is a small town in Pahang and many chefs, food suppliers and foodies came to lend support to a food event jointly organised by Mr. & Mrs. Lee Hang Huat (owners of the restaurant). This nine-course menu came to RM1,680 per table.

Mr. Lee had initially started the idea of a food gathering amongst some chefs. What started as between three to five tables soon ended with a figure of 18 tables as word of mouth spreaded fast. Probably many top hats of this culinary industry have heard of Lee’s nature as he has an interest in preserving the authenticity and traditions of food, and his cooking is designed to bring out the best in many unusual ingredients used.

We were his guests and it was an evening of elegant food in a faraway town. The appetizer section comprised of five Chinese starters. A big platter had the spread of ginseng, fresh cordyceps, honey glazed ham, green capsicums century eggs, eel fantasy and roasted suckling pig pieces. Next round was sharksfin in individual soup tureen, highly recommended for divine taste as this is a signature dish of the restaurant. Of course the third dish was a fish – “Plain Steamed Ikan Patin Munchong”. As we know the nearby town of Temerloh in Pahang gained a nickname of “Bandar Ikan Patin”, so this pricey upriver fish must make its appearance at prestigious dinners. Small catch comes to one kilo but bigger ones are around five to six kilos. The fish tasted smooth with natural sweetness and had the right proportion of fats around the belly. I found the skin chewy and this dish certainly got the thumbs up.

Among the chef’s specialities came a dish of unique seafood with dual tendons. Dried topshells, abalone shreds, deer tendons, pigs’ tendons, processed sea cucumbers were braised together. Things got more exciting with the discovery of cubed whale’s skin. No, these are not new products but something kept away from old times. Being protected species, these rare finds are no longer available in the free market.

Actually by mid-course, I was feeling quite full. Mr. Lee took me to his restaurant’s kitchen. I watched the final preparation of the next dish – “Pumpkin Rice Topped With Abalone”. Tons of tureens filled with pumpkin rice were removed from a giant steamer. Every tureen of rice had a large-sized dried oyster buried in it. Then Lee and wife carefully topped in a piece of braised abalone on top of rice. Next, abalone braised sauce came spooned on surface. As I am always on the look out for new dining experiences, this rice dish has a sure hint of extravagance. The extra care taken in the preparation of the abalones was praiseworthy. His cooking skill has proven popular and gone from strength to strength.

Of course, no Chinese dinner would be complete without more seafood. A huge seven star garoupa fish came filleted and flesh done up in rolls. Another dish emerged - “Ginger Juice Sharks’ Lips And Chilled Fish Maws” did excite our palates. Final dish of the main course was a platter of “Ostrich Meat Fried With Garlic, Asparagus And Venison Slices”. It was yummy but I felt my seams could burst anytime, I took only a little.

Our meal came to a round end with dessert done on a high note, thanks to a new creation and it did caused a stir among other chefs. Mango sauce paired with white jelly tasted heavenly. A mound of black glutinous rice topped with strips of pumpkin and taro completed the picture. Done to perfection, the first part of the white jelly was a winner. Mr. Lee openly gave us the recipe’s concoction. You need one tablespoon of genuine konnyaku powder infused into 1.5 litres of pandan flavoured water. Bring this to a boil with a pinch of salt, some sugar and turn off heat when solution has really heated through. Stir in 120ml fresh milk. Pour the whole mixture into a square tray. Leave it to set with the aid of a fan blown directly over surface. Once it has turned firm, roll up and cut into pieces (like chee cheong fun). Pureed mango sauce mixed with white sugar will be poured as a topping. This dessert veers away from the usual Chinese influences. Such a delicious new creation may pave a way for a new dessert to bloom and I am quite certain that this dessert may be seen at many restaurants’ menus soon.

It was a delightful evening, a gathering of old friends, a firm handshake to new bond and of course our tastebuds tasted quality food.