BINTAN ISLAND, Indonesia – The Sanchaya is pulling out all the stops to mark Christmas and New Year’s Eve with merry good cheer and a collection of events that include a four-course champagne dinner hosted by the world’s oldest champagne house.
With December temperatures set to average a balmy 27 degrees Celsius at the beachfront property, a short ferry ride from Singapore, The Sanchaya will stage its celebrations, including six-course Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners, from December 21, 2016, until January 1, 2017.
“We won’t have snow but we do expect Santa Claus and much remembrance of auld lang syne,” said The Sanchaya’s estate manager Magnus Olovson.
The program begins with an ‘Aroma Journey’ wine tasting at The Sanchaya’s glass-walled wine cellar Decanter on Wednesday, December 21. The following evening, Olovson will host an intimate, four-course wine dinner at Decanter for a maximum of 10 guests.
Provence Rosé and strawberries will be served to the strains of live traditional music at The Sanchaya’s manicured croquet lawn, overlooking powder white sands and aquamarine waters dotted with picturesque islands, at sunset on Friday, December 23.
On Christmas Eve, the festivities will kick off with Kir Royal cocktails and Indonesian-style canapés at The Bar, replete with vintage prints, antique binoculars, custom furniture and other trappings of a 19th Century Explorer’s Club. Guests will then move to The Sanchaya’s all-day dining restaurant, The Dining Room, for a six-course Christmas Eve dinner, with dishes ranging from ‘Hokkaido sea scallops with pan-fried artichoke and fennel, raw salad and sea urchi’ to veal tenderloin on fresh baby spinach, black truffle and bitter sour sauce.
Sweet and savory treats on the verandah overlooking the South China Sea will be indulged on Christmas Day as part of Classic Afternoon Tea from 3.30-6.30pm.
A four-course champagne dinner featuring bubbles from Ruinart, a French champagne house established in 1729, will be hosted by Ruinart Ambassador Christopher Kennedy on Thursday, December 29 for a maximum of 18 guests.
The Sanchaya will begin to usher in the new year with Bellinis and canapés at the wine, cheese and cigar lounge The Salon and Library, housing birdcage chandeliers, pith helmets and large brown tufted Davenport sofas and a vast selection of handpicked books.
The six-course New Year’s Eve dinner held by the beach will include dishes such as ‘Botan Ebi carpaccio with micro cress, Andaliman pepper lemon, Habanero chili and grape seed oil’ and ‘New Zealand Cervena venison loins seared with Kampot black pepper, cognac callebaut chocolate reduction, creamy mash potato and zucchini’, and an array of desserts. Fireworks and a live band will round out the evening.
The Sanchaya’s sommelier has crafted a ‘Festive Ketimun’ gin-based cocktail with a touch of Pimm’s No. 1, a creamy, vodka-based ‘Santa’s Lady’ cocktail with a hint of raspberry and a ‘Sunset Mango Slush’ mocktail to be enjoyed throughout the program.
For further details, contact The Sanchaya on +62 770 692200 or its toll-free number 3156 3661, or email reservations@thesanchaya.com.
The ‘Aroma Journey’ wine tasting is priced at USD 100++. The December 22, 2016 wine dinner costs USD 150++. The Christmas Day Classic Afternoon Tea is USD 46++. The Ruinart champagne dinner’s participation fee is USD 175++. The Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners are priced at USD180++ and USD 300++ respectively.
