A group of well dressed guests were seen gathered at the Stage Lounge beside Dynasty restaurant located within Renaissance Kuala Lumpur. It was time for another fine-dining experience thanks to the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival. Unlike the other dine-around dinners, tonight was a special one filled with exciting performances and the chance to dine at TWO fine restaurants; Dynasty and Sagano.

The Stage Lounge area was a sight to behold as guests took in the dancing chefs suspended from the ceiling, creating a light festive atmosphere. A dancing violinist accompanied by a pianist on a baby grand piano entertained guests while wine and Chinese-style canapés were served out to all while waiting for everyone to arrive.

H.E Manuel Antonio Guzman Hernandez, Mrs Nathalie Nunez de Guzman, Mrs Paula Frager and Mr Robert Frager

Mr Jeffrey Perera, Ms Shia Mary, Ms Ivy Ng, Mrs Sooria Perera and Mr Robert Frager

Among the guests were His Excellency Manuel Antonio Guzman Hernandez, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and wife Nathalie Nunez de Guzman; Tan Sri Rainer Althoff; Festival committee member and President of Silverswitch Sdn Bhd Jeffrey Perera and his wife Sooria Perera; and of course Dato’ Steve Day, Organising Chairman of MIGF and Datin Su Wai Fun.

The delightful evening begin like most whereby Dato’ Steve called upon Robert Frager, General Manager of Marketing and Branding of the Renaissance KL to begin the night with a short speech. No newcomer to the industry, Frager then introduced the teams, beginning with Executive Chef Andrea Conte, Ivy Ng, Director of Sales and Marketing and Gunalan Batumalai, Assistant Food & Beverage Manager.

The Safari begin with guests dining at Dynasty, for the first half of the meal before making their way to Sagano. The service in Dynasty was extremely smooth and synchronized as waiters went around the tables in an anti-clockwise fashion, cleared plates and cutlery in a very coordinated manner and left the tables in a continued anti-clockwise way. It was obvious that the guests appreciated the unobtrusive and well coordinated service. Three courses were served in Dynasty, of which the wok seared cumin-rubbed lamb, black truffle and local farm greens were very popular.

Guests then made their way to the other wing of the hotel, to Sagano for the second part of the Safari. At the far end of Sagano were two long tables, beautifully laid out with festival magazines for guests to look through while dining. Bird cages on pedestals stood between the tables and glass windows, very fitting to the simple yet elegant Japanese restaurant. Another three courses came out, of which the grilled cod with mentai mayonnaise sauce was very popular.

When asked which dish she enjoyed the most from the two restaurants, His Excellency’s wife Nathalie Nunez de Guzman, insists that it’s a hard choice to make. “It is almost impossible to answer this question because all the food served throughout the evening in both restaurants was delicious. However, the two fish dishes; simmered seabass and winter melon cooked with garlic crabmeat sauce and grilled cod mentai cooked with mayonnaise sauce, served in Sagano were my favorite. The sauces which accompanied the sea bass and cod were divine and had so many layers to it I wished there could have been more even though I was already quite full. Both dishes were cooked to perfection, especially the cod which had an almost crispy outer layer and was smooth as silk inside.”

The night ended with a closing speech by the Ambassador. In his speech, he heart fully thanked the service and kitchen teams and hoped that MIGF would be upheld for a long time to come. He expressed delight about dining with so many interesting people and again extended his gratitude to the organisers and hotel. He also mentioned how his wife was still on for months about the wonderful experience she had had, after having attended their first Festival dinner last year. “After having been introduced to the Festival last year I have become a big fan and stern supporter of it and I think the organisers are doing an outstanding job of promoting the fine dining scene in Malaysia. Many thanks to everyone involved for all the hard work,” says Nathalie Nunez de Guzman.

The night ended soon after with many of the guests gushing on what a wonderful time they’ve had. When asked which part of the evening was most memorable, the majority of the guests replied saying that it was a mixture of everything that made it memorable. “It’s a combination of socialising, eating and drinking. Dato’ Steve did a good job with the introductions of the people. The creation of the whole set up was highly innovative,” says Tan Sri Rainer Althoff. “I have been part of MIGF 11 years now and I’ve enjoyed every single year.”

Mrs Pauline Das, Mr Peter Anthony Das, Ms Ivy Ng, Ms Mary Shia and Mr Michael Ong	Dr Peggy Wong, Tan Sri Rainer Althoff and Ms Cecilia Leong-Faulkner
Mr Michael Ong, Mrs Shirley Ong, Mrs Peggy Looi and Mr Looi Kien Leong	Datin Su and Mr Michael Ong

Other guests at the dinner were Peter Anthony Das, General Manager of Marketing and Branding of Proton Edar Sdn Bhd and Pauline Das; Cecilia Leong-Faulkner, Director of British Theater Playhouse Pte Ltd and Dr Peggy Wong; Lim Chen Leong-Alsagoff, Owner of Adventure A&L Leisure and Syed Farouk Alsagoff; Michael Ong, Deputy General Manager of Cotra Enterprises Sdn Bhd and Shirley Ong; Looi Kien Leong, Executive Chairman of 1001 Technologies Sdn Bhd and Peggy Looi; Vijay Binwani, Owner and Director of Binwanis Fashion Group and Sherina Binwani; Paula Frager and Mary Shia.