Kuala Lumpur Oktoberfest 2012 at Berjaya Times Square Hotel: Das Essen, Die Music, Das Bier!

Going All Out for Kuala Lumpur Oktoberfest 2012!

It’s all about The Food, The Music and The Beer! A recent invitation led me to enjoy Oktoberfest at The Manhattan Ballroom at Berjaya Time Square Hotel and Berjaya University College of Hospitality. The event, Kuala Lumpur Oktoberfest 2012 was set to rock up the night with loads of German food, music and beer, though not particularly in that order!

As the event was in partnership with Carlsberg, gorgeous ambassadors dressed in traditional Bavarian Dirndl costume was seen everywhere!

THE BEER

Getting down and dirty, a beer is a must to kick off the night! Guests are seen glugging down pints of Carlsberg, Erdinger and Lowenbrau while wine lovers savor Tyrone Estate Chardonnay and Shiraz. Even Jagermeister was present too!

German’s WACS Global Master Chef, Jochen Kern and Berjaya University College of Hospitality COO, Mae Ho and the team officiated the night with tapping the Oktoberfest keg of beer and a toast to everyone… Prost!

THE FOOD

Food, prepared by the team at Berjaya University College of Hospitality and Berjaya Times Square Hotel team is a wondrous spread of German cuisine that is enough to make one feel like they are in Germany.

Pretzels are a must! Made famous in German, these doughy breads have a good sprinkling of course salt for that addictive flavor. I lost count of how many pretzels I had with sides of mustard… J

Salad Bar was just laden with plates of European inspired salads, Pickled Herrings, Meat Terrine and more. Trust me, we were spoilt for choices at the salad bar alone that night!

I am particularly fond of the Red Apple Cabbage Salad, Pickled Herring Salad, Shrimp Salad and Meat Terrine. Distinctive flavors of tangy and creamy are present in almost all the salad, which is a great note to counter all the meat dishes the German loves.

Sausages… another requirement since they paired up so well with beer! It is a favorite as I saw everyone hitting the Sausage station for their fix. The kitchen team has gone all the way with Veal Bratwurst, Currywurst, Nuernberger, Wiener and Weisswurst, all served with Onion Gravy, Currywurst Gravy, Mustard, Sour Cream and creamy Mashed Potato.

Cheese Anyone?

Heading towards the mains, the list of German dishes are simply too long to list! I’ll let the photos show you what I mean…

Jagerschitzel Turkey, Breaded Schnitzel Turkey, Potato Dumplings and Liepziger Allerlei Vegetable Compote

Braised Lueneburger Heidshcnucken (Lamb) Knuckles, Bavarian Sauer Kraut, Schwabian Spaetzle Pasta and Salzgitter Rahner Braised Cabbage Roll

German Beef Steak with Fried Onion and Horse Radish, Pan Fried Dory with Shrimp, Stuffed Beef Roll and Roasted Chicken Grandmother Style

There are more mains but my favorites that night has to be the Jagerschitzel Turkey, Potato Dumplings, German Beef Steak and Braised Cabbage Rolls. Other mains are Boiled Cod in Mustard Butter, Rhein River Style Braised Sour Pot-Roast in Raising Sauce, Hunter Goulash Chicken, Fricassee with Asparagus and Champignon.

Choices are just unbelievable and Desserts is no difference! From Apple Strudels to German Black Forest and Almond Cake to Berry Puddings, I would have loved to sample all but at last, the salads and mains were enough to fill one up!

THE MUSIC

As the night settled down, guests were treated to a band performance by EMS Perlen! The lead singer is fabulous, rocking the night away with his versions of German music and a touch of the infamous Oppa Gangnam song. As the night parties away, the crowd was in music haven. At the stroke of midnight, there was a live broadcast of the party and guest all the way to Germany.

The night goes on as everyone party like there was no tomorrow. Bavarian Ambassadors were having as much fun as the guest doing their chicken dance! As always, safety is a priority so there was a Carlsberg’ BAC (Breath Alchohol Content) Booth for everyone before heading home. What a fabulous party!

