Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia

The spate of baking I've been doing lately... (like the cakes featured in my 2nd last post here) and last Saturday, a chocolate cake, 2 fruit cakes and 35 muffins emerged from my oven ... this could be inspired by a recent visit I made to the Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia.



Thanks to Jade Wong of Mustard Tree Communications, (through the kind recommendation of FBB) I spent a delightful afternoon at the Academy.  The moment I walked through the glass door, I was bowled over by the wonderful aroma of BAKING... you know, that oh-so-delicious aroma that can only come from baking a concoction of butter, flour, eggs, sugar and goodness-knows what else (yummy stuff, of course!)

The Academy houses an impressive 8,000 sq ft which had been assigned to a Chocolate Room, Bakery Room, Pastry Kitchen, Pastry Room, Weddine Cake Room (with ceiling mirrors!), Chef's Lounge and classrooms.



The Academy's main focus is to train students through their Certificate programs:

* 3-month Certificate Program in Pastry & Bakery (Full time)
* 3-month Certificate Program in Pastry & Bakery (Part time)
* 3-month Certificate Program in Bakery (Full time)
* 9-month Certificate Program in Pastry & Bakery



Students and participants will be personally trained and coached by pastry and bakery champions ensuring hands-on teaching, practice and repeated exposure to the best pastry techniques, pastry tools and ingredients.  Believe me when I say they use only top-notch ingredients (like Varlhona chocolates) and the Academy is fitted-out with the most modern state-of-the-art equipment.



Helmed by the affable and charming Chef Guillaume Lejeune as the Director of Pastry Studies, who comes with more than 13 years of international experience in teaching, demonstrating in Hospitality Institutes as well as hands-on experience within Michelin starred hotels and restaurants in France, the Middle East and Asia, you know you are in pretty good hands!



Existing professionals and pastry enthusiasts can also go for short-term courses whereby you can learn how to bake:

* Cheesecakes
* Chocolate for Beginners
* Chocolates & Pralines
* The Art of French Pastries
* Tea Cakes, Cookies & Bars

Their fees are very reasonable, ranging from RM150 (half day), RM250 (full day) to RM500 (2 days).



On the day I was there (together with a few other bloggers), we were treated to a short lesson on "How to Bake & Decorate a Gingerbread House"!



Actually, to save time, the ginger bread house pieces were already baked and ready.  After the informative demo by Chef Lejeune, it was our turn to decorate our houses!  The "cement" used to glue the walls and roof of the gingerbread house is made from beaten egg whites + icing sugar.  Chef Lejeune showed us the technique of creating "icicles" that should hang from the roof beams...



Sift some icing sugar over the house for that "snow" effect... and then proudly presenting my handiwork...



... standing next to WMW's house...



As Christmas is just round the corner, you may be interested in their "Christmas Delights" class on 13 & 14 December 2010 (one time only!).  We were treated to these Christmas delights baked by Chef Lejeune and his students...


Stollen - so fragrant with spices and dried fruits!

If one is not enough for you, have a whole basketful!



How about some Christmas Cookies? Cardamom honey and Lemon Cinnamon flavoured...



A beautiful and ingenious way to stack up your cookies...



Tell me, can you ever, ever resist something like this...



Chocolate Moelleux - sinfully rich chocolate cake with a moist melted centre, topped with raspberries and edible gold bits!  Such luxurious indulgence!



I am definitely going to sign up for some classes soon because I want to learn  impress people by making Petit Fours like these... haha!



Thin chocolate shell holding a dollop of whipped ganache (passionfruit + vanilla), biscuit joconde, guimauve (that square of yellow spongey melt-in-the-mouth delight), topped with chocolate fan-like shaving and raspberry - heavenly!

Another variety is this... the Strawberry version:



It was a wonderful decadent afternoon spent at the Academy, in the charming company of Chef Lejeune and Hanne Landgraf (Customer Relations Executive) and fellow bloggers WMW, Jason, Li Chuen and Edwin...



I can't wait to go back there and get my hands-on sessions!



The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia is located in Wisma Thrifty, right across the Petaling Jaya Hilton:

Lot 2-A, 2nd Floor
Wisma Thrifty
19 Jalan Barat
46200 Petaling Jaya
Contact:  Mobile +6017-3252395
Tel: +603-7960-3846 / Fax: +603-7960-3848
Email: info@academyofpastryartsmalaysia.com

*Thank you, Jade - for this lovely experience!

