WHEN local foodies go to Ipoh, Perak, among the top two dishes they enjoy are either the bean sprouts chicken rice or chee cheong fun (rice noodle roll), or both.
So, when two international stars — Canadian celebrity chef David Rocco, 47, and Hong Kong singer, actor and chef Nicholas Tse, 37, — were in the city, they were taken to sample the delicious food Ipoh is famous for.
“The bean sprouts were fantastically crunchy.
“I was told that the water over there was responsible for its extra crunch and crispness,” Rocco said at a special appearance and exclusive launch of a new cooking show by Fox Networks Group Asia at Sunway Velocity Mall in Kuala Lumpur recently.
“The kai fun (chicken rice) is smooth and silky,” said former Hong Kong entertainment industry bad boy Tse.
The stars were in town to film two episodes of the upcoming show called Celebrity Chef: East vs West.
In the five-part series, they will travel to several cities in Asia to learn about local cultures and food, before battling each other in replicating local dishes of the countries they visit.
Besides Malaysia, filming also took place in China, Macau and the Philippines.
In each country, a local chef will be the guest host for the show and is responsible for picking the winning dish.
While Fox remained mum on the guest hosts for the show, it is no longer a secret that Datuk Redzuawan Ismail, a.k.a Chef Wan, is one of them.
Here, filming was partly done at Ipoh’s luxurious The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat and Sunway City Kuala Lumpur.
Tse was greeted by about 100 of his diehard fans at the event. The group, who had been waiting for him at the mall since morning, carried placards with questions if he had plans to hold a concert in Kuala Lumpur.
Tse is set to release a new album soon. His last record was in 2015, entitled Chef Nic.