Tiger Tales

Table for 31... days, that is

Now in its 11th year, The Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) – which runs this year for the entire month of October – features 30 of the nation’s best restaurants.

Last year, diners in Kuala Lumpur enjoyed dishes ranging from smoked jade tiger abalone salad and slow-roasted rabbit tortellini to milk-fed baby limousine lamb and tuna carpaccio with truffles.

Participating chefs are tight-lipped about this year’s line-up, which will be unveiled at the festival launch on 29 September, but it has been suggested that punters can expect both familiar offerings and the dishes of their dreams.

“The boost that MIGF has given the entire multi billion- dollar F&B industry in Malaysia continues to pay dividends as our best restaurants engage in a friendly but serious festival competition and raise the bar each year,” MIGF Organising Chairman Steve Day says. “As a result, we can now offer a level of service and a range of international cuisines unimaginable 10 years ago.”

For the length of the festival, Malaysia’s leading restaurants will serve custom-made dishes at low prices. Deals will also be available on everything from cigars and wine to hotel and breakfast packages. Of course, the real fun is in sampling the fruits of the master chefs’ efforts to top one another in the kitchen.

Malaysia’s culinary melting pot inspires many chefs to nurture traditions even as they strike out in new directions, KL Mandarin Oriental executive chef Marcel Kofler says. “The thrilling thing about the culinary scene here is the ‘sky’s the limit’ approach of local chefs”, who see themselves as part of a fun- driven, food- loving community where events such as MIGF offer ready-made challenges,” he says.

“We have seen great progress in recent years on new and modern restaurant concepts, where not just great food is served but also entertainment and great personalised service is offered. “Many wonderful characters and personalities have emerged from the so-called kitchen dungeons.”

While the set menu format makes it easy for first-time festival goers to try new dishes, even those well-acquainted with local cuisine have much to anticipate. “Exposure to so many cultures gives the Malaysian food scene a unique angle,” KL’s Neo Tamarind restaurant owner Federico Asaro says. “In the past few years, we have seen a move towards elevating local street cuisine to the fine-dining level.”

Fellow festival participant Anthony Edington, executive chef at Hotel Equatorial in KL, agrees. “There’s a lot more foreign influence in terms of cooking techniques and, consequently, Malay fusion is coming soon to a restaurant near you. It shows a craving for setting trends and new culinary boundaries,” he says.