Malaysian Food Lovers, along with Ignite Search and Golden Road Australia, were delighted to be a part of this delicious night full of fun and exquisite food from world-famous Chef Martin Yan from San Francisco.
Chef Yan has not returned to Australia for 8 years and was very excited to connect with old friends and meet new ones along the way. What better way than to celebrate West Australia’s sea cucumbers with platinum sponsors Golden Road Australia and the team at Ignite Search.
On the 18th of October, Pinn’s Palace was the place to be, with over 100 diners arriving to taste a 9 course banquet dinner.
Egg Floss Silver Fish, Almond Prawn Ball, Jelly Fish and Shredded Chicken
Seafood Fish Maw Soup
Whole Coral Trout Cooked Two Ways
Teriyaki Beef Cubes With Broccoli
Marmite Pork Chop
Pinn’s Special Steamed Free-Range Chicken
Pinn’s Tofu
Buddha’s Delight
Kueh Dessert Delicacies by Little Nonya Kitchen
Mmmmm, what a mouthwatering delight!
At 5:30pm, Ignite Search were on hand to organise the night and usher the guests to their seats with a complement of white Sauvignon Blanc and red Pinot Noir wine from the Marlborough wine region in New Zealand. The event, of course, was optional BYO, though hardly anyone felt the need with these delicious wines that paired beautifully with the menu.
MC’s Alexis Aw and Kenneth Lim were on point, introducing the partners for the event Golden Road and their journey of harvesting sea cucumbers and sharing them with culinary aficionados like themselves.
Cheech Foo, the founder of Malaysian Food Lovers, was not available to welcome guests in person and so provided a video introduction to guests from Sydney, introducing Golden Road, Pinn’s Place and the man himself, Chef Yan.
Chef Martin Yan arrived with his traditional fan fare and delighted fans and friends with laughter and stories of his time as a world famous chef, travelling from country to country. The audience ate it up and was eager to see his skills in action.
As Pinn’s Palace brought out the entrees, Chef Yan engaged with the audience and posed for photos with guests, many of whom were lifelong fans of the chef. Along with the photos, Ignite Search was offering raffle tickets for 5x prize sets of Chef Yan’s special chef knife and finger guard. Tickets were flying as the Ignite Search team charmed the crowds. Chef Yan offered a special bonus prize of a chef’s knife for the guest who could ‘Yam Seng’ the longest.
Next was Chef Yan’s famous knife demonstration of his professional chef skills. The crowd was in awe as Chef Yan sliced vegetables, chicken breast and paper down to the size of a toothpick with ease. But that was not all; anticipation was felt as crowds began to capture Chef Yan’s signature deboning of a chicken in 18 seconds flat.
As guests dined on their mains, Chef Yan entertained with stories from his time on the road and his meeting famous faces over the years. Guests asked their burning questions about being a successful TV chef and about balancing a happy marriage with a career on the road. Chef Yan was happy to share his secrets with his usual good humour.
Towards the end of the night, guests enjoyed their desserts as Chef Yan discussed his published works and talked about the journey of writing down his story and his signature techniques and dishes. After years in the profession, it was clear that there were likely more published works yet to come, as Chef Yan has a lifetime of knowledge. The question is finding the time to put pen to paper.
After the night’s menu was completed, Chef Yan asked a guest to help him draw the winning raffle tickets for his special prizes. There were many smiling winners faces after the draw, even from one of Ignite Searches own, co-MC Alexis Aw. She was relieved to have found a moment to buy her raffle tickets before the night was over, a real challenge for our busy co-MC.
As guests departed, the hosts thanked Chef Yan for his time and offered thanks to guests and the team at Pinn’s Palace for helping to make the night such a success. The team at Ignite Search was happy to hear so many had an enjoyable night, with some asking if Ignite Search would be hosting another event in the future. Hmm, we shall have to wait and see.
A special thanks to everyone who was in attendance that night and for making it a wonderful evening for all.
And a special thanks to our VIPs, the West Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce (WACCC), Two Monkey’s for filming our precious memories, Malaysian Food Lovers for their support, Omnomnom Food Truck for the delicious desserts and the loan of their director as co-MC for the night.
If you were not able to attend on the night to meet Chef Martin Yan, we hope you were able to make it to one of his other Perth 2023 events; Karrinyup Shopping Centre, Symphony of Flavours Night Market at the University of Western Australia (UWA), as well as the Meet and Greet Afternoon Tea at UWA. Otherwise, you can try Chef Yan’s signature beef dish at home, as featured in ‘The West’ News publication.
Until the next event! We hope to see you there……
