Godot's Goddess

If the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach, the same goes for women, especially this womyn. People ask: "Do u cook?" And I quipped: "What's that word? It's not in my vocabulary." Well, not any more, not since my late mum lived with us, and the kids are grown, and I simply got demotivated. For someone who had to learn from scratch after she got married, I graduated from simple asam rebus and sambal belacan to baking and icing NI's birthday cake and demonstrating to my down-liners on the multiple uses of the Queen's cookware to prepare steamed chicken rice, pudding tapai, seri muka, etc.
Man, we even tried our hands at our very own 'Lontong&Soto' place in Cheras, but we couldn't cope with work, kids and cafe! Honestly, though, given a choice between slaving over the stove or being served, I would surely opt for the latter. Unless a TV station offers me to host a Malaysian version of Nigella Bites, then I wouldn't mind cooking for the cameras at all!
In the meantime, courtesy of NI, I got my share of fine dining, the most recent being at the Avanti Italian-American Ristorante, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, where we were feted to Chef Stefano Maccagno's signature dishes. Dinner kicked off with a strawberry-mango smoothie, followed by terrine and oyster-laici, squid-ink ravioli, roast lamb, and rounded up with mango tiramisu and chocolaty cappucino. While we dined, a band of "singing chefs and waiters" serenaded us with numbers from Eric Clapton, the Carpenters and Ole Sole Mio.
Chef Stefano is not just a gifted chef, but a truly self-made sensitive new-age guy who started working at 13, collecting and cleaning glasses at a pub in his native Piedmont. He left home at 17 to join the National Service, and never looked back. Married to a local woman, they have a 14 year old daughter.
His approach to haute cuisine is experimental and delightful, which resulted in fresh flavours and colorful presentation.
Buon Appetito!