ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS ACQUIRES VILLA FROM FASHION ROYALTY
Previously owned by Emilio Pucci’s niece, Villa Idanna is a simple, authentic villa perched on a promontory overlooking lush rice terraces and forests leading up to the sacred Gunung Agung volcano. Conveniently situated just 45-minutes from the oceanfront Alila Manggis, on the island’s east coast, Villa Idanna’s Sidemen Valley location is a quiet refuge in gorgeously green east Bali. At an elevation of 1,000 feet, leave behind the traffic and heat, as you enter a world of cool breezes and soothing sounds of nature. Appointed with three bedrooms, private verandahs, a 20-meter swimming pool, library and dedicated staff of four, Villa Idanna is the perfect home base from which to take countryside walks to nearby temples, forests and rice terraces. Enjoy calming massages, fresh spring water and first-class organic cuisine cooked to your taste. Villa Idanna is a gem, the ultimate escape to rejuvenate amid Bali’s preserved and awe-inspiring beauty. www.alilahotels.com
KAYUMANIS – CHEF’S COLLABORATION 2012
“Cooking requires confident guesswork and improvisation – experimentation and substitution, dealing with failure and uncertainty in a creative way. “
– Paul Theroux
Foodies from around the globe congregated in August at Kayumanis Jimbaran Private Estate & Spa to join in an inspiring culinary journey as Kayumanis’ Executive Chefs and a multiple award-winning guest Chef dazzled and delighted the gourmand-only audience at its annual celebration of the variety of cuisines and creations this unique team has to offer. An interactive dining experience, the celebration was a standing cocktail reception with interactive food stations, where 150 guests enjoyed the showcase of Bali’s best artisanal purveyors of food and wine. Inspired by his Balinese grandmother’s tasty meals and fresh cuisine served everyday in their home, Chef Oka honed his culinary skills at the famed Amanwana resort before joining the Kayumanis Jimbaran team. His talent, dedication and innovation brought him to the helm of Tapis restaurant where he continues to tantalize international taste buds. This year’s esteemed guest Chef, Kevin Cherkas, has an enviable track record developed in some of the world’s most outstanding restaurants including the Michelin three-star Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain. Now based at BLU at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, Cherkas brings a lifetime of experience to happy customers in Asia.
Gold’s WOW Factor
Celebrity Chef Harlan Goldstein celebrates white truffle season in a traditional, yet contemporary style at his glittering restaurant ‘Gold’ in Hong Kong. From October through to December, the New York-raised chef pays homage to the world’s rarest and most expensive delicacy, showcasing a menu of eight dishes each featuring two carefully measured grams of the prized underground tubor freshly hunted by trained pigs and dogs in the autumn forests of Italy’s Piedmont region. White truffle dressing introduces the delicate flavor with a recommended appetizer of prime beef tartare and Burrata cheese while another farmhouse favorite compliments savory beef carpaccio and soft Taleggio provincial cheese on spring onion flatbread. The most traditional Alba-style recipe of all from the home of the gourmet ‘gift of the gods’ shaves white truffle on simple taglioni pasta with Italian white butter and Parmigiano. Also in keeping with tradition is a rustic marriage of soft Italian scrambled egg with snipped chives. With hand-crafted ravioli, the decadent delight infuses deliciously with melting egg, Ricotta cheese and hazel nuts. Also combining with flavors of the forest is braised beef short rib risotto and wild mushroom, again lusciously twinned with soft-cooked organic egg. The gastronomic menu extends to white truffle embellishing a familiar Piedmont partnership of Pecorino cheese and cauliflower cream custard, topped with Iberico ham from preeminent Spanish producer 5J. After dinner, stay late as the vibrant restaurant transforms into a cocktail bar with visiting DJs from as far as Ibiza, London and Australia.
