Visually arresting yes?
Nougat Glac Laid on a Bed of Vanilla Pineapple Confit Served with Pineapple Sauce & Spiced Chocolate Shell.
Well, that was precisely what we thought too when we were presented with the dessert platter for the 2011 MIGF menu for Al-Amar Lebanese Restaurant.
Al-Amar is all set to impress diners with their affordable (YES, affordable!) yet superb MIGF menu this year.
Transition from the seasons of the world, easing from summer to winter, each dish showcases different ingredients & flavours according to the seasons.
The brilliant chef has carefully designed the menu in keeping to the theme of MIGF 2011 this year; which is Its Raining Chefs.
Festival Chef: Chef Michel Karam
***
Festival Menu
Lebanese Four Seasons
For a sunny start
Authentic Labneh Trio with Lebanese Southern Tapenade and a Brush of Thyme
Wine: Chateau Musar Jeune White, Viognier, Corsican variety, Vermentino and Chardonnay, 2008, Lebanon
Labneh, (a cheese made of strained yogurt) coated with 3 different herbs thyme, mint, chill powder & paprika. Good to eat it with the breadsticks or just on its own.
Summer blooms
Apricot Glazed Beetroot Tartar on Mango Leather and Rocket Coulis
Wine: Chateau Kefraya Blanc de Blanc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay, 2008, Lebanon
Summer blooms we had bright red beetroot, refreshing and tangy with the fruitiness of apricot. The beetroot were firm but really sweet, perhaps a bit too much apricot syrup? But it was a sweet sweet summer alright.
Autumn flavours
Spinach Bonbon, Soujouk Mille Feuille and Herb Crust Filled with Hommos and Grass Fed Baby Lamb Fillet
Chateau Musar Jeune Red, Cinsault, Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009, Lebanon
Presentation were all very artfully done, as you can see from the pictures. Our Autumn course consisted of something a little heavier, their made-in-house lamb sausages (finally some meat!), 2 spinach spring rolls ribbons (they are known as bonbon actually.. I was just trying to be funny here) and last but not least, the grass fed baby lamb which was to me, non-existent.
Actually, it was there, on the fish-y looking thing you see above. The 3 little bits sticking out from the hummus in that fish-shaped crust. To be honest, the whole dish was tasty, its just that sharing it with 3 other hungry bloggers was in my opinion, a bit ridiculous.
Raining chefs
Braised Rack of Lamb with Stuffed Baby Marrow and Vine Leaves Accompanied by a Garlic Mint Sauce
Wine: Chateau Musar Hochar Pre & Fils, Cinsault, 2002, Lebanon
Yes, 4 bloggers (actually it was 3 +1) shared one dish of each course in this MIGF menu. Yes, its true that one doesnt have to eat the whole dish to know its good. But still..
Anyways, back to the food. The eye-candies on the sides were delightfully as well. The above is a ball of meat mixed with rice, served cold and sits prettily in a hollowed out squash. The vine leaves wrap .. hhm.. cant quite remember when you have to fight for your food before the whole plate is wiped out.
But yes, I do remember the lamb. Fork tender; a! knife w asnt required at all. Pink in the middle, barely seasoned and moist. Just like how I like my meat. They say having just a bit of something leaves you yearning for more. Well, if thats the case then the ploy worked, for I only managed a slice of it before it all disappeared and Im definitely hankering for more.
Pan seared Red Mullet Fillets with Sayadieh Rice and Drops of Fish Jus
Wine: Chateau Musar Cuve White, Obeideh, 2004, Lebanon
The lovely aromatic sayadieh fisherman rice was wonderful on its own. Very flavourful. Very fluffy.
Middle Eastern rice dishes are always so tasty yes? It must be the stock that they used to cook the rice. It makes you forget everything you hear about carbs being bad.
But no worries on that though, not when that small timbale of rice was shared by 4 people.
The fish .. I guess it was alright. But the rice stole the show.
Sunshine after the rain
Nougat Glac Laid on a Bed of Vanilla Pineapple Confit Served with Pineapple Sauce & Spiced Chocolate Shell
Sunshine after the rain indeed. If youve got a cloud over your head, this pretty kaleidoscope of colours is bound to turn up the corners of your mouth.
You smiling yet? Im sure you are. This platter of art tasted as good as it looks.
But of course, you got to eat it fast. Not only there were 4 5 peoples spoons digging into it at once, the ice cream melts pretty fast too.
Cardamon ice cream encased within a chocolate shell. Creamy, cold with a nice tinge of spice.
The dome encased
Full Festival Menu: RM138++per person with wine
RM98++per person without wine
***
Yup, all that above for RM98++! (We were not served any wines). I did say that it was a tasty and affordable meal right?
Its one of the best value MIGF menu for 2011. I think it would be filling enough for 1 (one) pax.
Luckily we were served some canapes at the start of the session. These are from Al-Amars Catering menu.
Do check out my other reviews on Al-Amar:
Post 1: Affordable Lebanese Food at Al-Amar Express, Fahrenheit 88
Post 2: Chateau Musar- My Lebanese Wine Tasting Experience at Al-Amar Pavilion KL
PS: Im loving the pictures in this post. Thanks to the free NX11 workshops that I have been attending, I have mastered the Samsung NX11 slightly better now and able to use manual mode to play a bit with the settings for better control on the images! Yay!
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