LifeStyle: Ferringhi Garden awarded as 2010 Malaysia's Best Restaurants

By K.M. LEW

Ferringhi Garden has been awarded 2010 Malaysia's Best Restaurants! It is of Malaysia's Best Restaurant for its exceptional cuisine and service.

     The owner of Ferringhi Garden, Richard Long has put in plenty of effort in beautifying the entire place according to its theme over the years. Skirting the restaurant is a well-groomed ground with trees, beautiful flowering plants, earthenware jars and water features which gives it a relaxing yet intimate ambiance.

     The compound around the restaurant is well-landscaped, with trees, flowering plants, earthenware jars and water features that exude a relaxing yet intimate ambience.

The surrounding of the restaurant is quite large and it offer many choices of dining areas: enjoying in the comfort of three different air-conditioned dining floors or dining in the patio, and the airy garden surrounded by the beauty of the outdoors plants with the soothing sounds of water coming from the mini waterfall.

      There are a few choices of dining areas including three air-conditioned dining floors, a patio and an airy garden with gorgeous views and the soothing sounds of water coming from a mini waterfall.

     A six-course dinner with a subtle blend of Asian flavors. The meal kicked off with some wine chosen from their extensive wine collection. They selected two Chilean wines, a white and a red, to complement the meal.

The Chardonnay from GatoNegro served in classic wine glasses from Zwiesel was a very fruity young wine that was easy on the palate.

      Two large baked scallops came with a mild Thai dipping sauce that had green apples in it. The sauce provided a zesty taste to the scallops.

      Next was delicate foie gras, pan-seared and served on toasted bread with blueberries and a touch of reduced red wine sauce. The foie gras was luscious, creamy, smooth and melted in mouth. It contrasted nicely with sweet fruity flavour of blueberries and the orange sauce cut through the rich, fattiness of the foie gras.

      The bowl of Norwegian clam soup, garnished with basil, was sour, salty and gently spicy. Delicately perfumed with tarragon, sage and dill, it was an ideal course to complement the rich, heavy meal. The soup had a subtle light flavour with a silky smooth texture.

      The grilled smoked Alaskan black cod, smoked in the kitchen in Ferringhi Garden itself, was simply terrific. Lightly flavoured and gently caramelised, the fish had a beautiful colour and was served with shredded carrot, pieces of radish, celery and black mushroom.
The highlight of the evening was the \'snow frosted\' Japanese wagyu. Although this cost more than wagyu from the United States or Australia, it was worth every ringgit.

The Japanese cattle are fed with a special diet that includes beer and sake. They come in different grades and the price depends on the cut and the BMS (Beef Marbling Standard) grading.

Executive chef Woei Liang had added nothing more than just a little truffle oil and some herbs. Special care was taken when searing the meat over charcoal as the fat melted quickly and burnt easily.

The GateNegro Cabernet Sauvignon, with plenty of flavours derived from fruit and spices, was chosen to complement the rich wagyu beef.

The meal concluded with a freshly baked chocolate souffle served with vanilla ice-cream. The light souffle with the strong chocolate flavour was just heavenly.

The restaurant is open daily from 2.00 pm till 12.00 am. To get there, take the first right turn after Parkroyal Hotel, into a narrow lane. Drive until you reach a T-junction. Take a left turn and look out for the car park on the left. The main entrance of the restaurant is directly opposite Yahong Art Gallery.