BY: Michelle Liew
Masterchef UK had recently organised a special episode for the New Year by calling back some of their previous winners to battle it out to be the Champion of the Champions. Participating in that episode are some of the fan-favourite former winners, including Malaysian-born Ping Coombes.
Ping was the champion of the 2014 season of Masterchef UK and the dish that made her such was some extraordinary Nasi Lemak and Wontons soup.
In the Champion of the Champions episode, Ping cooked up three dishes for the judges, namely Chilli Pan Mee, Claypot Chicken Rice and Ais Kacang. The judges were completely in awe with her presentation, and it was the Claypot Chicken Rice and Ice Kacang that really locked in the title of ‘Champion of the Champions’ for her.
Ping’s Claypot Chicken Rice is not your average one and instead is a guinea fowl with rice stuffed inside of it. There were also shards of crispy rice on the side, a lime, ginger and chili gel and a guinea fowl sauce.
Paired with it is an Ais Kacang that is made of coconut ice, peanut powder, sweet corn mousse and rose flavoured meringue shards. It was so delicious that one of the judges almost finished the whole thing, before saying “It’s so good I can’t leave it alone. Your food’s lovely.”
Ipoh-born Ping Coombes currently resides in Bath, UK. She runs a restaurant there called Ping’s Makan Club. She has her own cooking classes as well and a cookbook named MALAYSIA.
Congratulations Ping!
