T he Celebratory Season
It's a wonderful time of year for us here at Exquisite Media. We have been celebrating our ninth anniversary with our annual, dazzling appreciation events in Jakarta and Bali, where we honoured the winners of Exquisite Awards 2019. On top of that, we have Christmas and New Year to look forward to, so we decided to share our excitement with you in the pages of Exquisite Taste.
Exquisite Awards 2019 saw our readers vote online in their thousands for their favourite nominees across a range of categories, ranging from Best
Fine Dining to Best Indonesian, Best Brunch, Best After Dinner Night Life Venue and more, as well as for their Readers' Choice. You can find reviews of all the restaurant and bar winners in the Cover Theme of this edition of Exquisite Taste.
Exquisite Awards also recognises hotel categories, including Best Luxury Hotel, Best Family Hotel, Best Wedding Venue and Best Spa; if you would like to see who won, then take a look at our sister magazine, Asia Dreams, in print, online and on the Asia Dreams app. Meanwhile, photos from both events are shared in Exquisite Taste and Asia Dreams magazines, or visit the Events section of the Exquisite Media website www.exquisite-media.co.id/events
Aside from the excitement of our awards, we followed our passion for gourmet living and spent some time with the chefs from Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve – who you can see on the magazine cover – talking to them about their inspiration and work, as well as discussing all things culinary with Edi Pancamala from the newly opened Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue, Dove Sudarsana from MÉTIS and Josh Tyler from The Ungasan Clifftop Resort.
In the meantime, we visited the newly opened Simply Social in Ubud and Café del Mar Bali in Canggu, revisited the Italian delights of Octopus Ristorante at Ayodya Resort Bali, and enjoyed the fresh mountain air of Ciawi as we dined at Mad Cow Vimala Hills. You can read all about this in the Gourmet pages.
To make sure you have the best options for a heart-warming Christmas and New Year, we have information from Jakarta, Bali and Singapore on where to go to celebrate. And, of course, no holiday season is complete without some holiday spirit, so we scouted out the incredibly creative cocktails crafted by Sufian Mahmoud at Sundara Beach Club & Restaurant, as well as Shah Dillon's El Nacional in Bali. If you prefer a glass of wine, check out Sam Stephen's interview as he talks about Napa Valley wines and Beaulieu Vineyard's story.
Don't forget, our fabulous magazines are available in print, on our websites and on your mobile device through our easy-to-use apps. Visit www.exquisite-taste-magazine.com or download the Exquisite Taste app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
We'll see you in March with more gourmet living.
From the team at Exquisite Taste, we wish you happy holidays and an incredible 2020!