Prost to Das Essen, Die Music, Das Bier!

Link to Malaysia’s Own Oktoberfest’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/malaysiasownoktoberfest

*More pictures in my Facebook: ChasingFoodDreams

The Patio Bar & Lounge, First World Plaza@ Genting Highland: Loving Oktoberfest 2011!

Zicke-Zacke-Zicke-Zacke Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!

October is the month of the infamous Oktoberfest Festival, celebrated worldwide by folks glugging down loads of beer, bratwursts, pork knuckles and entertained by traditional German Oom-pah Band with adorable Bavarian ambassadors!

Actually, Oktoberfest is wedding celebration of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Over the years… somehow after one beer to another, the festival is now highly popular where friends and families gather to enjoy some of the best beers brewed by worldwide breweries! J

Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB), the leading beer and stout company in Malaysia, returned in its fourth year running of the annual Oktoberfest festival in Malaysia, with a bigger selection of iconic beers which include one of the official Munich Oktoberfest beers, Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, as well as plenty of fun-filled and exciting parties, special promotions and events throughout the month of October.

My family and I were present at Genting Highland one weekend and joined the celebration at The Patio Bar & Lounge, First World Plaza. And what a night it is! Check out the awesome night filled with lots of music and laughter, beers and sausages, games and prizes… J

Beer lovers attending the GAB Oktoberfest party at Patio Bar & Lounge, Genting Highlands were treated to not just one, but two nights of fun-packed activities, an array of delectable German-infused food and a vast selection of beers such as the award-winning Tiger, Guinness, Heineken, Anchor, Kilkenny, Strongbow and Paulaner.

From left to right: Hopf Ice Wheat Beer, 111 Zwickl Beer & Paulaner Oktoberfest Beer.

We even had the three special beers brought in by GAB especially for Oktoberfest! My favorite of the three was the Hopf Ice Wheat Beer that uses ice conditioned wheat where excess water from the wheat is extracted through freezing, giving more depth to the flavour and body. Truly unique, crisp and clean aftertaste, it is easy to drink and refreshing! 111 Zwickl Beer, an unfiltered beer, possesses sparkling full-bodied and full-flavoured characteristics, and has a mild yeasty flavour. Last but not least, Paulaner Oktoberfest Beer has a rich malty aroma and a smooth full bodied flavour.

Our food for the night was fabulous! Absolutely in love with the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and Sausages… chomp, chomp, chomp!

What’s an Oktoberfest without these pretty Bavarian ambassadors dressed in Dirndl costumes?

Our Oom-pah Band by ‘Die Dorf Fest Kapelle' showing off their masterpieces!

That night was fabulous!

Besides the traditional Oom-pah Band performance, other traditional German games such as the Chicken Dance, yodeling, and “Masskrugstemmen” – the beer stein holding competition, kept the crowd highly entertained throughout the night. Patrons were seen enjoying themselves while toasting loudly to the traditional Oktoberfest cheer “Eins, zwei, drei, g'suffa; Zicke-Zacke-Zicke-Zacke Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!”

Here comes a favourite part of the night… Sausage Eating Competition!! The women took a gentler route but the men devised techniques for the win by breaking the long sausages into few short ones for faster consumption… Can you guess who won the women and men category individually? J

“With our diverse portfolio of award winning beers, we are in the best position to offer our consumers a bigger Oktoberfest Festival this year,” Ms Yap Swee Leng, Marketing Director of GAB said. “GAB strongly believes in providing value added drinking experiences to our consumers through multiple engagement platforms such as Oktoberfest, St. Patrick’s Day and Arthur’s Day and we are proud that these three international events have now become permanent fixtures in Malaysia’s event calendar,” she added.

Huge thanks to GAB for bringing in a festival of fun-filled laughters, beers and food, new friendships and even a little romance!! J

Folks… sing and drink merrily but make sure to plan ahead for your trip home! GAB promotes sensible drinking!!

For more information on GAB Oktoberfest celebration parties and promotions, kindly visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OktoberfestMY.

*Thanks to Sharon, Sid and Patio for the glorious night!!