SUKA by Zak Pelaccio to open at Sanderson, March 2007
Morgans Hotel Group and China Grill Management, which in 1999 brought Asia de Cuba to London at the chic St Martins Lane hotel, are proud to announce Suka, a collaboration with critically acclaimed New York-based chef, Zak Pelaccio.
Suka will offer modern authentic Malaysian cuisine, prepared with European sensibility and technique, the result of Pelaccio training both in Southeast Asia and under the guidance of some of the United States’ most important chefs, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. A rising star on the American culinary scene, Pelaccio uses Western influences, French cooking techniques and fresh British and Malaysian produce, whilst ensuring that the intensity and spectrum of the Southeast Asian flavours for which Malaysian cuisine is known.
Set on the ground floor of the Sanderson, the lavish ‘urban-spa’ oasis which is an ironic combination of extravagance and simplicity, Suka will encompass the ‘hidden’ space following the Long Bar as well as the entire Garden Terrace. The dramatic space is being redesigned by the renowned Paris based architect and designer India Mahdavi. The new restaurant will have a relaxed and casual ethos, while still capturing the wit, irony and elegance of the award-winning hotel.
The menu is served in typical Asian sharing style and includes the following dishes, ranging from home-style to truly elegant and luxe:
Oyster Omelet
crispy omelet, “huitres tiedes”, with sevruga caviar
Oxtail Soup
oxtail, short rib, bone marrow, tomato chili jam
Curried Crab Laksa
crab curry broth, picked crab, crab fritters, egg noodles
Tamworth Pig Claypot
slow cooked knuckles, belly, shoulder, salt fish, chili, short grain rice
Scottish Salmon
slow roasted
kang kong belacan puree, garlic and herb yoghurt, crispy ikan bilis
Skate Bakar
grilled in banana leaf, sambal
Foie Gras
roasted whole, gula jawa baste, mangosteen, chili, red onion salad
Turbot
roasted, charred chili, clam and tofu sauce
A smaller ‘snack’ menu from Suka will also be served at the Long Bar and late night:
A selection of buns – brisket, shrimp, pork or vegetable
Skewers of baby squid, beef or lamb
Pork belly and Oyster claypot
Nasi Ayam – chicken and rice claypot
Assorted tea sandwiches and samosas
Zak Pelaccio
Pelaccio trained under some of America’s greatest chefs including Daniel Boulud at Daniel and Thomas Keller at The French Laundry. He found inspiration during his travels through France, Italy and the Far East; however, it was in Southeast Asia that he discovered his zeal for Asian cuisine, spending six months working at a local restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
Pelaccio’s restaurant 5 Ninth, in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, showcase’s his influences from East and West as both Asian and French dishes share the same menu. His second restaurant has become so popular that New Yorker’s queue down the street; Fatty Crab opened in September 2005 and serves straight-up Malaysian street food.
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Jeffrey Chodorow
Jeffrey Chodorow’s global restaurant group, China Grill Management, consists of an impressive array of first-class restaurants. Its flagship restaurant, Manhattan’s venerable China Grill opened in 1987, followed by a sister property in Miami opening to rave reviews in 1995. Ian Schrager recognised his success and asked Chodorow to re-launch Blue Door at Delano, which was shortly followed with the opening of Asia de Cuba at Morgans hotel in New York with subsequent sister restaurants in Los Angeles, London and most recently in Arizona with Asia de Cuba at Mondrian Scottsdale.
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China Grill Management now owns restaurants in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, San Francisco, Chicago and Mexico City. Most recently in 2006, CGM launched the Social concept, with Social Hollywood in Los Angeles and Social Miami at Sagamore in South Beach, as well as the recent addition of Kobe Club in New York in December. 2007 will be another growing year for the company, with Suka opening in March and 4 other new properties opening in the first half of the year. For more information please visit www.chinagrillmgt.com
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India Mahdavi
Architect and Designer India Mahdavi, based in Paris, is known for the diversity of her international projects; exploring fields from architecture to scenography, interior, furniture and object design, revealing the wide range of her creativity.
Amongst the most important projects are: Condesa df hotel in Mexico City (2005), On Rivington in New York (2005), Townhouse hotel in Miami (2000), Dragon-i restaurant in Hong Kong (2002), John Frieda’s Salon in London (2006), as well as private houses in Sydney, London, New York, Paris and Geneva. Mahdavi centres her work on imagination. The spaces she conceives are elegant, fluid, and always tell a story in relation to the essence of their location. For more information please visit www.india-mahdavi.com
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Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) which is widely credited with establishing and developing the rapidly expanding boutique hotel sector, owns and/or operates Morgans, Royalton and Hudson in New York, Delano and The Shore Club in Miami, Mondrian in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Clift in San Francisco, and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London. MHG has other property transactions in various stages of completion including projects in Miami Beach, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, and continues to vigorously pursue its strategy of developing unique properties at various price points in international gateway cities in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia and around the world. For more information please visit www.morganshotelgroup.com.
"Suka" in Filipino means either vinegar or vomit, depending on where you put the emphasis.
Posted by: lia | February 27, 2007 at 02:37 PM
hee hee, it means "bitch" in polish - in every meaning of the word...
Posted by: ms | March 01, 2007 at 05:09 PM
it actually means 'to like' in Malay...
Posted by: azura | March 16, 2007 at 10:23 AM