Have Sam Leong’s wasabi prawns in the Middle East

SINGAPORE - Want a taste of New York based Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khannas’ chicken tikka mirsa hasnu? Or perhaps you have a craving for Sam Leong’s wasabi prawns when you’re in the Middle East?

Tasting all that is a lot easier now, thanks to InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), which has tied up with seven international celebrity chefs specialising in different cuisines to serve a series of three-course menus at the IHG’s restaurants across Asia, Middle East and Africa. The set menu consists of a choice of two appetisers, two main courses and two desserts. The programme runs from Aug 17 to Nov 15 and each culinary ambassador will have his menu available at InterContinental and Crowne Plaza hotels and resorts for a two-week period.

Along with Leong and Khannas, five other chefs have been designated IHG culinary ambassadors: Brit chef Theo Randall (best known for helping the popular River Cafe get its Michelin star), Thai culinary superstar Ian Kittichai, Aussie chef Ross Lusted of Sydney’s The Bridge Room, two Michelin-starred Japanese chef Takagi Kazuo, baker Dean Brettschneider (of Baker & Cook).

“Our IHG Culinary Ambassadors are some of the most respected in the industry,” said Alan Watts, IHG’s chief operating officer, Asia, Middle East and Africa. “The programme will offer guests a unique way to experience the different cuisines and signature dishes from these renowned chefs at IHG restaurants around the globe.”

Over at Holiday Inn hotels and resorts, guests will get a set menu with a selection of dishes by chefs Randall, Leong and Khanna over the 13-week period. Expect to see creations such as the much-raved about Comte Custard with cured ham from Lusted; fish stew from Randall; and Japanese Pepper Beef with Foie Gras Dengaku from Kazuo. These set menus can also be paired with wines from Penfolds or Wolf Blass, as well as cocktails from Pernod Ricard.

This Culinary Journey programme comes on the heels of IHG’s Culinary Panel, which was launched last September. In that programme, seven culinary ambassadors created specific dishes for selected restaurants in the group — for example, you can sample Kittichai’s Marinated Tumeric Chicken at the revamped Atrium Restaurant as part of its international buffet at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium.

Food aside, IHG has also embarked on several projects in Singapore. It includes completing a multi-million makeover for the 30-year-old Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, which now boasts refurbished rooms and a brighter, more welcoming lobby area. The group is also building a second InterContinental Hotel at the former Gallery Hotel in Robertson Quay; with a third Holiday Inn Express and Singapore’s first Hotel Indigo being constructed in the Joo Chiat district. All three projects are expected to ready in 2016.