Amateur Chef and Boozy Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan
MBS Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan
There I was getting my new tattoo done thinking about what could we do for a special lunch event for Obaachan when she arrives in a week or so. I scoured the InterWeb whilst I still had both hands available and spotted the event. OMG. This was it. This was the ideal foodie event I was hunting for. This was meant to be. This was a blessed Google search. Our great mate Chef Drew was on the Chef list too. Plus one of our hawker favourites MeatSmith and Chef Pynt of Burnt Ends. I mean come on. This is a utopian list of goodies for any foodie. This will become our MBS Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan.
I then clicked on the link to see what the scoop was for tickets. They are free. Free. No way. It transpires, Yes way. I then try, now with one arm as Derrick has started etching my arm, to book the tickets. Damn, you need to enter individuals details. Plus, you can only book 4 tickets per person, so I need Mary to book some too. Damn! OK, I outsourced it and had Mary book 4 and #1 book the other 3 needed. I went back into the site that evening to check a few things like dress code etc. and the event was closed out. All tickets were GONE!!! WOW, so lucky to be having my new tattoo that day or Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan may never have happened.
I was getting excited so I pinged Chef Drew and he leaked that his two dishes were XO Prawns and a Pastrami-ish Wagyu Bolar Blade with Bone Marrow Butter & Pickled Chili. Immediate delight!!!
Also, he shared the way it works on the day. It was free entry to the top of Marina Bay Sands at Ce La Vi. Watch the video. We felt like VIPs arriving, getting our little yellow armbands on the red carpet. Then you buy $20 vouchers which got you one plate of food. Not bad right? Having got my bill afterward the hosts clearly made their $$$ on the drinks. I feel like I should own a part share in Stella Artois right now. But, for this experience, it was worth every single cent. I have built up enough Brownie Points for a year today, haha.
Obaachan sent me the following text message when we got her home to her hotel; “Thank you so much for everything. I am back in my room and got relaxed. I cannot remember what I have eaten and drank today. Thank you for such a gorgeous gourmet experience, which will be memorable, indeed!” WINNER!!! Thanks Chefs!!!
We walked away from the event 4 hours later buzzing. Literally buzzing. It was THE very best gastronomic event ever.
Entertainment – views and a breeze to die for with Chillout sounds wafting around us from the in-house DJ
Family – who better to share this experience with than my family
Let’s have a look at Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan, shall we?
Obaachan, Strawberry Blonde, and Jude Jude at the entrance. OK, my BAD, I did say to Jude; “Look cool mate as you are mixing with Singapore’s Trendy Hipsters and Amazing Chefs…”
Here we all are. The guys from Ce La Vi organized a super-cool table right next to the food. In fact, we could see all Chefs and smell the incredible aromas wafting across the sky-park this day. We are eagerly awaiting Dad to go drop some coin and get those vouchers so we can start grazing.Just check this out. This is what is on the table to share what each of the Chefs will be cooking for us today. WOW! 2 dishes each are allowed, and each serving is $20. What amazed me is that almost all the Chef’s were using the very same Japanese portable BBQ that we use for ChillaxBBQ – a medium Konro in fact. I bought mine from my mates at Kilo. It’s an awesome piece of kit. Anyways back to the food. Are you reading what I am reading?
Obaachan and I were quite surprised by the strong Japanese influence at the event. She felt very at home, and impressed, and was chatting about how she uses these ingredients at home. I totally agree. A couple of big stand-outs for me;
Wagyu Pastrami – Bone Marrow Butter & Pickled Chilli (go, go, go Chef Drew)
Maitake – Egg & Black Truffle Congee (Japanese mushroom)
I was literally in the clouds. Clouds at the top of MBS, and foodie clouds because of the above. Talk about spoilt for choice. Talk about a Smorgasbord of off-the-charts amazing food to try from. We were all in a daze. What to try first? I think we ended up just getting one of everything, and in some cases two. We grazed like Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses. Truly, can food experiences get much better? I challenge you. We were literally in foodies heaven for Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan. We were chattering like kids in a sweet shop every time a new dish fell on the table. Even being served on re-cyclable plates with wooden cutlery the mystique and allure of the food were still there. Tough to plate a masterpiece on a small round plate, but the Chefs and crew surely pulled it off. Let’s have a wee look.
