Tea Pairing Charity Event with a cause

Sunway University’s Centre for Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Management (CTHCM) students recently organised The Garden of Light, a tea pairing charity event. The BSc (Hons) in Hospitality Management student saw this as an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills in a professional setting.

Ms Thanuja Ananthan receiving the check worth RM 6,000 from Ms Anisha Chai Mee Fong, Head of CTHCM (centre) while a student (right) looks on.

The event started with a ballerina dancing her way into the hall with a basket of flowers. She was perfectly fitting with the theme of the night that came to life as dry ice crept into the surrounding, creating an illusion of a misty garden of light. As she danced, tea connoisseurs walked in to their respective tables and placed the pre-dinner tea, a flavoursome jasmine tea on to the tables and served the guests in synchrony.

The charity event comprised of a 6 course fusion dinner and paired with 7 types of oriental tea is the brain child of the students who wanted to combine fine dining with eastern specialty tea offerings complemented with varying western cuisines. The menu of the day was; trilogy of prawn complemented with Karigane green tea, parsnip puree with black caviar and chive with Ali Shan Jin Xuan Oolong tea, steam baked fish with edamame puree and orange glaze with deep fired Tie Guan Ying tea, passion-mango sorbet, slow roasted beef, truffle, gratin potato with beef jus with Kee Mun black tea, Valrhona Guanaja mousse, blackberries gelee and lavender gelato with high mountain mini Tuo Cha Tea and Wu Liang Shan Raw Pu-Erh tea.

Shadhana Mohan, Public Relations Manager for this event said, “This experience gave us an opportunity to exercise whatever we had learned to educate people, especially on tea. Paired with different food, tea can be the new wine.” She added that this experience has also taught each person different roles and responsibilities. On being a Public Relations Manager she said, “I learned how to communicate and approach people to get my message across. I’ve also learned that sometimes, you have to learn the hard way, especially in the real world where you are not told what or how to do something.” The proceeds from the night amounting to RM 6,000 was donated to an animal shelter, Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue The cheque was presented to the guest of honour, Miss Thanuja Ananthan, former Miss Universe of Malaysia who is also the ambassador of MIAR who is recognised in her effort of advocating animal care.

The night ended with a mesmerising serenade of Guzheng music, a perfect oriental finish for a beautiful event.