Hello!
So my sister wanted to have Dinner at Fraser Suites, Abuja to try out the Italian Week of pasta event they were having. They invited two chefs from Italy to make pasta from around Italy. Each day was a gastronomical adventure and we decided to try out one of the days. So yesterday, we had a central Italy themed 4 course meal at the poolside of the Fraser Suites Hotel.
I made a vlog of the experience which you can watch by clicking the video below. Otherwise scroll down to read about my thoughts on the meal. P.S: Today is the last day of the event and they will be cooking up dishes from the entire week, so it’s your chance to sample everything ♥
VLOG
APPETIZER
The first thing they brought to the table was a plate with slices of bread and a side of butter. I’m a huge fan of freshly baked bread baskets at restaurants, but I was disappointed with this platter. The bread didn’t taste fresh and it was a bit tough to chew but it would’ve been a delicious slice if it weren’t for that. And it was also very basic, I was expecting maybe a variety of bread types since this was a “special Italian week”!
COURSE 1
Next we had the first course which was ‘Cuttlefish and Peas in our own way’. This was a welcome surprise from the bread experience because every bit of the dish was fresh and well seasoned. There was no need to add salt and pepper, and the tomato droppings in the pea sauce made a whole lot of difference. The mix of the flavours coupled with the chewy cuttlefish was good. Also the portion size was okay to keep you satisfied but still craving for the next dish.
COURSE 2
The second course was ‘Lasagnetta with Seafood flavors’ which according to my Sister, Lasagnetta means baby Lasgna :). I can see why she says so. This Lasagna sheets were thinner than the regular lasagna pasta sheets and had a less chewy taste which I quite liked. They prepared it to have crusts by the sides which complimented the creamy seafood sauce. The seafood were cut into very tiny pieces which sort of melted into the herby and creamy sauce and you could barely taste anything fishy. This was perfect for me, because I’m not a fan of fishy tastes.
COURSE 3
Next up was the 3rd course which was ‘Mixed fish on a spit with fragrant bread’. I really enjoyed this dish but I was disappointed with the portion size. And also the realization that fragrant bread meant a sauce with probably breadcrumbs in it or the breadcrumbs on the fish. But nevertheless, this was made up of a piece each of calamari, king prawns and giwan ruwa (a fish found in Nigeria, name translates to King of the Sea). The seasoning was my favourite part of this alongside the softness of the giwan ruwa coupled with the crunchiness of the marinade and seasoning. My sister however was dissapointed because it didn’t really feel Italian to her.
At this point of the meal, I decided to stop sipping my water and drink because I was feeling full. I didn’t want to fill up the little space I had left for the final dish which from my little google search, was going to be the highlight for me. We had someone playing the violin next to our table and the weather was nice which added to a great ambience. The waiters took a bit of time to bring our final dish, which gave us a chance to digest what we ate earlier.
COURSE 4
I was super happy when our dessert came out, it was a ‘Millefoglie with Homemade Ice-cream’. It consisted of delicious vanilla ice-cream, mango slices, cream and pastry crumbs. I liked the mix of textures and flavors this dish had and how nothing was too sweet. The only thing I didn’t like was the taste of the mango was a bit overpowering so I ate it separately.
This brings me to the end of the meal. In summary, it was a nice dining experience. I liked the way the food was flavoured and the portion sizes were not too shabby for my taste. My only problem was the lighting took away from the experience. The lighting changed the colour of the food which made everything look sombre. We had to use our flash to see what the food colour actually looked like. If you check the video, I did a comparison of what the food looked like before and after flash.
The photo below from the Fraser suites page gives you an idea of the dining set up.
THE CHEFS
Meet Chef Massimo Marinelli & Chef Giovanni Rosetti. They are the brains behind the culinary and gastronomical dishes around Italy for the Dinner at Fraser Suites.
If you want a chance to experience this Italian Dinner at Fraser Suites too, today is last day. So check the menu for what’s on Offer, and book your table! 
Here’s how to contact Fraser Suites:
Website: https://abuja.frasershospitality.com/en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frasersuites_abuja/?hl=en
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