The grand West Wing entrance of Renaissance KL Hotel
For those unaware, a Preview Dinner Safari is where guests dine on offerings from two or more restaurants of a hotel, on the same evening, and the first of this year’s Safaris took place at the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel’s two premier restaurants, Dynasty and Sagano. Dining at the grandiose Renaissance KL is like visiting an old friend’s house, being that it is the only establishment to have taken part in MIGF since its inception 13 years ago. Although many facets of this hotel has been refurbished recently, it feels familiar, warm and welcoming.
A trio of round tables at Dynasty waiting to receive its diners
Guests were cordially invited to feast on the Festival Menus from Dynasty and Sagano, moving from Cantonese to Japanese cuisines. The evening began with wine and canapés at the front foyer of Mezzo Bar & Lounge, a casual and relaxed bar stocked with entertainment and games.
From left to right: Paula Frager, Dr. Christine Glaser, Dr. Peter Glaser, Evelyn Pils, Dr. Gerhard Pils
Distinguished guests of the evening included Executive Deputy Chairman of Insas Berhad, Dato’ Thong Kok Khee and his wife, Datin Kwee See; Group Managing Director of Rotol Food-Chain (M) Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Garry Chua and his wife, Datin Isabel Lee; Vice-Chairman of International Beverage Holdings Limited, Dato’ Jorgen Bornhoft; Managing Director and CEO of BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Dr. Gerhard Pils and his wife, Evelyn Pils; Managing Director and Regional Head of VAMED South East Asia, Dr. Peter Glaser and his wife, Dr. Christine Glaser; Founder and CEO of PMC Team, Phil Captain and his wife, May Captain; Consultant and Director of Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd, Bill Holman; CEO of Beck Consult Sdn Bhd, Soren Beck and his wife, Georgiana Beck.
From left to right: Tan Kah Soon, Danielle Lai, Georgiana Beck, May Captain, Phil Captain, Ivy Ng & Robert Frager
Also present at the pre-dinner drinks, greeting guests were the Cool Chefs of the evening, Master Chef Chee Kin of Dynasty and Master Chef Zamri of Sagano, accompanied by Executive Chef of Renaissance KL, Andrea Conte.
From left to right: Renaissance KL's Executive Chef Andrea Conte, Dynasty's Chef Kok Chee Kin & Sagano's Chef Mohd Zamri
After MIGF Organizing Chairman, Dato’ Steve Day and General Manager of Renaissance KL, Robert Frager gave their welcome addresses, the group made their way to the first stop on the safari, Dynasty, which is located in the East Wing of Renaissance KL. As guests entered Dynasty, they were greeted by three beautifully laid out round tables, which is the preferred table layout in Chinese culture as ‘roundness’ represents luck and good karma.
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| GM of Renaissance KL Robert Frager welcoming the guests | Dynasty's Chef Chee Kin briefing the diners on the dishes served |
To start the dinner, guests were served the first three courses from the Dynasty menu, with Chef Chee Kin explaining each course as it was served. A trio of appetisers, consisting of chilled-braised mini whole abalone, chili coral clam in brown sauce and poached crab claw, melon ring scallop kicked off the meal. This was followed by a soup dish – lobster bisque, ocean treasure, bird’s nest and truffle. Then, it was on to the mains, a dish of pan-seared wagyu beef, wild mushroom reduction, roulade of duck and glutinous rice.
Chef Chee Kin of Dynasty preparing the trio of appetisers
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| Trio of Appetisers | Pan-seared Wagyu Beef, Wild Mushroom Reduction, Roulade of Duck & Glutinous Rice |
With the Cantonese part of the evening over at Dynasty, guests had a brief intermission as they walked over to Sagano in the West Wing. Inside, guests were seated at three rectangular tables setup in the circular dining area adjacent to the window panels facing the main road.
Three pristinely laid tables in the circular dining area of Sagano
For the second half of the evening’s safari, Chef Zamri presented three mains to the diners. These consisted of the Mount Fuji sushi roll, the deep-fried chicken topped with taro sauce and a grilled cod stuffed with potato in honey teriyaki.
