Latest news with #Australian-Malaysian
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
From Malaysia to Portugal, towering defender Paarveen takes giant leap
Big break: Paarveen Waran in action with his new club FC Vizela. — Paarveen's Instagram PETALING JAYA: As the race for Super League spots heats up at home, Paarveen Waran is taking his game abroad – with Portugal as his new stage. The Australian-Malaysian talent has signed with Portuguese Division Two side FC Vizela on Aug 3, and will join their Under-19 squad. While he will not be featuring in the senior league just yet, Paarveen's new team are no lightweights as Vizela's Under-19s were crowned national champions of the Second Division last season. The transfer fee remains undisclosed. Previously, the 18-year-old featured for Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) IV in last season's Youth Cup, helping the team to the title. Standing at 1.92m, Paarveen is seen as a bright prospect, especially as he plays in defence. Paarveen is excited about what lies ahead of him. 'It's the best place to grow and chase my dream of playing for Harimau Malaya,' said Paarveen. Before Paarveen, winger Safawi Rasid also had a stint in Portugal in 2020, but it was only a loan spell with Portimonense SC from JDT before he returned home three months later. Apart from Paarveen, several other players have also ventured abroad in search of opportunities this season, including former Selangor defender R. Ruventhiran, who is now with Filipino club Aguilas-UMak. Meanwhile, Dion Cools is making his mark in the Japanese league with Cerezo Osaka. Naturalised Brazilian midfielder Endrick Dos Santos is also plying his trade overseas with Vietnam's V League 1 side Ho Chi Minh City.
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
From Malaysia to Portugal, towering Paarven takes giant leap
Paarven Waran (first from left) out to impress in Portugal. - FC Vizela PETALING JAYA: As the race for Super League spots heats up at home, Paarven Waran is taking his game abroad – with Portugal as his new stage. The Australian-Malaysian talent has signed with Portuguese Division Two side FC Vizela on Aug 3, and will join their Under-19 squad. While he will not be featuring in the senior league just yet, Paarven's new team are no lightweights as Vizela's Under-19s were crowned national champions of the Second Division last season. The transfer fee remains undisclosed. Previously, the 18-year-old featured for Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) IV in last season's Youth Cup, helping the team to the title. Standing at 1.92m, Paarven is seen as a bright prospect, especially as he plays in defence. Paarven is excited about what lies ahead of him. "It's the best place to grow and chase my dream of playing for Harimau Malaya," said Paarven. Before Parveen, winger Safawi Rasid also had a stint in Portugal in 2020, but it was only a loan spell with Portimonense SC from JDT before he returned home three months later. Apart from Parveen, several other players have also ventured abroad in search of opportunities this season, including former Selangor defender R. Ruventhiran, who is now with Filipino club Aguilas-UMak. Meanwhile, Dion Cools is making his mark in the Japanese league with Cerezo Osaka. Naturalised Brazilian midfielder Endrick Dos Santos is also plying his trade overseas, currently on loan from JDT to Vietnam's 1 side Cong An Ho Chi Minh City.
