It was very deja vu, the packed foyer of the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom, with the luminary guests all dressed up to the nines. This year, us "press" people were at least dressed appropriately and didn't stick out like a moose in a salmon school. The ladies looked dapper, and the guys looked spiffy.
Again, seafood as far as the eye can see, almost like the sun that never set on the British empire. The huge King Crab sat together with the giant monkfish in the centrepiece ice sculpture. It was as though half of the Baltic sea had reappeared in Mandarin Oriental. Astounding choice. The Norwegians sure know how to host a feast.
Platters and Platters of Salmon, other white fish, yabbies, mini lobsters, king crabs, cooked in every way conceivable, from sashimi (okay, that's not a cooking method), to tandoori, to satay. Food served in every temperature, cold, hot, lukewarm. Quite a visual and culinary feast this event is, and not to mention the free flowing wine.
The gorgeous entourage of Marian's!
His Excellency, Mr Arild Braastad the Ambassador of Norway, regaling us with tales and history of the Vikings. Complete with illustrations from that lovable comic strip, Hagar the Horrible, he outlined the differences between all the various Vikings from Scandinavia. The Swedish Vikings, with their Ikea Ships and Abba music, the Danish Vikings, the Finnish Vikings and of course, the most noble and brave of them all, the Norwegian Vikings.
Entertainment for the night was our very own homegrown ALLEY CATS.
One of the highlights of the night is the "Oscar" presentation, or the Malaysian Norwegian Business Council (MNBC) Innovation Award whereby a company is selected for best outstanding performance. A Norwegian company, that is. So you definitely wont be getting Sime Darby winning anything. The winner for the night was Wilhemsen Maritime Services.
Our plates were piled with all sorts of goodies. Because of the SHEER variety, in order to maximise our exposure, we could only take small morsels of each item, and rarely went back for seconds, as there was simply no space. My personal favourite was the assorted egg roe coupled with the scrambled eggs. Ah, the simple things of life.
Just look at those gobules of roe. Ah, bursts of flavour that explode in the mouth.
Fresh sashimi, with chunks for king crab.
This chocolate torte with a tangy lingonberry jam was simply to die for, though the rest of the desserts were rather ordinary.
The princess cake.... such a pretty icing.
For a comprehensive write up on the entire night, check out Ciki's Blogpost HERE.
My New Year's Resolution is that I must visit Norway soon. I hope I can afjord it pretty soon.
Thanks again to our dear Marian for the invite, and of course, our thanks to His Excellency the Norwegian Ambassador for a fabulous event, which was perfectly executed and thoroughly enjoyable.
