Kampungkayell

Food, life, and fun in my "kampung,"(village), KL (Kuala Lumpur). Did I mention "food?"


(Not Halal) Dragon-I, The Curve, an invited review for their Hairy Crab Promotion

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

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"What are you doing for lunch on Saturday?" chirps her madge! (Yes I know, "Her Madge" is used to describe some OTHER celebrity, but while I LURVE THAT "madgesty" in all her incarnations, this one is someone I actually know and she is the Queen of DSLRs)

"Nothing...I think" waiting with bated breath to be invited to some scintillating soiree. Her "Madgesty" did not disappoint. "Would you like to go to Dragon-I as my date for an invited restaurant review?"

Would YOU say no? Of course not!

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At 1140am on Saturday (just a little late) as I lug my laptop tote with me, not wanting to leave it in the car, I trundle into Dragon-I and am greeted cheerfully by Kong Wai Keong, the Public Relations(PR) consultant for Dragon-I restaurants.

A word about Dragon-I restaurants from a layman's point of view. I'm not certain what their PR blurb states but they look like a place which caters to a diverse family oriented group. Kong mentioned that the word is "affordable luxury" when designing the hairy crab menu. Something which seems to be a bit of a catchphrase with many establishments these days. At RM128 nett per person (min of 3 persons), I'm not certain if that's on the more "luxurious" side of "affordable." Especially in this day and age when spending is still verging on the careful. As a comparison, Chef Max at IHaus, serves a 5 course menu which includes Black Cod and Wagyu Beef at RM120+(yes, the single Plus is deliberate).

Having said that, the ambiance in Dragon-I is contemporary oriental and the mini terracotta warriors bring a touch of the ancient to the 21st century family restaurant. I liked it.

We started with a Double Boiled Superior Chicken soup which uses a highly prized chinese ingredient of "yue piu" or the fish bladder. It just doesn't sound as good in English. The soup also had bamboo pith in it which provides a lovely textural crunch against the backdrop of sweet and savoury broth. A broth should provide some bite to show that bones AND meat have gone into its making. That bite is the slight gelatinous edge from the melted collagen that all good broths have. It shouldn't just be watery. And this was a very good example of a Double Boiled soup. There tasted like there was enough, as the cantonese put it, "breath of wok" in it.

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The jade green "siew pak choy" with the crab "sauce", while nice was forgettable. This is not necessarily a bad thing. At the end of the day, a lunch/dinner about Hairy Crabs should be about, well, the Hairy Crabs and not everything else.

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Shanghainese Dumplings with crabmeat and roe was served beautifully in their own little carryalls. Along with the exquisitely julienned pieces of ginger in dark chinese vinegar, I felt that presentation, in Dragon-I plays a large part in it's appeal. As they say, you eat with your eyes first. The skin was a little thicker than I would have liked but the soup inside was warm (which I liked) as opposed to the usual scaldingly hot, and the little roe on top was a nice savoury counterpoint. Ciki loved her dumpling with LOADS of cilipadi.

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The "yong chow" fried rice was decently done and as mentioned to Kong, I was not overly fond of the prawns being dipped in bicarb of soda. It leeches out flavour and leaves you with one bouncy prawn. Having said that the rice grains were distinct and fluffy with sufficient bite. Its tough to get Fried Rice wrong but this one ran middle of the pack.

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The star of the show was really put on display when the captain came over, snapped on some rubber gloves and promptly began dismembering one of the hirsute crustaceans. It was all very deftly and cleverly done and at the end they rearranged it all on the plate like the little bugger had never died. Which if you've noticed, is such a different aesthetic to western cuisine. Everything in Eastern cuisine is all about freshness and maintaining the look of the critter even unto serving on a plate. The crab, as you can see, looks like the crab. Western cuisine however, is vastly different in it's aesthetic sense and can range from verite to nouveau and even art deco/Jackson Pollack. Sometimes one wonders how the western sensibility drifted from the true-to-nature to the disfigured/molded/cut/shaped aesthetic that we have today. Remember the roast pig with the apple in it's mouth?

Furthermore, there are analysts' reports written about Hong Kong's economy being on the mend because of the booming sales of Hairy Crabs. Quite amazing that a little critter like that could be a bellweather for an asian economy.
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On to the important bits. What does a hairy crab taste like? Well, like a crab. I am told that connoiseurs of this particular crustacean value it for the "roe" in the body. The meat is sweet but generally this isn't a meat crab as it is quite small. What there is of it is tasty, firm and flaky, but it's still crab. The roe on the other hand is quite special I am told. Did I mention the meat tastes like crab? The roe, though, is unctuous, very rich, fragrant in a crabby way, and definitely leaving quite an aftertaste on your tongue. It's debatable whether it's actually roe as in egg or roe as in crab sperm, as this roe is generally found in abundance in male crabs. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter. But believe whichever makes you feel more comfortable as you suck the body dry. The jury is out on whether I liked it. But it was definitely an experience.
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Dessert was predictably my favourite bit. I love Tong Yuen. I've never met a glutinous rice ball stuffed with a sweet, savoury, sesame (say that fast 5 times) filling I never liked. Especially in a ginger tea. As I wondered how to take the best picture of my smooth, glossy balls, FBB very kindly offered to help me hold mine. I felt I needed to return the gesture and he in turn again, very sweetly held kampungboy's while he did the needful. All very giving. Unfortunately, Ms Lyrical Lemongrass, her madge, had to hold her own. Yes, she got a pair too.

