We’re over the moon

Dan Stock gets a noodle masterclass from the MasterChef queen Diana Chan

It’s a concept not many of us have stopped to think about: can the moon really change the way we behave? SoulMotion owner and advanced yoga teacher Jeany Schall (right) says it does. She leads a yoga group that practises under the rising full moon in a bid to enhance the way its energies influence the body. She told Well

and Good the influence of the moon was widespread. “We are all interconnected with the phases of the moon,” she said.

IT’S the call of “You’ve got 10 seconds to go!” shouted at her by a strange Gary/George/Matt hybrid that will likely haunt Diana Chan’s dreams for years to come.

But it was a slightly more generous two-hour deadline that would be the real turning point for the Deloittes chartered accountant.

For it was at the very last minute, after some gentle public Facebook-prompting from her boyfriend, that Diana submitted her MasterChef application, and the rest – the 2017 winner’s plate and $250,000 cheque, the monthly delicious. magazine column and a new-found career in food – is, as they say, history.

“I look back now and think, really? I did that? The whole experience exceeded my expectations,” she says.

“When I started I set myself goals, aiming for the top 10.

“I just wanted to push myself to the max and see how far I could go.”

As it turns out, all the way to the top, defeating Ben Ungermann in the nail-biting finale by a single point. Since that fateful cook-off, Diana’s been making the most of the opportunities that come to the winner.

“I thought I’d open a restaurant straight away, but for now there are so many other opportunities.

“I might as well make the most of them, as who knows how long it will last.”

Among the cooking demonstrations and MC-ing and client events, there’s talk of a food and travel show on the Asian Food network, as well as discussions with Malaysia Airlines to create the global inflight menu as well as the food in the business class lounges.

It’s a win-win for Diana, who came to Australia from Malaysia to study 11 years ago and has since made Melbourne her home.

But it’s the cooking of her family and heritage that remains true to her heart.

“When I go back (to Malaysia) I realise how much I miss the food there,” she says, with roti canai top of her list of dishes to eat when she gets off the plane. But here, it’s the blend of Malay flavours and techniques and Australian produce that informs Diana’s cooking, with quick and easy noodle dishes a mainstay.

FAVOURITE FOOD

“What’s my favourite noodle dish? That’s not fair!” But when pushed, Diana says laksa is the pick of the lot.

“Every state in Malaysia has their own laksa, when you travel through the country you get a different version everywhere you go, some are fish-based, some have a tamarind base, others use coconut.”

The laksa particular to her home state, Johor, uses spaghetti in lieu of traditional noodles.

“It’s quite different, it’s almost like a fish bolognese, using wolf herring, crumbled over it,” she says.

Just as the sauces vary from state to state so, too, the noodles used: the Kuala Lumpur laksa uses egg noodles; a Penang laksa uses thick rice noodles.