Best Food Forward at Island Holiday Hub

As mentioned in my earlier post, I would be at Tariks Lobby Lounge of The Magellan Sutera Resort as part of the 200 guests invited for its inaugural Gourmet Fest 2013. How did the evening score? Well, it was reasonably impressive and fun.

The setting was simple; the Lounge was divided into three corners with each of the three participating restaurants occupying a corner each. Chinese restaurant Silk Garden of The Pacific Sutera Hotel was at left, Italian restaurant Ferdinand’s of The Magellan Sutera Resort at right and Malay-Indian restaurant Spice Garden of The Sutera Harbour Marina & Country Club took centre spot.

Fantastic drinks, great ambience, friendly staffs.

When my friends and I arrived, I heard some guests commenting that in terms of décor, Silk Garden scored 1st. The fierce-looking lion sculpture seemed to be guarding the spot and female wait staffs dressed in body-fitting red cheongsam were enough to pull in the crowd.

Spice Island was charming and rustic with the elephant sculpture, the trishaw and the simple, true-to-life old-styled Malay-Indian stalls. And, having the Guest Chef himself sweating behind the stove left a very good impression among guests.

Ferdinand’s however was a little simple and bright. I was expecting a more romantic setting – dim lights, a few petals of pink roses on the tables maybe. And most times I only saw in-house chef, Daniele Rossetto preparing the food. Probably Chef Carmelo’s surprise will be on Ferdinand’s Host Night itself. Some friends gave different reviews on Ferdinand’s offering and friends who tried some of the items showcased were impressed with the risotto.

Chef Carmelo Greco (top, centre) and Chef Daniele Rossetto (bottom, right).

When it comes to food, my preference is on Malay and Indian, Italian (depending on dishes and my mood) and Chinese (occasionally). So it’s obvious that I zoomed in on Spice Island, shook hands with Guest Chef, Chef S K Sabuddin and the rest of the team manning the station and tried out most of the items featured. The verdict – mostly delicious except for the Samosas, which were fried too brown. But flavour wise, everything scored high, especially the Fish Tikka, which had just about the right amount of spiciness in it. Good on its own, even better with the Murtabak.

Spice Island - Chef S K Sabuddin busy making Murtabak and pretty girls dresssed in traditional Indian costumes.

 

 

 

Many of the guests were actually circling the Silk Garden spot from the start of the event but when we finally noticed the food was not yet ready, we moved on to the other two stations. However, when the chefs were ready with their entire preparations, the team took the crowd by surprise with items showcased. Among the three outlets, I’d say Guest Chef, Chef Roy Wong surprised me most.

The Smoked Egg topped with sauce flavoured prawns served in a simple presentation – halved egg placed on a porcelain Chinese spoon – had a unique sweetish flavour that’s simply addictive.

The Silk Garden team and their impressive food selections.

Judging from guests’ turnout, the Sutera Harbour Resort & Winecellars Gourmet Fest 2013 may well be a yearly calendar as it has many attractive features that would help boost Sabah’s tourism especially now that Visit Malaysia Year 2014 is just around the corner.