Culinary Challenge 2 @ Bayan Indah

Why is it that when we are heading towards the year end, the days seem to flash by extra-quickly?  I don't feel that way during the first half of the year but somehow things just catapult like crazy after July.  I'm saying this because I just realised that almost a whole month had gone by since 25 September.  Why 25 September?

That was the day we had our Culinary Challenge 2 in Bayan Indah!  We're almost going for the 3rd session and I guess it's high time I blog about CC-2 before CC-3 happens next week.

This time the group was very punctual, no one got lost... so everyone arrived at Bayan Indah bright and early and had a nice time chilling-out with some yummy refreshments provided by Rohani...



No one wanted to miss out any tip or advice given by Rohani... everyone listened intently and took notes during the Briefing...



Once the recipes were distributed, it was time to plan and strategize - who should do the cutting & chopping? what should be prepared first? who should fry what? how long should the rice be soaked? should the meat be sliced or cubed?  The questions were endless!





Then, it's straight to the kitchen... and let's get cooking!



... Cooking is real fun, man!  Just look at 'em happy faces!



Busy... busy... things really worked out well... no mishap at all, I think ...





I must say this group was pretty efficient and they completed the challenge in a relatively shorter time.  This time round the menu was "Thai Classics"...



Pomelo Salad with Prawns



Fried Fish with Green Mango Dressing



Were those tantalising enough?

Hmmm... to go with white rice, how about some ...



Green Chicken Curry



All the spices and ingredients were pounded by hand and cooked with love ;-)

For something slurpy, spicy and tangy... how about this ...



Chicken & Galangal Soup

What's a Thai meal if there's no dessert, right?!  Will this suffice? ...



Mango with Sticky Rice

Such glorious colours... presented in different ways... that's what Food Styling is all about!



So, what do you think?  Not too shabby eh?!  Rohani & team had a tough time judging and it took them quite a while to award and tally the points. 

Criteria set for the challenge remained the same as in Culinary Challenge 1.



As usual, when the participants were busy in the kitchen, I went around Bayan Indah and had a field day with my camera.  No matter how many times I've been there, I always find new things to photograph. 

This time, I made acquaintance with Roselle...



From the fruits hanging on the plants... which grew abundantly in Rohani's garden...



Hmmm... is it from Fruit to Flower... or Flower to Fruit?





In full bloom...



If you are wondering what Roselle is, well, Babe in the City_KL has written a post about it here.  It makes a very yummy Ribena-like drink :-)



Well... as I was saying earlier, Rohani and her team (do you recognize a new judge there?!) took a while tasting and judging every dish cooked... but eventually the results were out and the winning group received autographed copies of Rohani's cookbooks!



After a very yummy and fulfilling Thai lunch at Bayan Indah, every one went back happy, tummy filled and a sense of achievement :-))



And now... on to Culinary Challenge 3 soon!