A meal of Brittany blue lobster with carrots tartar served during the six-star dinner. — Photos: MBS
Since its inception, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has been a bastion of one-of-a-kind experiences tinged with opulence and elegance. The luxury resort’s first Food and Wine Festival, held from 15 to 28 May, was no exception and featured mind-blowing epicurean experiences from celebrated chefs.
The festival, aptly dubbed ‘Where Your Senses Feast’ shone a spotlight on food and wine pairings curated by a star-studded line-up of culinary heavyweights in the ilk of MBS's own Tetsuya Wakuda of two Michelin-starred Waku Ghin, Greg Bess of one-Michelin starred Cut by Wolfgang Puck and regional chefs like chef Thitid Ton Tassanakjohn, owner of Le Du in Thailand, ranked the best restaurant in Asia in the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Ton was one of the regional culinary heavyweights who participated in 'Where the Senses Feast', MBS' first food and wine festival.
The lunch with chef Ton was exceptional and featured stand-out menu offerings like prawn with sea grapes, beetroot and chilli. The prawn was velvety and limber and this aquatic element was accentuated by the slight brine of the sea grapes and the heat of the chilli. Thai flavours abounded but never overwhelmed the natural beauty of the prawn.
Another highlight of the lunch was the Japanese wagyu with pickled daikon, Thai northern pepper in a tuille and khao soi curry. The wagyu was fantastic – melt-in-the-mouth tender and riddled with fat that literally felt like butter on the tongue and this was offset by the curry, which countenanced the meal with homey Thai nuances.
Prawn, seaweed, beetroot and Chilli by chef Ton, a dish that tasted as good as it looked.
Epicurean events such as these reflect MBS’ commitment to rolling out experiences that surpass all expectation.
Many of the chefs involved said they were thrilled to be involved in such a large-scale festival designed to showcase and flex their culinary muscles. Wakuda and Bess for example participated in a six-star dinner alongside guest chef Stefan Stiller of three-Michelin starred Shanghainese fine-dining eatery Taian Table.
“Marina Bay Sands is no stranger to hosting high profile events but a two-week food and wine festival of such scale and nature is a first for me. It was an extraordinary experience for my teams at Wakuda and Waku Ghin, as we got the opportunity to team up with other chefs during the Six Star dinner.
Wakuda believes that modern diners are always looking for surprises on the table, so the large-scale food and wine festival organised by MBS provided everything diners wanted, through a variety of experiences.
“The curiosity to learn from other cuisines and cultures opened our minds to endless possibilities in the kitchen. Everyone seeks inspiration in different ways, and if we stay curious, there is much to learn and explore,” says Wakuda.
Bess meanwhile says “At Cut as well as Spago, we have been collaborating with like-minded F&B visionaries, but a dinner of this calibre and format is nothing like I’ve seen before at Marina Bay Sands. For one, it was an enjoyable experience working with chef Stefan Stiller and chef Tetsuya Wakuda – both chefs whom I admire deeply.
“It is always fascinating to visualise and execute a joint menu that can bring guests towards the same direction. Every collaboration is a new adventure for my team and I – a chance to break from the routine, to learn and gain behind-the-scenes experience. Such events broaden our culinary horizons, and sharpen our minds,” he says.
Both chefs say they enjoyed the creative process involved in putting together the show-stopping multi-course meal.
Bess says collaborative dinners such as the six-star dinner he was involved in help broaden chefs' culinary horizons and keep them on their toes.
“My vision for the menu was true to my cooking philosophy, which is to highlight simple and natural flavours. My team at Waku Ghin and I served three dishes as part of the Six Star dinner - for canapes, we presented the Hokkaido scallops with fresh nori, sea urchin and oscietra caviar for a burst of oceanic flavours.
“The flavours extended to the first course of abalone salad with the seasonal white asparagus and black bean and orange sauce for a refreshing touch of citrus. We were also honoured to present dessert of the night, created by none other than my executive pastry chef Ishino Yasushi – a millefeuille of caramelised apple, tea cream and vanilla ice-cream,” he says.
Bess meanwhile says he hopes to be able to put together more collaborative dinners of this nature simply because he learnt and gained so much from this experience.
“I enjoyed the process, from seeing how different culinary masters approach cuisines and ways of working in the kitchen, best practices, and more. While I have hosted numerous collaborative dinners in the past, I have not seen a fine dining setting quite as impressive as this, so I do hope that we’ll be able to present more of such unique dining experiences in the future to continue exciting our guests and introducing our cuisine to even more people,” he says.
The six-star dinner was one of the highlights of the MBS's first food and wine festival, held recently.
Events such as ‘Where Your Senses Feast’ highlight the growing appetite around the region for culinary adventures and collaborations that excite the palate and tantalise diners with new, alluring ideas and concepts. Modern diners want a dash of escapism and innovation in their meals and MBS’ first ever food and wine festival served up just that, giving Singapore's dining ecosystem an additional highlight look forward to, if the festival becomes a permanent, yearly feature - as it is expected to.
“Diners today have discerning palates and are bold in exploring new ingredients. They are well versed in food and wine, and they keep us on our toes, so we it is good to refine our craft and bring new surprises to the table,” says Wakuda.