GTower Hotel

The Kuala Lumpur skyline is ever changing. The concrete jungle in the city centre grows denser by the day.  Whenever I drive into the city after a short lapse of time, I'm always in awe of the increasing amount of construction activities there and new buildings keep sprouting like mushrooms after a rainfall.  I can never keep up with, or rather, keep count of the number of new skyscrapers fighting for a tight spot in the almost-overcrowded KL skyline.



When I was invited to visit and stay a night at the GTower Hotel, my interest was piqued.  So, what sets this particular hotel apart from the rest?

Well, for one, this hotel is located in GTower - the first fully certified green building in Malaysia by Singapore's Building & Construction Authority (BCA) with a rating of Green Mark Gold.  So what does this actually mean?  Put simply: GTower's construction adopted the latest Green Building Technologies which enabled the building to achieve a better sustainable, low-energy and healthy environment. Translating that into simpler terms: GTower boasts a 25% energy reduction (compared to other buildings of similar size & location), it saves nearly 7.5 million kwh of electricity per year (assuming it operates 10 hours/day at 5.5 days/week for 52 weeks/year) and in terms of carbon dioxide reduction, that's about 3.5 million kg of carbon not emitted into the environment and thus saving 18,000 trees per year!



Targeted mainly at corporate travellers, the GTower Hotel combines business practicality, art and convenience with quality and style.  I was impressed that they use waste heat from condensate units to generate hot water for the hotel rooms!  With the coveted MSC (Malaysia Cybercentre Status) award in its belt, is it any wonder that its high-speed multimedia services connectivitiy is world-class?  Hotel rooms come with superfast wired & wireless internet access, elegant work table, plush beds and a most-comfortable leather recliner, perfect for a bit of reading...or just to rest your back!



Guests of the hotel are given access to The Club - KL's exclusive new chic business club.  It's perfect for business meetings as well as a quiet elegant spot to chill-out, wind-down after a hectic day.  It's interesting to note that the chic decor of The Club uses wood from sustainable resources and certified green materials.



Art... the "organic earth" and green theme of the hotel is very eminent, whether it's the corridors, or the walls of hotel rooms, black & white images of our rainforest in Sabah, captured by renowned photographer Maria Espeus, hang proudly displaying the luxuriant flora and foliage of our national heritage...



The Bridge Bar... perched 30 floors above ground, straddling the 2 towers of GTower, this chic watering-hole is exclusive only to hotel guests and The Club members.  The interior decor uses recyclable materials like glass bottles, cable drums and recycled wood planks.  Whether it's drinks-before-dinner or after, the uber swanky bar is a great place to chill out - try their Chilli Padi Mojito - it's guaranteed to blow your socks off!



Fitness buffs among hotel guests and members would be thrilled by the new Elements Gym in the building... complete with the latest range of fitness equipment, a dedicated room for spinning and group exercise classes like yoga and pilates...



Re-energize and re-invigorate your systems ... go for a dip/swim in the infinity pool.  Rest assured that no chemical is used in sanitizing the water here... instead, salt chlorinators are used, resulting in pure and crystal clear water and definitely good for the environment!



Food... ahh, how can one not mention this... the breakfast spread for hotel guests at The Club on the 28th Floor... more than sufficient to kick-start your day...



There was more dining at the Trattoria Tanzini... that will be elaborated in another post shortly.

The use of greenery such as landscaping, rooftop/sky garden and green roof helps alleviate urban heat islands through shading and evaporative cooling.  There's even a Rain Water harvesting system in place for irrigating the landscaping and vertical greening areas.



Strategically located at the cross-roads of Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ampang, the GTower Hotel is right in the middle of KL's business district, conveniently located just 30m from the Ampang Park Light Rail Transit (LRT) subway, 400m from the KLCC Park perimeter and only 45 minutes' by road to the KL International Airport.

Many thanks to Melissa Hon & her team for the warm hospitality and to Sreejit Pillai for the invitation for  this remarkable green experience!

GTower Hotel
199 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:  03-2168-1800

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!