My SAVOUR 2013 Experience

The 4-day gourmet festival has come to a close, and I’m already eagerly awaiting the next installation. SAVOUR 2013 was a huge success, despite the brutal and unforgiving heat.

The alfresco Gourmet Village featured over 25 leading chefs and 18 award-winning restaurants, several of them with Michelin-stars to boot.

NESPRESSO is the presenting partner and official coffee of SAVOUR 2013.

Under the sweltering weather, visitors could take shelter in the comforts of NESPRESSO’s air-conditioned booth, while sampling aromatic coffees.

All Savour attendees were able to enjoy a host of complimentary activities and master classes throughout the Gourmet Village, Gourmet Market and Gourmet Auditorium –a great opportunity to bolster your culinary repertoire.

What you’ve missed: Nespresso Coffee Atelier
–Learn everything you need to know about coffee and let the coffee experts take you through a unique coffee experience.

What you’ve missed: Coffee Recipes by Nespresso
–Live Demo by Mixologist Mark Tay, who shows you how to use coffee in a variety of specially created cocktails.

Read more about the session here: https://melicacy.com/?p=5386

What else you’ve missed: Gelato Degustation with Nespresso
–Pairing Fine Italian Gelato with Nespresso’s special blends.

Graze your way through the gourmet festival, with exquisite dishes from top restaurants priced as low as $6.

One of the highlights at SAVOUR 2013 for me was Stellar’s booth. Always a highly recommended destination for fine dining on my list, Stellar at 1-Altitude never fails to impress. Read about my previous dining experience here: https://melicacy.com/?p=4851

At SAVOUR 2013, Chef Chris Millar of Stellar also did a live demo, ‘Short Cuts for Meat Junkies’, featuring simple recipes for preservation, marinations and sauces to compliment a broad variety of meats.


Stellar Signature Sushi ($14)

The Spicy Tuna Maki roll with bonito flakes and spring onion costs $18++ to dine at Stellar, while the Swordfish Miso Maki with fresh crabmeat and prawns would cost $20++. At just $14/Savour Dollars, we indulged in three varieties of Stellar’s signature sushis – Spicy Tuna Maki, Swordfish Miso Maki and Lobster Sakura Ebi Maki. This is top-notch quality at a fraction of the price.


Meat Lovers Platter ($30) at Stellar

The Meat Lovers Platter was the highlight of the highlights. Served with Pommes Gruyere and condiments, the three selections of meats – Kobe C Rib of Beef, Australian Lamb Rack and Smoked Short Rib of Beef – proved to be outstanding with utmost succulence and flavour. The Smoked Short Rib of Beef is a personal favourite –crisp on the outermost layer, with zero traces of toughness.

Plastic cutleries were provided, but there wasn’t a need for a knife at all.


Pain Perdu –Brioche French Toast with apple compote and Earl Grey Milk Jam and Crispy Bacon and Champaign Syrup ($12) at Stellar


Slow Cooked 1824 Beef ‘Cottage Pie’, Hot Smoked Potato ($14) at Wild Honey & Arbutus

I was on a quest for comfort food, and the Slow Cooked 1824 Beef ‘Cottage Pie’ with Hot Smoked Potato at Wild Honey & Arbutus caught my eye. It was an instant gratification when it entered my mouth.


Foie Gras Terrine ($14) at Absinthe

Also tempted by foie gras at affordable prices, the huge slab of rich and creamy Foie Gras Terrine at Absinthe gives great value for money.

Also another great bargain was Osia’s $16 Foie Gras with Beet, Rhubarb and Riberry –which unfortunately I didn’t have time to try.


Lobster Bisque, Beef Cheek and French Hot Dog at Balzac Brasserie

Over at Balzac Brasserie, I tried the Lobster Bisque and Beef Cheek that were equally delectable.


Beef Cheek ($14) at Balzac Brasserie

Oh-so-yummy and fork-tender, the beef cheek blew me away.

Over at the Gourmet Market, I spent a good amount of Savour Dollars at Jason’s, The Gourmet Grocer.

These plump tomatoes from France take on a brilliant hue; they sure pique one’s appetite!

We hopped from booth to booth at the grocer, sampling a diverse variety of tomatoes, cheeses and sausages.

I also took part in The Great FIJI Water Race that happened on 13th April 2013. Slightly less gruelling than The Amazing Race, we completed the various tasks in 45 minutes as a team, quenching our thirsts with FIJI Water along the way. Check out the #FIJIWaterSavour2013 hash tag on Instagram for all the action!

The winner walked away with $1000 cash and a year’s supply of FIJI Water. We didn’t win the race, but we uncovered a stronger bond between us! Thanks Hazel and Celes for being such a great sport, you’re the best teammates I could ever ask for.

This sums up my experience at SAVOUR 2013, and I look forward to SAVOUR 2014. Thank you NESPRESSO and FIJI Water for having me down.

Pictures in this post are taken using a SONY NEX-3N and an iPhone 4S.