The Guardian
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Junda Khoo's gamechanging tips for a fresh menu this Easter
'When you have something good and add something else good, you have something great,' says Junda Khoo. The celebrated Australian-Malaysian chef and restaurateur uses this culinary equation to reimagine classic dishes for modern tastes. His talent for innovation, deeply rooted in tradition, is fuelled by a passion for bringing people together. Recalling his grandmother's 'pulling power' in gathering the extended family around the table with comforting meals, Khoo sees cooking for loved ones as an act of service. 'I like to provide a service. I always say that my restaurants are family spaces; I cook food that brings people to the table. I picked up quite a few things from my grandmother.' Khoo's grandmother's influence shines through in the homestyle cooking and focus on fresh ingredients at his four buzzing Ho Jiak restaurants in Sydney, and will no doubt be prominent at his ventures under development in Melbourne and at the new Sydney Fish Market. Photo credit: Bob Wong. The standards don't drop at home, either. 'The kids always ask for my cooking,' Khoo says. 'They say: 'It's not fair, everyone gets to eat Dad's cooking.' So, I cook breakfast every morning and keep cooking at home simple and fresh.' Luckily, Khoo's local IGA is just a one-minute walk from his home. It's a daily stop for fresh and seasonal produce; less prep time means more family time. 'When you are doing simple home cooking, less is always more,' Khoo says. 'You want the best ingredients, so you don't have to do much to them.' For a long weekend Easter menu, Khoo has applied his maths magic of good plus good equals great to create crowd-pleasing, simple and affordable dishes. For the beer-battered sweet and sour fish, Khoo brilliantly combined two family favourites: fish and chips and sweet and sour pork. 'It's synergy, combining classics to make modern comfort food,' he says. Wild-caught whiting is essential in this recipe, and Khoo's gamechanging tip to head to the frozen section makes it easy to access. 'Frozen fish is even fresher than what you can buy at the fish market because it's frozen on the boat,' he says. 'Also, supply steps have been cut out, and the economy of scale makes it more affordable.' For dessert, the not-so-humble chocolate chip cookie gets its due with the addition of new-season Australian-grown oranges. 'It's a refreshing and decadent cookie that combines zesty citrus and rich chocolate,' he says. 'I would bake the cookies a few days in advance, store in a cookie jar, and turn them into dessert. Serve them with vanilla ice-cream and fresh strawberries or slices of orange. If you want to go for the Easter touch, sprinkle a little cinnamon and icing sugar on top.' Khoo sums it up: 'The most important thing is the pulling power of food. And good, tasty, fresh food has that pulling power. Whenever you have this, it will bring everyone to the table.' Photo credit: Bob Wong. Prep 20 minCook 25 minServes 4 people Ingredients For the fish 6 whiting fillets, cut into 5cm lengths1 cup self-raising flour ½ cup cornflour 180ml cold beer, or cold sparkling water (this will give a lighter result) ½ tsp salt½ tsp sugar 1 pinch ground white pepper 3 tbsp plain flour 1L vegetable oil For the sweet and sour sauce 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 red onion, cut into 1.5cm cubes½ yellow capsicum, julienned to 3cm length½ red capsicum, julienned to 3cm length150g pineapple, cut into 1.5cm cubes5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced200ml fish stock 200ml tomato sauce 1 tbsp white vinegar 3 tbsp white sugar 1 tbsp oyster sauce 3 spring onions, cut to 3cm length Photo credit: Bob Wong. Method Pat the fish. Mix the self-raising flour, cornflour, salt, sugar, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly add the beer, whisking until smooth. Rest for 10 minutes. Heat the oil to 180C. Dust the fish with plain flour, dip in the batter and fry three or four fillets for four to five minutes until golden. Drain on a rack or paper towel. Sprinkle with a little salt and transfer to a serving plate. For the sauce, heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan to smoking point and fry the onion, capsicum, and pineapple for two to three minutes until slightly charred. Remove these ingredients and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan and sauté the ginger until fragrant. Add the fish stock and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for two minutes. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, sugar and oyster sauce. Simmer for two minutes. Return the charred ingredients to the sauce and simmer for another two minutes to slightly reduce and thicken the sauce. Stir in the spring onions. Pour the simmering sauce over the fish and serve. Photo credit: Bob Wong. Prep 30 min – the day beforeCook 30 minMakes 75 cookies Ingredients For the butter mixture 250g softened salted butter 100g brown sugar 60g raw sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 egg For the flour mixture 375g plain flour 60g cornflour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 6 tbsp vegetable oil Add-ins Zest of 2 oranges 400g chocolate chips 1 punnet of strawberries Photo credit: Bob Wong. Method In a bowl or electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, raw sugar, vanilla essence and egg until evenly combined. In another bowl, mix the flour, cornflour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Gradually add the flour mixture and oil to the butter mixture, stirring with a spatula or spoon until combined. Fold in the orange zest and chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line baking trays with baking paper. Scoop tablespoon-sized (4cm) dough balls onto trays, leaving space for spreading. Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. You may need to bake them in batches depending on your oven and tray space – if so, keep the dough refrigerated between batches. Once baked, let the cookies cool for five minutes on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Serve with fresh strawberries, or slices of orange and ice-cream. Shop for fresh, seasonal ingredients at your local IGA. IGA is the Australian launch partner for the Guardian's cooking and recipe app, Feast. Download Feast on the App store for Apple iOS or Google Play for Android to follow each of these recipes step by step.
