On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Embassy hosted its annual Seafood Gala Dinner. The Master of Ceremony, Mrs. Bridget Pereira from the Embassy, as well as the host, Ambassador Arild Braastad, had the pleasure of welcoming a record attendance of 640 guests. It featured the best of Norwegian seafood prepared by Frank Naesheim and his team of chefs, the MNBC Business Award and entertainment by Norwegian singer Karoline Krüger. The Guest of Honour for the evening was Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry.
The Seafood Gala Dinner took place at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The seafood was shipped by plane from Norway and prepared by the team of chefs in Norwegian and Asian cooking styles.
Malaysia Norway Business Council announced the winner of its 2009 Innovation Award. The award went to DiGi. The prize was handed over to CEO Johan Dennelind by the Guest of Honour.
Karoline Krüger, a renowned Norwegian entertainer and singer, also performed during the event. Accompanied by Atle Halstensen on piano, Krüger amazed the audience with a varied mixture of songs reflecting her complexity as an artist.
The evening was concluded with the traditional Charity Draw, where a lucky winner was awarded a ticket to Norway with SAS. The revenues from the charity draw will be donated to the Living Hope Organizations “One Egg One Child”-program. The programs aim is to provide impoverished children in rural areas of Malaysia with a meal every single school day.