Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) 2011 Gala Launch @ Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

On 29th September 2011, the 11th Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) Gala Launch was held at the Grand Ballroom of Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. I was fortunate to be invited to this glamorous event. MIGF, the longest running and best-known gastronomy event brings you the country's best venues to visit for fine dining.

For the entire month of October, 28 participating restaurants, ranging from East and West to fusion cuisine, authentic to modern and spicy to sublime, will be offering specially created Festival menus at very special festival prices. In addition, each restaurant will be offering Festival Offers such as door gifts and wine/champagne offers. MIGF aims to promote resident chefs and Malaysia as a fine dining destination. With good quality restaurants, perhaps Malaysia will soon have its first Michelin-starred restaurant.

The Grand Ballroom was a picture of grandeur, with a touch of lighthearted humor - cutouts of chefs with their umbrellas were seen hanging off the ceiling! It clearly showcases this year's Festival theme, "It's Raining Chefs!". "Fine dining here is not only about serving the best cuisines and having top notch service standards - it's about having fun too!" says Dato' Steve Day, the Festival's Organising Chairman.

During the gala launch, the media and honoured guests were invited to sample bite-sized delights created by the 28 restaurants, accompanied by free flow beer, wine and other beverages. I was certainly impressed with most of the samplers I tried.

This is a photo-heavy post, do enjoy browsing them. For the Festival Menu of each restaurant, browse the MIGF website or click on the restaurant's name in this blogpost and it will bring you directly to the restaurant's menu.

The Grand Ballroom of Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa was transformed for th! is speci al event

Electric candles light up the ballroom

Al-Amar Lebanese Cuisine, Pavilion KL (Pork-Free)

Multicolored alcoholic shots served in test tubes (how cool!) at the Al-Amar Restaurant booth. For a full review of Al-Amar's MIGF menu, you can read it here.





L'Heritage, The Royale Chulan KL- French Degustation (Pork-free)


Asparagus Carpaccio with Fine de Clair Oysters and Escabache Salsa

Guananja Chocolate Brulee


Bunga Emas Restaurant, The Royale Chulan KL - Malay Fine Dining (Pork-Free)

Salmon Gulung Percik

Imperial Rama, Highlands Hotel, Genting Highlands Resort - Thai & Chinese (Non-halal)


Royal India, The Intermark KL - North Indian Fine Dining (Pork and beef-free)




Samplings on the Fourteen, Berjaya Times Square Hotel KL - Western Classic (Pork-free)

Combination of Seared Foie Gras, Tomato and Onion Tart & US Scallops with Yellow Mushrooms - both pretty and delicious. The foie was luscious.

Cajun Spiced Black Cod, Seared Prawns, Vanilla Oil and Escarole Risotto

Ricotta Cheesecake

Roasted Australian Pistachio Crusted Baby Veal Rack

The charming Chef Valmurugan Subramanian


Seared Alaskan cod fish - firm and fresh!

Pan Seared Scallops - juicy and bouncy, love it.


Simply delectable tiramisu, Chef Giovanni's specialty

The Restaurant, The Club Saujana Resort KL - Modern European (Pork Free)

Home Dried Watermelon Carpaccio Parmesan - very unique, love the salty-sweet flavours.

Crab Cannelloni with Lemon Grass Curry and Ginger

Chocolates and Raspberries

Chef Alexander Waschl

Chalet, Hotel Equatorial KL - Swiss Continental (Pork-Free)

Green Asparagus with Air Dried Beef - the beef was very nice.

The accordion gentleman

Lafite, Shangri-La KL - European (Pork-Free)

Pan seared scallops - can you tell that I love scallops? :D

Citrus King Prawn


Rolled Smoked Salmon and Lamb Loin

Flame, Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club - Mediterranean Grill (Pork-Free)

Braised short rib - absolutely tender!

Lamb rack

Lai Chi! ng Yuen (formerly Zing), Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur - Chinese (Non-halal)

Cute rabbit dumplings filled with durian custard - smooth and not overpowering

West Lake Garden, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa - Chinese Cantonese (Pork-Free)

Nice carved ice feature



The Pomelo, Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, Ipoh - Spa Cuisine (Pork-Free)

Braised wagyu beef cheek - tender and delicious

Marinated blue fin tuna with mandarin orange


Nerovivo, Jalan Ceylon KL - Contemporary Italian (Pork-Free)

Gazpacho, beef carpaccio, bruschetta


Tiramisu - yum yum!

The Emperor, Grand Dorsett Subang Hotel - Traditional Cantonese (Halal)

Assorted seafood with caviar

Scallop in baked pastry - hoorah for another scallop dish!

Cuisine Gourmet by N! athalie, Menara Taipan KL - Modern French (Pork-Free)

Lots and lots of delicious canapes

Scrambled eggs with summer truffles - love that its served in the egg shell


Light bites


Pretty macaron tower

Tamarind Springs, Taman TAR, Ampang - Indochinese (Pork free)

Girls dancing (and showering) in the background


Mandarin Grill, Mandarin Oriental KL - Contemporary Modern Grill (Pork-free)

Chef RetoWeber

Expensive knives


Macarons - so pretty and so yummy. I had 2! :)

Kofuku Japanese Restaurant, Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur - Japanese (Pork-Free)


Saffron Tea Pot Soup with Prawn

A live Latin ! band san g the theme song for MIGF "It's Raining Chefs!" to accompany the Master Chefs from the 28 participating restaurants in their onstage dance.

It was literally "raining confetti" in there.

Dance performances


Press Conference with YB Dato' Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen & Dato' Steve Day

Hubby looked dashing in his kilt, so I simply had to post this. He also got a special mention in MIGF's official website.

Other restaurants participating in MIGF:
Chynna, Hilton KL - Modern Cantonese (Pork-Free)
! Dynasty, Renaissance Hotel KL - Cantonese (Non-halal)
Iketeru, Hilton KL - Authentic Japanese (Pork-Free)
Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL- Cantonese (Pork-Free)
NEO Tamarind, Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL - Modern Thai (Pork-Free)
Sagano, Renaissance Hotel KL - Japanese (Pork-Free)
Tatsu, Intercontinental Hotel KL-Japanese (Pork-Free)
The Olive, Maxims Genting - Continental (Pork-Free)

For the full set of photos from the MIGF 2011 Gala Launch, click here to view.

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