'FLAVOURS OF MALAYSIA' A BIG HIT IN SYDNEY

SYDNEY, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Sydneysiders have been flocking to the "Flavours
of Malaysia Festival" at The Grace Hotel, held this month as part of the Crave
Sydney Food Festival.

So much so that the first festival of Malaysian food held in Sydney has been
extended.

"There has been an excellent response," said Phillip Pratley, the general
manager of the Low Yatt Group-owned hotel. "We've extended the festival by one
week to three weeks."

Joshua Err, food and beverage manager and executive chef for Federal Hotels
International, Kuala Lumpur, who flew to Australia to organise the event, is
delighted.

"They love it," he said. "It has gone so well that we are planning to do
it annually."

The festival comprising lunch from Sunday to Friday and dinner on Friday and
Saturday nights is averaging 150 people a day, and has been booked out on many
occasions.

Err brought two senior chefs with him to prepare the banquets. The chefs
have found that they need to make the dishes milder for Australians' taste.

They have prepared four different and extensive menus which include healthy
organic salads, soups, traditional melt in the mouth, slow-cooked main dishes,
tasty hawker fare, dishes from the kitchen of Malaysia's first prime minister
the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, desserts and beverages.

All up, 28 dishes are prepared for each sitting, with some, such as those
included in the Stall section, cooked as the diner waits.

Err said he was pleased with the ingredients. "We brought nothing with
us. Everything has been sourced locally," he said, adding that he has found
"the vegetables, seafood and meat are much better, in terms of quality, in
Australia".

While admitting to exhaustion, Err enjoyed the festival. "I love to cook, I
love to eat," he said, an enthusiasm shared by a vast number of Sydney
residents.
-- BERNAMA