LaZat, and exploring KL

Anybody who knows me well knows that cooking is not my forte. In fact, if they know me really well, they know that plain and simple: I just don't do it. Don't get me wong, I LOVE food. I devour food just as well, if not better, than most. However cooking is something I try to avoid at all costs both as a matter of personal safety and because I would not want to inflict the results upon my worst enemy. If it's any indication - I once managed to set fire to the pan (and very nearly the entire kitchen)... making pancakes.

So knowing on Friday morning - following a mere two hours sleep, an amazing buffet breakfast at our hotel, and the wonderful surprise phone call from Adam at Travelscene informing us we were able to be extended by another day due to our delay - that we were going to be heading out to a Malaysian Home Cooking Class at LaZat... I triple checked that my travel insurance forms had definitely been sent back to the guys at Travelscene, and prayed to the gods of health and cooking that they wouldn't be needed today.

Situated in a peaceful and fairly quiet suburb just outside of Kuala Lumpur, LaZat cooking classes are held at a contemporary Malaysian home complete with its own herb garden. Entering through the gates on our arrival we were greeted by our teacher for the day, the very welcoming and attentive Saadiah, who was quick to assure us that even though we were only cooking off the beginners menu, not to worry as she would be there to guide us through every step of the way. phew!

After a quick tour of the photos hanging from each wall in the room (the majority, we were told, were of Australian tourists - their 'best tourists' at LaZat.. aussie aussie aussie!), I came to the conclusion that if the kids pictured had managed to walk out unscathed, I had a small chance of managing the same. And then it was time to start!

With the expert demonstration and guidance of Saadiah, I found myself slowly but surely producing respectable (and edible!) dishes of Savoury Meat Filled Cups, Nasi Lemak, Sambal Udang (prawns in chilli paste, traditionally a breakfast dish), and Sago Gula Melaka (Sago pudding – a personal favourite amongst our group). With Saadiah's watchful but ever encouraging eye firmly affixed upon my cooking station, I felt confident in what I was doing, and actually began to enjoy the process of preparing and cooking a full meal.


Savoury Meat Filled Cups

The only real heart stopping moment came when manager Ana came through, and paused to say that something “smelled like…… burning?”, which may or may not have been referring to a batch of savoury meat cups I had on the stove, but other than that it was a drama free, and highly enjoyable day.

the group hard at work during the class

The fact that we enjoyed ourselves so much is probably also due to the little kitchen fairies at LaZat (the kitchen staff), who were on hand the entire time to clear and clean dirty utensils and dishes for us! They were so good at moving quickly and silently while we watched Saadiah's demonstrations that often we would turn around and be shocked at a whole new array of ingredients and pots and pans that had materialised in front of us! If only cooking could be like that all the time!

It also struck me how naturally prepared the meals were - instead of using brushes for oil, we used tied Pandan leaves (also used in our dishes), and all of the ingredients were beautifully fresh. Sitting down to eat our home cooked lunch, I was amazed that I could actually make something so edible (if you don’t believe me, the pictures above are all mine!).


FBFT#2 and our teacher Saadiah

Waving goodbye to Saadiah and the rest of the lovely team at LaZat, it was back to our hotel rooms for a few hours free time before our cultural night tour and dinner. What better way to fill in the time? ahh.... SHOPPING! Much to Kieron's delight we decided to head out and explore the bustling and lively area around our hotels, which was conveniently located in the shopping district of the city.

the bustling streets of KL

Wandering past rows of cafes and shops, we were struck by how affordable everything was. Most things tended to be priced at roughly the same amount in Ringgits as what we would charge back home, however when converted back to AUD ended up being only a third of the cost. It's true what they say, KL really is a shoppers paradise!

Pavillion Shopping Center

Soon enough it was time to head back and get ready for our night tour and cultural dinner, but not before Jess and I snuck in a few sneaky drinks at cocktail hour in the Orchid Club Lounge - complete with the amazingly warm, unpretentious, yet five star quality customer service we had learnt to appreciate from Parkroyal!


More on our cultural tour and dinner later - stay tuned!

Mim xx