Mooncake workshop @ Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL (mini snowskin with durian paste)

I was very excited when I was given the opportunity to attend a mooncake workshop at Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL. I love eating mooncakes (no doubt about it) hence it would be good for me to learn how to make them too so that I could eat them all year round. You can read about all 15 mooncakes from Mandarin Oriental KL here.

Since it was just me in the class, you could say I was lucky to have gotten a one-on-one private lesson with head dim sum chef, Wu Chee Hong who very patiently taught me all the steps of making their famous mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste.

For those wanting to attempt to make snowskin mooncakes at home, I can assure you that this could be done at home, however you need to be very quick when shaping the durian paste as well as dough as the durian paste is delicate and will melt easily with the heat from your hands.  Lai Po Heen uses D24 durian. The instructions given here are for making mini mooncakes with a 4cm diameter, however if your mould is bigger, you need to scale up the measurements when dividing the durian paste or dough.   

I got to take home the mini snowskin durian mooncakes that I made and both my parents who love durian commented that it was really good. The most surprising thing was that even Baby D loved it. The durian paste is really smooth. Thanks to Chef Wu for the invaluable lesson ;)

With Chef Wu and Chef Ricky of Lai Po Heen

Lai Po Heen's custom mooncake mould

Mooncakes galore

Mini snow skin with durian paste
Recipe courtesy of Mandarin Oriental KL
Makes 30 (4cm diameter mini mooncakes)

For durian paste
(A)
110g wheat flour
110g corn flour
75g custard powder
38g milk powder
225g icing sugar

(B)
5 chicken eggs
300g butter, softened at room temperature
300g UHT whipping cream
600g Fresh durian (D24)

1. Mix ingredients (A) together, then slowly add in chicken eggs, butter and UHT whipping cream.

After step (1), you will get the mixture on the left and after steaming, you will get the one on the right

2. Steam mixture for 15 minutes and keep in the refridgerator for 1 hour to firm up.

3. Add fresh durian into mixture and blend until smooth. Keep into refridgerator again for 1 hour to firm up.

4. Cut into small portion, approx 50g, then shape into balls. You have to work quickly as the mixture is very delicate and melts easily with the heat from your hands.

5. Keep in the refridgerator again until ready for use.


For the snowskin
500g Icing sugar
450g rice flour
150g vegetable shortening
530g water

1.Mix the icing sugar, rice flour and vegetable shortening well.

2. Slowly add in water and knead to a soft, pliable dough.

3. Using your hands, roll the dough into a long cylindrical shape. Cut into small portion, approx 50g. Flatten dough and then wrap dough around durian paste balls.

Video on how to shape the mini snowskin mooncake

4. Cover with some rice flour and then roll slightly into cylindrical shape then press the dough wrapped with durian paste into mooncake mould.

Ready to be knocked out

5. To remove mooncake from mould, knock the mould against the table. Serve chilled.

Yay! Me and my first mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste ;)

All the ones I made

Chef Wu and me :)

Durian snowskin mooncake is the yellow one on the left.

The mini snowskin mooncake with durian paste is available for purchase at Lai Po Heen for RM16++ per piece. To read about ALL the mooncakes from Mandarin Oriental KL, please click here.

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here. 


Location: Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2179 8885

*This recipe/blogpost was featured on Asian Food Channel's Facebook page on 2 August 2012. 

Ramadan Buffet 2012 @ The Mill Cafe, Grand Millennium KL

What is your favorite food/dish at a Ramadan buffet?

For me, it is definitely the roasted lamb! If the lamb is good, then you will see me eating plate after plate of lamb. Which was what I did at the Ramadan Buffet at The Mill in Grand Millennium hotel last week.

Themed "Gemersik Selera", The Mill Cafe ushers in Ramadan with a sumptuous spread of authentic Malay delicacies, barbecue and seafood delights, and their famous roast lamb. You can find regional specialties such as ayam panggang Seksyen 8, nasi ulam, nasi kerabu, kupang sambal Perlis, udang masak kerutup Linggi and many more.  There is also an International spread of Indian Tandoori, Japanese maki and sushi, pizza, pasta and desserts. The buffet is priced at RM98++ per person, available daily from 6pm-11pm.

The buffet spread at The Mill Cafe

The Mill Cafe dining area

My favorite section has to be the roasted lamb, one of their signature dishes. Since I was early, the chef kindly carved out a piece of lamb loin for me... it was so tender and delicious! I went back for more - I lost count how many times I loaded my plate full of lamb, accompanied by the mint sauce. And make sure you get some of the crispy skin too, it's oh-so-good.

Kerabu Perut / Jantung Pisang / Manga Muda

I love the lemang here too, they were soft and went well with the serunding and Indian lamb kormas. Oh and the cheese naan is so good too!

Yummy lemang

Nasi ulam

Ikan bakar

Satay

Tandoori chicken and grilled crabs

Fresh seafood

The dishes are rotated daily, but if you see the glazed oxtail, do try it. Even Hubby who usually doesn't like oxtail loved this so much, he went back for seconds. It was gelatinous and flavourful, with tender meat.

Glazed oxtail

Cheese naan

Ahh, and desserts... I love the kuih seri muka, kuih talam, kuih lapis.. just to name a few. And there are also lots of Western desserts to choose from including panna cotta in shooters, profiteroles, cakes and chocolate fountain.

Lots of desserts to choose from

Chocolate fountain

Colorful kuihs

Traditional performance

Thanks to Anushya from Grand Millennium KL for the kind invite.

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here. 

Pork-free.

Price: RM98++ per person.

Location: The Mill Cafe, First Floor, Grand Millennium Hotel, 160 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2117 4163/4164

GPS Coordinates: 3.147694, 101.712338