MIGF 2013: Tuscany Restaurant @ Putrajaya Marriot Hotel Featuring Italian-American Grill

My First Malaysian International Gourmet Festival Menu of 2013

This year, my MIGF 2013 journey kicked start at Tuscany Restaurant at Putrajaya Marriot Hotel, IOI Resort City. MIGF is held annually around October where participating restaurants go all out and offer a gourmet menu set to impress gourmands. This year, MIGF 2013 menus are available at participating restaurants from Oct 1 to 30, 2013 for lunch and dinner.

No stranger to this restaurant, I am already well versed that they serve up lovely Italian fare on my last visit. The restaurant is set in classic Italian décor with an open kitchen for some chef’s actions.

Tuscany is helmed by Chef Aris Fadilah Baharum, a chef so charming, we were all chatting to him like old buddies within minutes upon meeting him. When he speaks about his food, one can see how passionate he is and that only further reiterated how his dishes would be. With quite a few accolades under his belt, his MIGF 2013 menu showcases Italian-American dishes with full creative and deliciousness.

Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Red Cabbage Salad, Carrot & Turnip Puree, finished with Caramelized Peach & Champagne Jelly

Seared with a crust, the extravagant goose liver is paired with soft red cabbage and creamy carrot and turnip puree. Its rich, velvety, sweet and creamy. As foie gras is almost always paired with fruit, it has caramelized peach to boost a little fruitiness and sweetness to the liver while tiny cubes of woobly champagne jelly lends some extra texture to the amuse boushe. This one is certainly more than a bite but hey, who’s complaining? Not me for sure…

Tian of Lobster with Fennel Jam with Zucchini Pickles & Melon Shooter, Salmon Tartare Roulade with Egg Chive Crepe and Hand Dived Scallop with Shitake Lasagna & Pea Puree

Trio of tedious appetizer thoughtfully prepared to give guests a little adventure on a plate. The tian of lobster is a creamy concoction of small chunks of lobster dressed with sweet fennel jam and tangy thinly shaved zucchini pickles. A crispy lotus root added textures. The second one is salmon tartare enveloped with thin egg chive crepe. This is quite fresh on the palate since the salmon is raw while the crepe has a nice oniony and eggy flavor. A succulent piece of scallop sits on top of creamy pea puree. Sweet and a little nutty, it is crowned with briny black caviar for an extra touch!

Roasted Parsnip & Pumpkin Soup served with Smoked Duck Confit & Wild Mushroom Bruschetta

It’s a classic one but amped up with slow cooked smoked duck and earthy mushroom on toast topped with some cheese. The soup is creamy and sweet, redolent of the root vegetables.

Smoked Vine Tomato & Fresh Basil Sorbet

Either one will like this or otherwise… a truly unique palate cleanser, it has a smoky aroma and flavor upon first taste. Then slowly, the tomato and fresh basil crept up to balance out the smoky aroma. Its creamy and delicious but not as tangy as most sorbets are…

Pan-Fried Loin of Lamb with Herb Crust, Rosemary, Sweet Potato Rosti & Garden Vegetables finished with Red Currant Lime Jus

I would have usually selected meat but the other choice of halibut for main course sounded irresistible. Glad that I got to taste this too since Sid kindly donated a piece to me. For a lean piece of lamb, it is very tender and crusted with herbs for aroma and flavors. The sweet potato rosti is a nice change from norm and goes really well with the lamb and garden vegetables.

Roasted Atlantic Halibut with Piquillo Pepper Mousse, Beetroot Risotto & Butternut Squash Croquette served with Tomato Confit & Vanilla Dill Burro Bianco

This is fabulous! So fabulous that it got everyone’s raving at the table. The second choice for main course, my piece of halibut was perfectly cooked, firm, delicate and sweet. It certainly went very well with the vanilla dill butter sauce.The sidekicks are equally good with creamy al dente risotto tinged with beetroot, a medley of vegetables and crispy lotus root. Such a pretty dish and oh-so delicious! Highly recommended in my books…

Poached Pear with Mascarpone Cheese and Wild Berry Compote served with Chocolate Sauce

Dessert consisted of a baby poached pear to be savored with a napoleon of chocolate with mascarpone cheese cream. Sides of berries gave this a fruity tang while more dark chocolate sauce lust up the ending. The combination of chocolate, cheese and pear is just gorgeous!

MIGF Full Menu & Wine Pairing

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Amuse-Bouche

Pan-fried Foie Gras with Red Cabbage Salad, Carrot and Turnip Puree, Finished with Caramlised Peach and Champagne Jelly

Orvietto Classico DOC, Ruffino

*Starter

TRIO OF SEAFOOD

Tian of Lobster, Fennel Jam with Zucchini Pickles and Melon Shooter

Salmon Tartare Roulade with Egg Chive Crepe

Hand Dive Scallop with Shiitake Lasagne and Pea Puree

Orvietto Classico DOC, Ruffino

*Soup

Roasted Parsnip and Pumpkin Soup served with Smoked Duck Confit and Wild Mushroom Bruschetta

Le Rime, Toscana IGT, Banfi

Entrée

Open Prawn and Crab Ravioli with Seafood Cream, Tomato Concasse with Caviar Garnish

Le Rime, Toscana IGT, Banfi

Sorbet

Smoked Vine Tomato and Fresh Basil Sorbet

*Main

Pan-fried Loin of Lamb with Herb Crust, Rosemary, Sweet Potato Rosti and Garden Vegetables finished with Red Currant Lime Jus

Fonte Al Sole, Toscana IGT

OR

Roasted Atlantic Halibut with Piquillo Pepper Mousse, Beetroot Risotto and Butternut Squash Croquette served with Tomato Confit and Vanilla Dill Burro Bianco

Ruffino Libaio Chardonnay, Toscana

*Dessert

Poached Pear with Mascarpone Cheese and Wild Berry Compote served with Chocolate Sauce

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Full Festival Menu

RM298 ++ per person with wine

RM168 ++ per person without wine

*Light Festival Menu

(Choice of Starter or Soup; a choice between Mains; Dessert)

RM208 ++ per person with wine

RM128 ++ per person without wine

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Though the dishes are classy, it has certain warmness to the flavors. Gourmands are really taken on an exciting food experience as the menu has just so many elements and ingredients to it. Flavors are certainly spot on and let me say this again, bread, pizza and pasta at Tuscany Restaurant is just so addictively good!

TUSCANY RESTAURANT

PUTRAJAYA MARRIOTT HOTEL & SPA
IOI Resort City,

Sepang Utara,

62502 Putrajaya
Tel: 03-8949 8888 ext 1366

Web: http://Marriott.com/kulpg 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarriottPutrajaya