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It’s Raining Chefs at MIGF 2011 Posted: 02 Oct 2011 06:51 PM PDT I love October! Aside from the fact that it’s my birthday month , it’s also the month of wonderful food thanks to the annual Malaysian International Gourmet Festival (MIGF), a month-long event showcasing the creme de la creme of Malaysia’s finest restaurants with their Festival menus. These customized menus were painstakingly planned way ahead of the event, making sure that they capture the best of what the restaurant has to offer, and that diners leave the restaurant thinking they just had the best meal they’ve ever had. This year’s MIGF theme is “It’s Raining Chefs“, a deliberately light-hearted tagline aimed at giving the Festival a universal appeal. “It’s Raining Chefs” is the theme of MIGF 2011 The Gala Launch of MIGF 2011 was held at Sunway Resort and Spa last week and I was privileged to be part of the media to sample some of the incredible food that Malaysia’s fine dining restaurants had to offer. MIGF is part of Tourism Malaysia’s “Fabulous Food 1Malaysia” initiative – a strategy aimed at promoting the country’s unique food capabilities to the world. At the Gala Launch of MIGF 2011 Now I’m sure Malaysia is already well-known for its multitude of local and street food, but not really in the class of fine-dining. This is where the festival comes into play and it is well gaining its popularity among visitors all around the globe to come appreciate Malaysia’s international standard of cuisines. Speech by Dato’ Steve Day, organizing chairman of MIGF YB Dato’ Sri Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism in Malaysia Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the restaurants’ booths and their food samples during the gala launch. To be honest, some were pretty commendable while some were not that impressive. But I have to say that the restaurants did put in a lot of effort in setting up their booths though! Renaissance Hotel KL Dynasty, Renaissance KL Hotel Dynasty is Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel’s Chinese restaurant, featuring Chef Tan Kim Weng. The Chilled Sweetened Sugar Cane with Aloe Vera looked like a simple dish but it was especially memorable due to its refreshing and cooling effect after I drank it. I actually went back a couple of times to have a glass to really just clean my palate and chew on the lovely aloe vera bits. Dynasty Chilled Sweetened Sugar Cane with Aloe Vera – very refreshing! Golden Prawn Dumpling with Salad Sauce Sagano, Renaissance KL Hotel Sagano Horenso Gome Ae (Japanese spinach with sesame salad) Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur Lai Po Heen was led by Chef Ricky Thein, who was previously with Prince Hotel’s Tai Zi Heen. I found his Fish Skin dumpling to be quite special, since he used only fish skin for the dumpling skin and marinated minced meat within the dumpling. The skin was chewy and the fillings were pretty delicious. Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Fish Skin dumpling Mandarin Grill, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur Set of knives at Mandarin Grill Chicken roulade Macarons Tamarind Springs and Neo Tamarind I was fascinated by Tamarind Springs’ booth, with a very green and rustic concept, almost making it the odd one out in the exhibition, but in a good way. The Pan-roasted Duck Breast with Lychee Salad was really interesting, for the combination of something savoury (duck breast), sweet (lychee) and spicy (salad) was very appetizing! Well done to the chef! Tamarind Springs & Neo Tamarind Pan-roasted Duck Breast with Lychee Salad Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio and Foie Gras Mousse with Roasted Rice-Chilli Sauce Grilled Chicken Wrapped with Fruit and Herbs served with BBQ Sauce Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie is a newcomer this year, also one of the newest restaurants to participate, and I couldn’t help but gaze in awe the pretty canapes that she prepared. Just look at the gorgeous macaron tower! Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie Macaron Tower Scrambled eggs with Summer Truffles – delicious! The Emperor, Grand Dorsett Subang Hotel The Emperor, Grand Dorsett Baked Scallop with Garlic Sauce served in Vol-au-vent Pastry Peking duck with mantou Nerovivo Nerovivo’s booth this year looked exactly like the one they had last year, which brought back a sense of familiarity. Their food was great but their wine was better! Saucer couldn’t help but have a few glasses of their red. Nerovivo Gazpacho, beef carpaccio, bruschetta Enjoying his glass of wine The Pomelo, The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat I couldn’t remember The Pomelo’s dishes last year, but this year, I thought their Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek was done quite well. The wagyu had this melt-in-your-mouth texture and its jus was a great complement. The Pomelo, The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek with Grilled Fine Beans, Pearl Onions, Shimiji Mushroom, Parsnip Puree and Own Jus Duo of Chocolate Raspberry Marquise West Lake Garden, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa Not many restaurants offered soup in their booths but West Lake Garden chose to be one of the different ones, and commendably so. Their Organic Chicken Consomme and Baby Abalone with Chrysanthemum and Cordycep was out of this world! It was full of flavour, rich and naturally sweet from all the seafood used. I had multiple helpings of this. West Lake Garden Organic Chicken Consomme and Baby Abalone with Chrysanthemum and Cordycep Lai Ching Yuen (previously Zing), Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur Lai Ching Yuen Scallop Salad with Assorted Fruit Served in Golden Cup, Crispy Seafood Spring Roll & Durian Custard Rabbit Dumpling Flame, KLGCC Flame was another newcomer this year, and I was pretty impressed with what they had to offer to the visitors. The Rack of Lamb was exceptionally impressive. It looked overly rare from the outlook but we went ahead to try anyway and did not regret it. There was no strong gamey smell and it wasn’t bloody, it’s fantastic! Flame Rack of Lamb – fantastic Lafite, Shangri-la Hotel Kuala Lumpur Lafite Seared Scallops Smoked Salmon rolls The Restaurant, The Club Saujana Resort Kuala Lumpur The Restaurant Fillet of Veal Home Dried Watermelon Carpaccio Parmesan, Aged Balsamic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil Senja, The Saujana Kuala Lumpur Senja Prawns, Tomato Chili Sauce and Olive Oil Bruschetta Samplings on the Fourteen, Berjaya Times Square KL Another memorable restaurant this year was the Samplings on the Fourteen, showcasing some very exquisite dishes such as the Seared Foie Gras with Scallop, and Cajun Spiced Black Cod. Both were very well-executed with the foie gras elevated to the next level when combined with the crispy onion tart. Such brilliant idea! Samplings on the Fourteen Combination of Seared Foie Gras, Tomato and Onion Tart & US Scallops with Yellow Mushrooms, Chive Salad Cajun Spiced Black Cod Royal India, The Intermark Royal India Beauties clad in saree Saffron Pulao Kofuku, Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur Kofuku Saffron Tea Pot Soup with Prawn, Eringgi Mushroom, Gingko Nut, Turkey Ham and Mitsuba Unagi Jelly, Dressed Steamed Beancurd Skin Rolled with Fresh Soya Bean Sauce, Fried Wantan Braised Wagyu Beef with Cheddar Tatsu Japanese Restaurant, InterContinental Kuala Lumpur Tatsu Japanese Restaurant attempted something out of the ordinary by being the only station with a garlic and butter fountain. Dipping the skewer inside the fountain, I had a bite of the beef and found it to be overly salty if I may say so. The butter may well have overpowered the taste of the beef. Tatsu Japanese Restaurant Beef skewers Garlic and butter fountain Iketeru, Hilton Kuala Lumpur Iketeru, Hilton KL Sushi Chynna, Hilton Kuala Lumpur Another restaurant that served delicious soup was Chynna, and it was so good that the pot was gone within 15 minutes of so. Double Boiled Snakehead Nourishing Tonic Soup with Fresh Milk was such a fine creation by the chef. I mean, who would have thought that a simple fish soup could be done so well and presented as a fine-dining dish? Thumbs up to Chef Lam Hock Hin Chynna’s Chef Lam Hock Hin Double Boiled Snakehead Nourishing Tonic Soup with Fresh Milk and Shark's Fin Ingredients for Snakehead fish soup Stewed Short Rib with Charcoal Garlic & Roasted Onion Potato Al-Amar, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Al-Amar Lebanese Cuisine Selection of cold appetizers Chalet, The Equatorial Kuala Lumpur Chalet Bouquet of Green Asparagus with Apple Balsamic Dressing and Air Dried Beef Basel-style Onion Tart with Mesclun Salad Imperial Rama, Highlands Hotel & The Olive, Maxims Genting The Olive & Imperial Rama Seared Scallop Cured Wagyu Tri-Tip Bunga Emas & L’Heritage, The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur’s grand backdrop The setting of the ballroom was quite similar to the one last year, particularly the floating candles. It gave the room a very romantic and cozy ambience, in combination with the band singing in the background and sexy dancers sashaying to the music. Candlelit ballroom Sexy dancers It was a night of good food, good entertainment and most importantly, good company, as we met some of the noted travel and food writers, celebrities as well as the very friendly chefs. Special guest from Scotland in kilt! Although I won’t be qualified to the judge the food, I do have some favourite restaurants in my list after sampling their food that night. Some of the restaurants that I would love to go back to would be (in no particular order): Flame, Chynna, Samplings on the Fourteen, Tamarind Springs and Lai Po Heen. More details of the Festival could be found in MIGF Website, with their full Festival Menu and List of Participating Restaurants.

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