Sky High Gourmet Fiesta – My crew and our mate Chef Drew. We also got to meet his lovely wife, Lois, today. Now that is not a bad workstation for his shift here today now, is it? Check that view. Wifey and I are very likely back to Salted & Hung this week coming for ‘Lunch with Wifey’ to try his new 8-course tasting menu – oh yeah!!! I was able to share a couple of beers today with the great man too. Top bloke, amazing Chef – more on his food later!BOOM! Chef Drew up 1st with these stunning-looking Prawns in XO sauce. Wifey was asking for any leftover sauce so she could shower in it later at home. These were monsters. BBQ’d on that Japanese grill until pink, puffy, nicely charred, and then drizzled in the ‘secret sauce’. How good do they look?Here is that Wagyu. OMG. This is the cut on the top shoulder of the Wagyu, called the Bolar Blade. Now according to Chef Drew, this is one tough piece of meat. So he made a quasi-Pastrami out of it. Cooking it low and slow (I love him for this, as you know that’s how we do ChillaxBBQ – reverse searing) overnight. Then chilling it to firm it up for slicing SUPER thin on his slicer. Remember that? See below (I want one!!!). I could hardly pick this up on a fork as it was super-soft and fell apart as you touched it. But wait, there’s more. How about I take the juices and create a French Dip for the meat before plating (see the video)? Then I drizzle it with Bone Marrow Butter and add some Pickled Chillis. Well, blow me down!!! That’s what you get. This was unctuous and just buttery meaty goodness. We had a few of these. You just could not help yourself to repeat order it. Damned fine dish Chef!!! AWESOME!!!Chef Drew’s new toy…Sky High Gourmet Fiesta – Wifey and Obaachan then get stuck into the Octopus. Very nicely plated. Super smoky from the coals and the potato. I tried a little of the broth and potato and yeah this was extremely good. Wifey said it was super sweet and smokey and nicely tender, not chewy. She was not a personal fan of the smoked potato, despite the plate being cleaned…Quite an ingenious one next. Amy goes for Bao Boy. I really like this concept. Taking Bao and making all sorts of different fillings. We’ve done Banh Mi before at ChillaxBBQ, and this is such an inspiration rather than toasting big baguettes. Genius! This is that Pork Jowl Banh Mi Bao. I had a wee bit of this and it was pure quality. I love Pork Jowl. MeatSmith is doing this Spiced Dry Rub version with Lemon Mayo down Gluttons By The Bay. It’s a lovely bit of the piggie. This Banh Mi was super fresh so you got the soft sweetness of the Bao, crunch from the salad, and a massive savoury fatty hit from the Jowl. That Bao has some good bedfellows!!!Mystery over. Here is Chef Pynt’s Steak Frites. $30 for these two little beauties. BUT, OMG. It’s an Angels singing moment haha. Holy moly these little bad boys punch above their weight. Fried Potato, Beef Tartare, and Caviar (like proper Caviar hence the $). Wifey said, so very unique. We just had to order more and more. Things of beauty on the plate. These are a must-try. I see them on the Burnt Ends menu too, so go get some!!! WOW!!!Here is my grazing view. How good is that? A picture paints a… But what you are not getting is the warm breeze, the aroma wafts of BBQ‘ing excellence, the chitter chatter, and the soulful tunes pumping away from the DJ. Again, I have to say it. HEAVEN!!!I met this cracking guy at Chef Pynt’s station who happened to be the Group Operations Manager for Burnt Ends. Great to meet you James and thanks for the chats mate! Hope to carry them on over a beer one day. As he turned around though I noticed his t-shirt. What the…. Apparently, they organised with MasterCard to have a 12-monthly cooking event, where 12 Chefs came and cooked each month with Chef Pynt. Bloody brilliant concept. The Aaron Turner cartoon was the one that caught my eye. I looked at my left arm and wondered why…?I think this would look ACE on that t-shirt haha!!!Here’s another ‘surprise’ from Chef Pynt. Those Japanese mushrooms are front and centre. Charred on the coals with Chili oil or Chili butter or something on there. Beneath an Onsen egg with