Last Friday Evening, 26th Oct 2014 was the Festival Gala Launch of the 14th MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL GOURMET FESTIVAL (MIGF) in Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre. I was there for an exciting time to taste and sample the food galore, aptly named Super Gourmet Safari. It would be the first time I had been to this event even though it had been around for over a decade.
In the Theatre of Cuisines we had to use Gourmet Dollars to exchange for the food. The food are in bite sized portions and range from 1-3 Gourmet Dollars. Each booklet we hold had 10 Dollars and each booklet was sold as RM50.
The first station I went to was Chyna. We tried the Steamed Omega Tiger Grouper with finely blended Carrot Sauce and the Stewed Austratalian Short Ribs with Wincarnis Medicated Wine. The first taste I’d say, DIVINE. We proceeded from there to taste all the 28 Stations available and I’d just mention the ones that I thought were in a class of its on.
My favourite restaurent by far is Samplings On The Fourteenth Restaurant with Chef Valmurugan Subramaniam. On offer were New York Chargrilled Wagyu Steak, Steamed Salmon and Smoked Duck Breast with Fricassee. These were the three dishes I tasted and I must say they were mouthwateringly good that I actually went back for 2nd helpings. This restaurant is located in Berjaya Times Square Hotel.
Second restaurant that I can’t forget is Grill 582 with Chef Siti Arini Darsom. The truth is I only tried their Semifreddo Goat Cheese, and I loved it sooo much. It’s like ice cream, but better.
It’s creamy and cold and surprisingly quite a big serving, slurped it slowly and enjoyed it to the max. Siti is the only one of two female chefs featured in TasteMIGF, so I really look up to her too.
Tanzini probably gave me the best impression with best service. The waiter on duty spent a long time telling us about their special Giant Tiger Grouper farm and really made me want to try it. I ended up tasting all their dishes, French Snails and the 28 Day Aged Striploin, that was how good the upselling was.
I love Japanese food so I must not forget to mention Minori. The Salmon Sashimi was cut so thick and super fresh, thickest I had ever had. I also tried the very refreshing Salmon Salad, made me feel healthier.
Prawns are another of my favourite, so I tried the Seared King Tiger Prawn at Maison Francaise by Chef Thierry Le Baut. The cream and the prawns together was luxury in the mouth, every bit of it.
Another good Japanese Restaurant that cannot be missed is Ten Japananese Fine Dining, which you can ensure it’s authenticity since head chef is Masahiko Yomoda. At that time I was into desserts, so I tried their Maccha Tiramisu which needless to say, was really good.
Did I mention that the media get to do all the food tasting first? After we were nearly full, we proceeded to check out the Epicure International Gourmet Village where over 100 food and beverage stations will allow foodies the opportunity to sample and shop for a wide range of products – including fine wines, spirits, cheeses, gourmet chocolates and an abundance of other mouthwatering delicacies. I finally had my coffee there with the sample at Monjava Coffee and another cup at Panasonic’s station with their new coffee machine, which before this, I did not know exist. We also sampled ice cream, cheese, cakes, fruit juice by Kuvings, Kiwi, Korean noodles, Durian based products and more! Oh, I even had Durian Coffee, how cool is that, courtesy of Dking. It was so fun just going from stall to stall.
After stuffing ourselves, we headed back to the Theatre of Cuisines for the official launching. The band was playing loudly and it was really a carnival like atmosphere, with girls on stilts and costumes walking about.
“Welcome fellow banqueters, gourmets, gourmands, epicureans, bon vivants, foodies, carnivores, herbivores and all lovers of fine food…welcome to the Gala Launch of Taste MIGF,†announced MIGF Organising Chairman Dato’ Steve Day as he stood on stage, welcoming the masses to the launch of the 14th Malaysia International Gourmet Festival.
We also witnessed the unveiling of the spanking new Jaguar F-Type Coupe in jet black.
After that, each one of the Red Hot Chefs were welcomed on stage to the applause of all the foodies and audience while looked upon and marveled by Festival Royal Patron, Tunku Naquiyuddin ibni Tunku Ja’afar.
It was definitely a great experience, not just to the taste buds but a titillation of all your five senses. Taste MIGF is really the best place to taste the best from around Malaysia all under one room, without having to travel far and wide. Find your favourite restaurant here and then go for the full menu at the restaurant itself available throughout the month of October.
Nice food, great environment!~