[EVENT] New Zealand Gala Dinner Mandarin Oriental Hotel Sudirman Jakarta

March 17th, 2014. I attended New Zealand Gala Dinner at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The invitation came to my email a week before as a surprise. I had no idea why they invited me :)

I went inside the hotel, and found many unknown people. Yup, true. I had no idea, who they were. A lot of foreigners. I met Monita, and asked about my seat. Wow, they put me at a table with unknown education people. OMG! I wanna run away as fast as possible. But, fortunately, I still could sit in free seats. Fhiuuuh.. And, the show began..

You know, what I love about this event is, I could order drinks whenever I want. I just raised my hand, they came to me, and asked what drinks I want. Woohoo.. From soft drinks to wines. Anything I want. Wow. Just wow. Love this event. Hihihi. And the show they performed was so cool. They also included audience to join their performance.

This is drinks and complimentary bread. I love the complimentary bread. All of them. They tasted much more than tasty.  Their looks were really appetizing. I didn't realise how much I liked,ffum*<< them, until I saw the basket, and they were gone. All of them. Hiks..

Let me show you the menu for this Gala Dinner

STARTERS

Preserved "Chinook Salmon" with Prawns Scampis Edamame, Roasted Pumpkin, Mustard and Fresh Dill Dressing

This was finger licking good. The combination were mouth-watering, between the salmon and the prawn, with delicious dressing. I was literally licking my fingers LOL

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (from the Russian чавыча chavycha), is the largest species in the Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) genus. Other commonly used names for the species include king salmon, Quinnat salmon, spring salmon and Tyee salmon.

Prawns: Prawns are shrimp–like crustaceans, belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. Prawns are distinguished from the superficially similar shrimp by the gill structure, which is branching in prawns (hence the name, dendro=“tree”; branchia=“gill”), but is lamellar in shrimp. The sister taxon to Dendrobranchiata is Pleocyemata, which contains all the true shrimp, crabs, lobsters, etc.

Scampi: In the United Kingdom, "scampi" refers to a dish of shelled tail meat, coated in breadcrumbs or batter, deep fried and often served with chips, peas and Tartar sauce. In the Southern Hemisphere, other species of lobster are used instead, such as Metanephrops challengeri.

Organic Poularde Kiwi Meat Pie and Curried Herbal Mushroom Jus with Tomato and Sambal Chili Sauce

There was no disappointment in this starter. This was a meat pie with chicken and kiwi filling. So, you can guess the taste. It's a little bit sour from the kiwi, and a little bit savoury from the chicken. And of course, the curried herbal mushroom jus made it more exquisite. When I ate this, I was like, "Wow, OMG!" I rolled my eyes. Didn't expect it will be this heavenly delish.

Poularde was a French language for Chicken.

An New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized meat pie containing largely diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The pie itself is similar to the United Kingdom's steak pie.

MAIN COURSE

Silver Fern Farm Lamb Loin with "Rewarewa" Honey and Dried Apricot Peas, Heirloom Carrots, Potato and Clear Herbs Jus

This lamb loin was very moist. The texture was delicate. I was hypnotized by the sweetness from rewarewa honey. It's been a long time since I ate lamb. And this was very good. Not too much, but enough for my tummy.

Lamb loin = lamb saddle. This is where the most tender and expensive cuts come from, including loin chops and loin roasts.

Rewarewa honey is a classic dark honey with a rich, caramel-like flavour and can be used as a substitute for sugar in your drinks and baking too. Recent research done on Mossop's Rewarewa honey has shown that may contain Antioxidants, which help neutralise free radicals. It comes from New Zealands native honey suckle tree. The Rewarewa grows in the bushy hills and valleys of the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions of the North Island.

DESSERT

"Pavlola" Soft Meringue with Strawberry, Passion Fruit and Zespri Kiwi Fruit "Javanese" Vanilla Lamington Cake with Raspberry Compote New Zealand Natural Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Three desserts in one place. Amahzing!! The Pavlova was between succulent and sour. The Lamington Cake was to-die-for. Very irresistible. I could taste the vanilla flavour and the dried coconut in my mouth. The soft and tender texture from the sponge cake, made it more tasty. It was the first time I tried Hokey Pokey ice cream. It's a vanilla ice-cream dotted with crunchy bites of honeycomb candy. So adorable, right?

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside.

Lamingtons are very popular in Australia and it's easy to see why. They consist of a small square (cube) of white cake that is dipped in a sweet chocolate frosting and then rolled in dried coconut.

Hokey pokey is a flavour of ice cream in New Zealand, consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee. Hokey pokey is a New Zealand term for honeycomb toffee.

Thank you for inviting me. Hope I could attend another event like this.