Celebrity Chef Sara La Fountain coming to KL, Malaysia (28-29 May)

Sara La Fountain... A MODEL, CELEBRITY CHEF, TV HOST, AUTHOR, CULINARY SCHOOL & CATERING SERVICE BUSINESS OWNER

American Express and the Asian Food Channel are proud to present A Taste of Finland with Sara La Fountain, as part of the Celebrity Chef Series. The American-Finnish cooking sensation who stars in Perfect Day and New Scandinavian Cooking, airing on the Asian Food Channel, will be in Kuala Lumpur on 28 May and 29 May to cook up a storm at a series of sit-down dinners. Sara will showcase uniquely Scandinavian flavours and dishes that are guaranteed to tantalise and impress!

Here are the details of the dinners if you are interested to experience some Scandinavian delights:

Sit-down Dinner with Demonstration (AMEX only)
Date: Monday, 28 May 2012
Time: 7pm – 11pm
Standard Price: RM 385+ (RM 408.10 inclusive of 6% service tax)
Special price for American Express Cardmembers: RM 346.89 (Inclusive of 6% service tax)
Type of Event: Sit-down Dinner with Cooking Demonstration
Dress code: Smart Casual


Sit-down Dinner with Demonstration
Date: Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Time: 7pm – 11pm
Standard Price: RM385+ (RM 408.10 inclusive of 6% service tax)
Special price for American Express Cardmembers: RM 346.89 (Inclusive of 6% service tax)
Type of Event: Sit-down Dinner with Cooking Demonstration
Dress code: Smart Casual


Venue : The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, Bunga Emas, 5, Jalan Conlay, 50450, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.


Cooking Demonstration Dishes
1) Crayfish Salad with Boiled Quail Eggs, Radish, Avocado, Asparagus, Dill-Mayonnaise and Cilantro-Ginger Dressing
2) Blueberry Baked Alaska

For ticket information and event details, please log on to http://www.theafcstudio.com
You can read more about Sara La Fountain here:  http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/chef/sara-la-fountain as well as on her blog here.


You can read more about the media cooking demo by Sara La Fountain on 28 May 2012 in The Royale Chulan KL here. 

Recipe: A healthy salad with olive-balsamic dressing, cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds

I'm not a HUGE fan of salads, but when I do eat salad, it has to be GOOD! I believe that the dressing plays a huge role in making the salad tastes good. One of my favorite dressings on a salad is extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Always choose a good balsamic vinegar. 

It's nice to eat healthy...

To make the dressing, it is very simple. Just mix 6 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Season with a small amount of soft brown sugar (you can omit the sugar if you like but I feel it makes it taste much nicer) and salt. You can always add more balsamic vinegar if you like the dressing to be a little more tart. Finally, add 1 finely chopped shallot to this mixture and mix thoroughly. Simple, right?

Salad with olive-balsamic dressing, cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds

There is no rule as to what you can put in your salad - romaine lettuce, coral lettuce, rocket leaves... take your pick. A must for me is some good quality cherry tomatoes (and sundried tomatoes if I can get my hands on some). Last weekend, when I was shopping for the salad, I decided to grab a box of organic pumpkin seeds too.

Pumpkin seeds add a nice nutty texture to the salad. Other than that, it is said to be a rich source of minerals, protein and monounsaturated fats as well being able to lower your cholesterol level. Though pumpkin seed is pretty nice eaten just like that, toasting it makes it all the nicer. To toast, you can either place it in a 160C oven for 15-20 minutes or toasting it in a pan on medium heat for approx. 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Do keep an eye while toasting as you just want to lightly roast/toast them as overroasting destroys some of their nutritive value. Other than pumpkin seeds, you can also use pine nuts.

I find toasting in a pan more convenient if you're doing it in small amounts

My kids love munching on them!

To assemble the salad, just place the salad leaves in a bowl, pour over 3/4 of the dressing and toss the salad leaves to evenly coat the dressing. Top the salad with halved cherry tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds and drizzle the remaining dressing on top. You can serve this salad on its own or with your main meals.

Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring!

A colorful, inviting salad

Surprisingly my kids love this salad, especially Baby C.

Full set of photos available to view here.