the Black Truffle Congee. Yeah, it really was a foodie moment when you had this all together. Like I feel slightly weak at the knees moment haha. The mushrooms were meaty in flavour, with a slow Chili heat coming through and then super floral Truffle hits. A Holy food moment!!! All are served in a recyclable bowl, but who cares. Flavors to die for!!!MeatSmith action now. The Lamb Ribs. How the guys got this crisp on the skin is way beyond me. It was like eating a lamb savoury snap. Absolutely amazing bit of lamb goodness. I pulled this whole piece off the bone and dipped it away in that minty sauce. Crunch, crunch, crunch. And it’s gone… Did we get any more???MeatSmith again now with the OtahMales. Little did we know it was going to come with Uni on top until we ordered it. BOOM!!! There’s that Japanese influence yet again. Fusion is all over the place with this one actually. Singaporean, Mexican,and Japanese all in one. Stunning dish plated on plank too! I made traditional Otah at a cooking lesson at ToTT and it is a ball-ache. I thought my arm was going to fall off when mixing it. I feel the pain of whoever made the Otah. This was wolfed down in the blink of an eye.BeBe making new friends wherever she goes haha. Also very Japanese actually I thought with Anime and all that. But no, this is a mascot and logo for a new Indian Beer label called Bira. I believe it started in Belgium, but within 2 years became India’s #1. This monkey in a suit was going around giving free samples and nice it was too. For some reason though the monkey is snorting the beer up his nostrils…Food over. A coma moment. Notice no one is smiling. Rest and then maybe some dessert.OK, let’s have a walk first to the viewing platforms. Nice to be above our old Condo @ Cost Rhu. Just to the left of Obaachan in the picture. Also shows that the 11-year-old Strawberry Blonde is officially now taller than her Obaachan. Pictures don’t lie Obaachan, haha!!! Cracking photo though.Supposed to be a Jumanji Smoulder… What went wrong? I look constipated. Amy just farted and likes it and Jude is a kissing slap-head…A light dessert was prepared by Jude. Churros with chocolate sauce and added hundreds and thousands (like it needed them).Clearly very proud of himself! Chef Jude!!!Drew manages to squeeze in a 20-minute break for a quick gas and a beer or two. So great to see the man in action again and to sample those two dishes from the legend!!! Hope to see you later in the week buddy.Bless Chef Drew. He sends down some more prawns for us. Not sure if the Wifey was happy with that or not. Can’t take her anywhere, haha!!! Thanks, Chef Drew. Happy family yet again!!!Amy is quiet for at least 5 minutes. Thanks Chef.#1 can’t stop raving about the day today as it is likely the best food experience of his 18 years. I am tending to agree with him.VERY happy girls.DJ JUDE JUDE IN DA HOUSE!!! Rocking with our in-house DJ. Great tunes today my friend and thanks for the snap!!!On the home straight now. 1600 and time to depart to home and await 1800 for dinner – OMG, did I really just say that!“Love you Obaachan. Hope you had a lovely lunch with us?” said Jude Jude.
And that was that. It was 1600 and MBS Sky High Gourmet Fiesta w Obaachan was over. We said goodbye to our mates, and then like Cinderella, we had to leave when the clocks chimed 1600. We left no slipper, but there surely was a sleeper or three in the taxi on the way home. We didn’t turn into mice, but we surely changed into some looser clothing. I can’t thank the Chef’s enough for the amazing, ney truly amazing experience that family Kennett had today. You had United Colours of Bennetton to cope with – Japanese, English, Filipina, and hybrids of all three. Not one of us walked away with a single moan or complaint. In fact, we walked away stating everything was 10/10. Incredible lunch. Truly up there with the very best food experiences, I have ever had in my 50+ years. What a WOW moment (which includes the bill haha). Sorry if you did not know of this event, or could not go. Boy did you miss out if you are a foodie and did not attend, but hopefully, the blog allows you to – ENJOY!!! (a little).
