Farm-fresh lunches at A Little Farm on the Hill
A Little Farm on the Hill organises special lunches often designed around occasions like Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. These feasts (priced at RM250 per person) feature widely varied spreads, largely derived from the farm’s bountiful harvest.
They are held in the Farmhouse, a large, airy space with panoramic views of the property. The lunches are the brainchild of the farm’s owner, architect Lisa Ngan, who whips up all sorts of delectable concoctions nearly single-handedly.
“We try and use whatever we have, so the food is led by that. And the stuff we make has strong, Middle-Eastern-ish flavours because Malaysians are used to strong flavours,” says Ngan.
Everything is fresh, zesty and simple. A bean is left a bean, asparagus retains its crisp consistency, and so on and so forth. You won’t get vegetables that have been cooked to death, smothered in sauce, wrapped or stuffed into something else. You’ll get the chance to taste every single fibre of every single vegetable and rest assured, you will enjoy it.
“Our decisions are driven by one thing – if the ingredient is good, we stay out of the way. You help it along, you don’t try and dominate it. Because if you’ve got good ingredients, you don’t really need to do much to it. I think that’s the only strict philosophy we follow.”
“So many people who come out here are not fans of vegetables – but they can’t stop eating them here, because they don’t normally get fresh vegetables. For us, it’s not just about being organic; being tasty is also important,” says Teo.
Although Ngan is responsible for the bulk of the food at the farm-to-table lunches, Teo has a hand in smoking meat in his custom-built smoker.
Teo makes the six-hour smoked Angus beef in his custom-built smoker, which has given the meat sublime smoky flavours that only adds to its carnivorous appeal.
Ngan’s husband, and co-owner of the farm, is singer-songwriter Pete Teo. He is particularly proud of his six-hour wood-smoked Angus beef short ribs, which were prepared in the smoker he designed and built himself – and which he has taken to with all the enthusiasm of a child fascinated by a new toy.
“We were intrigued by the idea of smoking meat, and I enjoyed researching how to build the smoker. As you can imagine, there is physics involved in all of that – hot air and convection. And it’s primeval isn’t it? Smoking has existed as long as cooking has existed. Smoking meat fits with what we do here, which is something that’s natural, slow food. It’s quite an interesting process. And obviously, smoked meat is yummy – it’s superbly tasty,” says Teo.
The eating is done communal style, so you’ll get to share your meal at long tables with total strangers who have also paid for the pleasure of this exquisite farm-to-table experience.
The benefit of this arrangement is getting to potentially make new friends. As food gets passed down the table, conversation inevitably flows and “Would you like some okra?” can very quickly turn into an exchange of phone numbers.
If you like fresh food, you’ll love what’s on offer at A Little Farm on the Hill (www.alittlefarmonthehill.com). The menu varies depending on the occasion but Ngan generally prepares a rich variety of dishes designed to appeal to all sorts of individuals (even the really cantankerous ones).
As a result, the table is heavy with platters laden with all sorts of veggie goodness. The roasted red pepper dip, for example, is creamy and punctuated with bright bursts of flavour while the hummus with toasted pine nuts is smooth and punchy, with subtle chickpea undertones. The crusted pumpkin wedges are delightful, boasting a crisp exterior and plump, pillowy-soft (but not mushy) insides.
A large part of the menu is vegetarian, in keeping with the whole farm-to-table goal of dining here, but the six-hour smoked Australian Angus beef might be on the menu too, and deserves acknowledgement. The meat is succulent and moist, with a dry bark (skin) that has absorbed all the rich, smoky flavours from the smoking process. As a result, you’ll find yourself reaching for more and more meat, even as your belly fights valiantly to stage a mutiny against your greed.
Friends, family and complete strangers sit down to meals together at A Little Farm on the Hill – it’s amazing how passing someone a plate of something good can make you buddies for life.
The interesting thing about this meal is that you can gaze out at the farm from where you are, content in the knowledge that nearly all the vegetables on your plate would have been in the ground just a few hours ago. And this is the thing that works most in Ngan and Teo’s favour – the fact that the produce is so darn fresh. You can literally taste the earthiness of the soil as you chomp on your vegetables.
Teo chuckles cheekily when I mention this and says: “The idea is to keep the quality consistently high. And the freshness of our farm-grown ingredients is guaranteed. Once you have that guarantee, you don’t really need to do much.”
Source: Star2.com