Italian Week Fair at Scusa Intercontinental MidPlaza

On Tuesday, I was invited by Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel for a menu tasting session. It was a fine dining dinner set inspired by the culture of Sicilian Island in Italia, and that is what I'm about to blog to you guys.

This year and this month (specifically on June 1st-9th), Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel is celebrating "Italian Week Fair" in conjuction with the Italian Independence day in the month of June, together with its gorgeous restaurant "Scusa", they're presenting a selection of exclusive set menus from the well known region of Italy to satisfy for cravings of Italian culinary! There are three regions of Italy that became the highlight: Sicily, Tuscany and Venezia. I was fortunate enough for the chance to taste the Sicilian inspired dinner set, it was such an ultimate dining experience so hold on to your seats now, the tour is about to start.

Scusa was located at the second floor of Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel, it's a restaurant with nice fancy yet classy deco, perfect for dinner. Going to show you some photos of the restaurants.

Of course you have to see it for yourself, the eyes don't lie. It was almost 10PM when I took this photo so you can imagine how the lighting was.

But anyway, let's focus on the most important deal of the night: THE FOOD.

Oh, first things first, before I start showing you guys the fabulous dinner I had on that night, I want to give it to their staff for being so well behaved. From the moment I stepped my feet into the restaurant until the end of the dinner, the crews were SUPER POLITE like SUPER, I just can't emphasize enough, starting from the receptionist until the waiters. You guys own my heart. Thank you for being so nice.

Just when I sit on my table, I was "greeted" by a complimentary from the restaurant: A Walnut Bread with Feta Cheese. The bread smells so good and it's very chewy in a good way! The Feta Chesse itself is from GREECE, tastes yummy and not overpowering for me (since I am not a big fan of Cheese). It's been good so far.

I ordered their Fiesta Mocktail (IDR 65k ++) for my beverage and it was a fresh fusion of mango, orange, lychee and Grenadine syrup. The color is pretty and it actually tastes as sweet as it looks.

Lychee Martini
IDR 135k++

Bloody Mary
IDR 115k++

On the table, there's already a specially designed menu and I still keep it with me FYI just because I wanted to, I was asked to pick the choices of appetizers (Primi Piatti), main course (Secondo Piatti) and the dessert (Dolce). Primi, Secondo and Dolce literally means first, second and the third, but since Scusa was so special and kindhearted, they served me with everything so I can taste them all, now this what I called awesome gathering :).

PRIMI PIATTI
Scampi Giganti Salad
Salad with orange, red onion, mesclun and an Italian herb dressing

Favorite appetizer of the night, the scampi (shrimp(s)) were so fresh. I am such a big fan of mesclun leaves so I have no problem eating this.

Insalata Vegetariana (meaning salad which presumably consists of entirely vegetables)
Salad with rocket leaves, olives, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, green beans and lemon dressing.

From the description itself you can presume that this salad certainly fits better for vegetarians, I definitely prefer the first one (Scampi Giganti Salad) due to the shrimps, it just adds more twist and less boring. This one for me is not bad, but it's just plain vegetables.

ZUPPA (SOUP)
Zuppa Polpetta
Sicilian meatball soup with cabbage

Hands down to the meatballs!!! They're so delicious, I kinda wish that the soup will be a little saltier, I don't know if it's the authentic Sicilian way of cooking and ingredient measuring, I'll go with it, but I just wish that it'd be saltier for my preferance. Meanwhile, the bread was genius, it melts in your mouth and it's on a perfect seasoning (which for me saltier).

SECONDO PIATTI
Beef Involtini
Beef Involtini with pumpkin tortellini, stuffed eggplant and porcini sauce.

Surprisingly, I kinda like the pumpkin tortellini, you might think it's weird that pumpkin puree becomes the filling of the dumplings but it's very well cooked, it doesn't end up getting very sweet of the pumpkin, and in fact it coordinates so good with the tortellini. The beef is also cooked in a good temperature, the meat and the wrapping (assuming it's also beef) also create a nice texture for the mouth. I love the sauce and the mushroom chunks!

the eggplant puree is so nice!

Scottato Branzino
Seared Sea Bass with stuffed calamari, caponata of vegetables and anchovy-dressing.

Gotta give it to them for the Sea Bass + anchovy dressing, they just fit so well like hands and gloves, was imagining the Sea Bass with another sauce and I just can't find a better match than this (some might be good but I personally think this is a genius idea to use the anchovy sauce dressing). The Sea Bass itself is cooked so good and the stuffed calamari is another pleasure. THIS IS THE WINNING DISH and also MY FAVORITE that night!

DOLCE

Fasten your seatbelt because this one is my most favorite chapter of the dinner! They have awesome desserts and I'd go back for the restaurant for the desserts! I'm so mouthwatering right now!

Sicilian Cassata
Neapolitan Ice Cream with candied fruit and nuts

This one is beyond words, I don't know how to describe this but it's just the friggin bomb of the night! I love love love this, it has the sweet, the texture, and most importantly it stays in my mind for days, the only negative thing is that it's so little I can't have enough. Not the most photogenic dish but don't always judge a food from its cover.

Pistachio Tart with Chocolate Custard
Certainly more photogenic and yeah it's as sweet as it looks. The desserts served are so memorable I wanna cry. I love how they manage to cut the pistachio nuts on random (mostly big) chunks, it just adds more adorable texture value.

FREE EXTRA COMPLIMENTARY:
Iced Cappuccino
IDR 65k

FRESH and awakening.

I just don't wanna go home! Anyway, just come to Scusa because the Italian Week Fair will end on June 9th, what's better? YOU DON'T NEED YOUR PASSPORT and to pay the tickets, visas and taxes to Italy, simply go to Scusa at Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel and enjoy these special menus by Chef Gary Palm (executive chef of Scusa) and Chef Wawan Barito Setiawan (Chef De Cuisine of Scusa).

Italian Week Fair will be available at Scusa, Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel until June9th! The set menu selection starting from IDR 399k++/person. Table reservations are recommended!

Special thanks for this precious fine dining session Intercontinental MidPlaza Hotel and don't judge fine dining just because you see the portion is small, remember, looks can be deceiving, and the fact is they don't look as little as the picture, try expanding the photo to 1000%!!! They actually are thick in taste and guaranteed to fulfil your cravings as well as covering your hunger (LOL).

Sad truth at the moment:
You have reached the end of the journey of this Sicilian Culinary Tour *wipe tears*

See ya at the upcoming posts! Stay tuned and thanks for reading =).

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