When an invitation dropped in my inbox to go to a master class to make Malaysian roti with MasterChef winner Ping Coombes at Chi Kitchen in Debenhams I jumped at the chance. Dunking the hot pan-fried bread in Malaysian curry sauce is LIFE! I was a bit skeptical going to a restaurant inside a shop, but was rest assured. Eddie Lim is behind Chi Kitchen, the guy behind Mango Tree, Pan Chai, Chai Wu and many others.
Chi Kitchen resides inside the ground floor of Debenhams being the second site with Arcadia group. The pan Asian restaurant has the best picks from most Asian cuisines and I got to sample a good selection.
Popcorn shrimp left a memorable impression, beautifully tempura breaded prawns slathered in wasabi mayonnaise. Sushi is tasty but the rice is a little soggy.
Then came our roti making master class the pressure was on, as we had to knead the bread for diners the following day. Under the watchful eyes of the head chef, the bloggers made them just fine.
Next I got the gloves on and tried my hand at flipping and stretching the roti. You can tell from my concentration face how absorbed I was with the task at hand. It’s a lot harder then you think, but the rest of the girls did well.
The head chef pan-fried the roti and we couldn’t stop eating them. Roti the Malaysian bread taste great with curries or even condensed milk.
The next dish we prepared was going to end up at our table for the night. A simple flavourful pomelo and prawn salad consisting of shredded pomelo, green leafs with an Asian dressing.
We were treated to a sneak preview of the new menu, crispy shredded beef stir fried in a coating of sweet chilli sauce. Another great dish is the morish Laksa, mixed in with an array of garnishes and ingredients. The noodles used is unique, fat curls of ho fun. Beef and potato curry was used to dunk my roti.
Of course desserts was more on the Asian theme with a twist. My beloved crème Brule had the matcha green tea twist with cornflake ice cream and if you eaten at Chinese restaurants. Mango desserts pop up on the menu. The mango cheesecake hits the spot.
http://chikitchen.co.uk/London.html