I had the privilege to experience the inaugural Gourmet Series at The Els Club and also stayed at Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast as a guest of Tourism Malaysia.
Desaru Coast proudly launched their 6-series Gourmet Series themed A Malaysian Journey showcasing unique flavours of Malaysian cuisine through new interpretations by award-winning chefs from around the world.
The Desaru Coast Gourmet Series First Edition featured Singapore based Relais & Chateaux award-winning Michelin Grand Chef, Emmanuel Stroobant from Belgium.
The Desaru Coast Gourmet Series First Edition was held at the well appointed 261 Bar and Restaurant of The Els Club's Ocean Course club house.
The Gourmet Series 3-course lunch costs RM260 per person and 6-course dinner costs RM390 per person.
Chef Emmanuel Stroobant brought his crew from his one Michelin star restaurant Saint Pierre at The Fullerton Singapore.
Chef Stroobant started us off with an appetiser plate consisting of his interpretations of Malaysian classics nasi kerabu, salted popiah, brinjal buah keluak, and okra sambal.
Strips of mildly savoury abalone set on sweet mang kuang (jicama) puree dressed with olive oil and marigold petals.
Pan seared scallop set in a shallow pool of laksa with crunchy clippings of nutty coconut flesh. It's "laksa mai hiam" or laksa sans hot spice 😄
Main course of 24-hour braised short rib with galangal, garlic, lemon grass, jackfruit and keropok.
Oh... I enjoyed this braised short rib so.... much. So... tender and beefy juicy sweet, I couldn't get enough of it.
My new friend Don from Thailand had the cod fish with white miso, turmeric and cauliflower. Don enjoyed his tender juicy sweet fish.
All too soon, it was time for dessert of cream, coconut and petite four by pastry chef Michael Liu.
The dinner ended with a spontaneous standing ovation from the appreciative guests for Chef Emmanuel Stroobant, pastry Chef Michael Liu and everyone who made the wonderful evening possible. Encore was at the tip of my tongue as I was still craving for more of Chef Emmanuel's braised short rib 😛
We enjoyed Chef Emmanuel Stroobant's cuisine a lot and look forward to the next edition of Desaru Coast Gourmet Series.
We also enjoyed the night at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel at Desaru Coast.
Hard Rock Hotel, The Els Club, Adventure Waterpark, The Westin Resort, Anantara Resort & Villas, Riverside Retail & Lifestyle Hub, ultra luxury One and Only, and the Conference Centre together make up the Desaru Coast Integrated Resort. Johor's newest destination spans 1,580 hectares along a pristine white 17 km beachfront. (The Westin and Anantara will be ready in 2019.)
Hard Rock Hotel is of course the world renowned rock and roll music themed home away from home. Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast has a resort feel as it is nestled in greenery and boasts a commanding view of the Adventure Waterpark's Tidal Wave Pool.
Live band and dancing every night at the lobby because this is Hard Rock Hotel 🎸🎸🎸
My well appointed room at the Hard Rock Hotel. The room was spacious, fresh smelling, amenities were comprehensive, the linen were fresh and clean, and most importantly the bed was suitably firm and comfortable. I slept like a log and was well rested for the next day.
From my room, I had a splendid view of the Tidal Wave Beach at the Adventure Waterpark which is directly accessible from the Hard Rock Hotel.
The 21 acre Desaru Coast Adventure Waterpark is one of the world's largest water playground featuring over 20 rides and one of the world's biggest tidal wave pools.
👉 An exciting day at the Adventure Waterpark, a memorable yummilicious Gourmet Series dinner followed by a good night's rest at the Hard Rock Hotel. Looks like a great day trip to Desaru Coast when the next edition Gourmet Series comes around in Feb 2019. An inviting getaway just slightly over an hour's drive from Johor Bahru.
Desaru Coast is like a beautiful butterfly just emerging from it's cocoon and the best is still to come 👏👏👏
Day visited: 7 Dec 2018
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laksa mai hiam is interesting. also fun to see laksa transform into a fine dining dish.
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