“A Taste of Thailand” at Asia Restaurant, Shangri-La Until March 9th

As I posted before, Shangri-La is a having a Taste of Thailand promotion until March 9th.  As a local blogger, the wife and I were invited to the first night’s media invitation along with several other bloggers and newspaper/magazine outlets to sample the food for ourselves! Bend my rubber arm! As if we need an excuse to visit Asia! 😉The evening started with social drinks and entertainment in the form of dancing in the courtyard of the Omani Heritage Village before dinner started. Fabulous way to start off the evening!Here’s a much better pic from the Shangri-La Barr al Jisseh facebook album of this event.If you’re interested, you can click here to see my original restaurant review of Asia. Or here for their Indonesian promotion they had in November.Would you believe they served us an 8-course meal?! Wow!  Here are the dishes we were served one by one: This appetizer is called Miang Kham: fragrant betel leaves filled with thai herbs, chili, lime and dried shrimps.  Make sure you have plenty of water nearby if you try this as it’s spicey!This soup was SO good! Tom Yam Gung – hot and sour soup with prawns flavoured with lemongrass and thai herbs. If you get to Asia during this promotion, be sure to try this soup!One of the guest chefs hard at work in the kitchenThe salad was quite good.  Yam Ma Muang Pla Foo – Crispy shredded catfish with green mangoes and cashewnut salad.This was one of my favorite dishes of the evening.  Kaeng Massaman Nuea – Slow-braised beef short rib in rich peanut curry.  It went so well with the steamed Jasmine rice (Khao Suai).The other dish that was one of my favorites was whole lobster in dry red curry (Chu Chi Kung Mangkorn).  By this time, I was getting pretty stuffed!  Not enough to stop, mind you! 😉The guest chefs pictured here who flew in from Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang whipped up this dish specifically for this photo. Here’s a closer look at the dish:It’s always a treat to meet up with Ingrid Hotanijaya, the Communications Executive.  Nobody does hospitality like Shangri-La! 🙂Back to the set menu…Steamed seabass with lime and chili sauce (Pla Nueng Ma Nao).  This was quite a delicious dish.  Only one more dish to go…dessert!Khao Niew Ma Muang did not fail to please! Sweet sticky rice with ripe mangoes, sesame seeds and honey.  Great way to end a fantastic evening at Asia! We showed up at about 7pm and didn’t leave until around 10:30pm with all the socializing and fine eating. Wow! I’m glad that Rasha al Mandani insisted on getting a pic of me and the wife under the Asia sign just inside the main entrance. Here we are together with Rasha who always makes everyone feel right at home when visiting Shangri-La:Thanks Rasha, Ingrid and the entire crew at Asia for another unforgettable evening!The chefs take the time for a thumbs up (from Shangri-La’s facebook page), but it’s really them and their cooking that deserve a big thumbs up! Try to get down to Asia before March 9th to try all these great dishes for yourself.  There are also specialty drinks specifically for the Taste of Thailand menu that are definitely worth trying out!

“A Taste of Thailand” Promotion at Asia, Shangri-La (Feb 26-Mar 9)

Looking forward to this! If it’s anything like the Indonesian promotion they held a few months back, this is sure to be scrumptious!

“Yours Truly Indonesia”Promotion at Asia, Shangri-La Muscat Until Nov. 26th

We were invited to the fabulous Asia restaurant at Shangri-La on Thursday evening to try out the Indonesian promotion that started Nov 12th and continues until Nov 26th.  It was an incredible evening of entertainment and unbelievable food.   For those who visit the facebook page of Shangri-La Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa and answer 3 questions each week (during the promotion), you will be entered into a draw to win a 3 day vacation at Shangri-La Jakarta with tickets provided by Oman Air!  This was not our first time at Asia.  Click here to read about our experience during our first visit there.The lucky man is this picture is Mark Kirk, General Manager of Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa.  The 2 ladies on either side of Mr. Kirk are members of the Indonesian community in Muscat who got all dolled up in traditional Indonesian dresses.The cocktails were great! These are specially made for the Indonesian promotion.Karedok – Raw vegetable salad with peanut sauce.  This salad alone is worth the trip out to Shangri-La!  There really was something magical about the peanut sauce on that salad!  One of my favourite dishes of the entire evening.Soto Betawi – Batavian Beef Soup – Words can’t describe how delicious this soup tasted.  Seriously one of the best soups I can ever remember enjoying.  Indescribable taste and the beef was so tender in the soup that it seemed to almost melt in my mouth.Sate Lilit Campur – Mixed Balinese Satay served with Nasi Goreng, Acar and Sambal.  The delicious main course of the evening  came with a generous helping of rice (with pineapple in it, I believe).Another specialty drink for the promotion called the Bali drink which contains rum.Kue Lapis Surabaya Dengan Es Krim Kelapa – Layered cake from Surabaya served with Coconut ice cream.  Yummy!Another look at the main dish that the guest chefs from Jakarta prepared as it was coming out of the kitchen for one of the guests.Chefs Nur Budiyono and Marlina Tulus Salam are happy to serve during their 2 week stay in Oman. True Indonesian ambassadors bringing the finest authentic Indonesian delicacies here to the Sultanate for a limited time.  These 2 expert Indonesian guest chefs are from Shangrila-La Jakarta and are here to present Indonesia’s best kept culinary secrets in a unique menu of natives’ favourites.L to R: Eihab Attia (Communications Manager), Chef Marlina Tulus Salam, Ingrid Hotanijaya (Communications Executive), Chef Nur Budiyono, Samir Abu Al Majid (Advertisinglass Executive for Al Watan), and Ania Zdunek (Assistant Director of Communications).  It was great meeting so many wonderful people at this brilliantly organized event!

Thanks a lot to the staff at Shangri-La Muscat (especially Ingrid and Rasha) for the invite!  What an unforgettable evening.  For those of you who have never been to “Asia”, now’s a great chance to try it out.  Who knows, you might even win the 3-day vacation to Jakarta, Indonesia!  Whether you win the draw or not, it may very well be the best Indonesian cuisine you ever get a chance to experience!