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| Mount Fuji Sushi Roll | Deep-fried Chicken topped with taro sauce |
Lastly, an exquisite dessert of sesame ice cream and Macha mousse was served. The sesame ice cream was so delicious that the diners had no trouble finishing every spoonful.
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| Grilled Cod stuffed with Potato in Honey Teriyaki | Sesame Ice Cream & Macha Mousse |
The guests were suitably impressed with the evening, the ambience and the food in both restaurants, and the top-notch service of the hotel with the transition between restaurants being extra smooth. When asked about the evening, Group Managing Director of Rotol Food-Chain, Dato’ Garry Chua was full of praise. “Tonight’s dining experience has been excellent; the Chinese meal at Dynasty was great. Actually, my wife is someone who is very particular about food, and she was wowed by tonight’s dishes. And that’s a reflection of the quality of food here,” he said. Dato’ Garry also said he thoroughly enjoyed the evening’s company. “Tonight, we have a diverse group of friends here that helped hype up the evening’s atmosphere. So, besides the great food, the people really made this evening great,” he commended.
Dato' Garry Chua giving a speech at the end of the dinner safari
CEO of PMC Team, Phil Captain also shared his sentiments of the evening’s experience, “Although I’ve attended a Preview Dinner in the previous year, this is my first time on a "safari". What I really enjoyed about tonight’s experience is the way we were moved between two different restaurants with different ambiences, followed by two completely different types of cuisines. I think the whole experience, the meeting and interaction with people, the food, was totally brilliant. It was very well-planned, much better than what I experienced last year.”
Phil Captain & May Captain having a sharing a moment with other diners
The General Manager of Renaissance KL, Robert Frager was very pleased with the evening’s dinner. “It has been a fabulous evening; the company is great, we had a great crowd , great mix of people from various industries; everyone is happy and in a fantastic mood,” he said. When asked about which dish was a highlight for him, he replied, “I must say that I like the lobster bisque soup at Dynasty. It has very, very good texture, fantastic taste; it was not overpowering but very smooth. I also love Sagano’s dessert; the sesame ice cream and Macha mousse were fantastic, they were very satisfying to the palate.”
Robert Frager thanking the guests at the end of the dinner
When asked about how Kuala Lumpur, as a gourmet food destination is compared to other established cities, Robert commented, “People often talk about cities such as Hong Kong being a very advanced city that has top notch restaurants and Michelin-starred restaurants. Singapore is also a very strong competitor and so is Bangkok. But I have been living here in Kuala Lumpur for 15 years, and I have seen tremendous changes here… positive changes. Back then, there were a only a handful of great restaurants that were found in hotels, but now, you see great restaurants outside of hotels and in shopping malls. And with the inception of the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 13 years ago, it was one of the most beneficial things that the food & beverage industry and gourmet food lovers could endeavour because it has lifted the versatility, the diversity and the choices for people to enjoy good food and premium dining. So, I must say that Kuala Lumpur has really gone up the ladder and it is known not only as a food paradise for hawker and fast foods, but now, also known for its classic, gourmet dining. That’s a tremendous change over the past 10 to 15 years.”
From left to right: Simone Quinten, Dr. Gerhard Pils, Paula Frager & Dato' Garry Chua enjoying the evening
At the end of the dinner, Robert Frager thanked the guests for dining at Dynasty and Sagano and invited everyone for a night cap at the Mezzo Bar & Lounge.
The safari featured the biggest group of diners to date. Smile, everyone!
For a fantastic dining experience to the Far East, make a reservation now with Dynasty or Sagano. Both restaurant’s Festival Menus are priced at RM199++ per person with wine and RM150++ per person without wine. There is also a light option priced at RM120++. You can also enjoy 20% discount on selected wines, champagne or any beverages when ordering from the Festival Menu. If you book more than 6 seats, there is a 25% discount too. Both restaurants offer 20% discount on their a la carte menu during the Festival period. For those who would like to enjoy a night’s stay at Renaissance KL Hotel after your meal, there’s a 20% discount on the room rates.
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