When you think of Australian cuisine do you first think "oxymoron," imagining barbecued kangaroo steak washed down with a swill of Foster's lager?
Well, if you're still stuck with the Down Under stereotype, there's few better than Cheong Liew to correct your preconceptions. From now until April 12, Liew is guesting at the Tokyo Hilton in Shinjuku, where he'll be dishing up such "New Australian" delicacies as sea urchin souffle and shark fin pouch in venison consomme.
Before turning out his first cover at the hotel's Twenty One Restaurant on Wednesday, Liew, the father of fusion food and one of Australia's most acclaimed chefs, laid on a demonstration of his skills for an appreciative audience. On the menu were two dishes: laksa broth with ocean trout and sea urchin mousseline, and boned quail filled with chestnuts and sweet glutinous rice with a taro basket of ostrich and vegetables.