There were many food bloggers/floggers in attendance. Kyspeaks, kampungboycitygal, cumidanciki, her madge, and of course Fatboybakes, to name a few.
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Waiter Service was exemplary. And since this is not the first time I've been, I can safely say it is something that has been consistent in my experience. Also, I've had some very decent food at Dragon-I restaurants before. I absolutely adore their salted egg custard buns. As to whether or not at RM128 nett per person (min of 3 persons), is worth your while only you can judge. I personally felt that the menu was rather prosaic for that price. Having said that, everything was beautifully presented, and the show of having your hairy crab presented to you, very interesting. To a certain extent, you are paying for the experience as well as the food. So keep that in mind when choosing to spend your dollar here. The Hairy Crab promotion is on now. Thank you very much Dragon I and Kong Wai Keong of PR Kraft for having me.

Dragon-I Restaurant
The Curve
LLot 136 & 137, 1st Floor
0377286888

Octoberfestavali (Coined by Cheng Yi) 2009

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Octoberfestavali, a most appropriate Malaysian celebration, combines Octoberfest (where Germans' drink) and Deepavali, which of course, the Hindus in our community have just celebrated; a triumph of good over evil. And with apologies to our Hindu brethren, we felt that alcohol is always a good cleanser especially when you consume copious amounts of the good spirits...of single malt. To that end, FBB organises a party to end all parties. A party that will go down in the annals (please don't twist that word FBB) of flogger history, at least in our own little corner of Flogdom, as one of the most hip and happening dos that we've ever had.

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It turned out that it was Frat Mustard's birthday as well. An occasion he had celebrated over the weekend (with tequila) even before he got to the official Octoberfestavali do. Nothing a little hair of the dog didn't cure. Although, his ever enduring wife, Mrs Frat Mustard seemed to be quite understanding of the hijinx hubby got up to. It was also an honour to met Mrs Frat for the first time. I was beginning to think he deliberately hid her from us. ;-) Frat, please bring Mrs Frat for all future dos.

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FBB, Jun of Cordon Bleu-Rousillon-St Pierre fame, and Joe, who very generously brought along some great "chi pau kei", provided the food and some of the best Chicken Pie I've ever had. Flaky puff pastry, creamy filling filled with chunks of chicken.

FBB also made a great cake he named specially for Frat. Filled with cream and little seeds of passion fruit, not surprisingly called Jack Off Pavlova. Nangka, passion fruit and cream is truly a combination from the mind of a passionate genius. There were LOTS of little seeds. Considering Frat has twins, I thought it was rather appropo.

My Allan also brought a lovely test cake. I hope I will soon be able to put that up on my Just Heavenly Menu. We're thinking of calling it Chocolate Threesome or Chocolate Trilogy. Although for obvious reasons, the former would be certain to tickle peoples' fancy more. A layer of Chocolate Souffle Cake eaten cold (so it's slightly fudgy), a layer of chocolate mousse, and topped with a layer of white chocolate mousse. Ummm...nothing like Chocolate smeared all over your tongue and over your tastebuds and down your throat. It certainly starts making you ooze all sorts of endorphins.

The food and/or occasions that we find to have parties are really more excuses to gather with a group of crazy, loving, generous souls who revel in each others' company and just generally have a whale of a time when they breathe the same air. We laugh, mostly. Drink, a lot. And then promptly do it again the very next time an opportunity presents itself. Food blogging has never been more fun.

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Especially, when it's really about the people.

Bangkok - from the mundane to the sublime

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Roll 1043We indulged in the whole spectrum.


From Pizza in a chain restaurant all the way to Royal Thai.Roll 1044

From Grasshopper street food to Ruen Mallika.

And Pad Thai in a "Thai Gourmet" place (very ordinary) in Emporium Mall to Jim Thompson's Restaurant on the river.

And of course, the obligatory Sticky Rice with Mango, which, when all was said and done, was disappointing. The best I'd ever had was from a street vendor in Phuket many years ago in a different life. The sticky rice was soft, but chewy, and creamy with that coconutty flavour and the mango was perfectly ripe. Sweet. Succulent. Sigh.

MK Restaurants provides a great, healthy hotpot but this hotpot can be found anywhere in Asia. The only differentiating thing was the unctuous sauce. But even then you know it wasn't authentic Thai Roll 1045but had Thai accents. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.Roll 1046

The cakes in the higher end malls were surprisingly good if surprisingly expensive. Take away counters abounded, even our own Secret Recipe was there. But prices ranged from RM7.50 to RM12. And this for take away joints. Sit in and you could comfortably add another 20% to 30% to that.Roll 1047

If there is one thing I absolutely must do when I'm in Bangkok (besides scoping out for fresh sites to see) it's the pandan coconut that you can pick up from a street vendor for 20Baht or RM2. Divine. Slightly smoked. Ice cold. On a hot Bangkok day, it's the closest thing to standing under a cool, cascading, waterfall.


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Ruen Mallika
189 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Bangkok 10110
0-2663-3211-2

MK Restaurants
They're all over. We went to the one in MBK

The Pizza Company
Also all over Bangkok

The Emporium Bangkok
A High end shopping mall which has a decent food court and desserts



Voting for Nuffnang Awards now over

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Thanks for all who participated in the recently concluded Nuffnang Awards. Results will be announced on Friday 23 October 2009. I'm sort of assuming the results will be listed on Nuffnang's award website.


Fingers crossed for Lyrical Lemongrass and her blog A Whiff Of Lemongrass!

All the best Ms L!

Vote for www.awhiffoflemongrass.com for BEST FOOD BLOG

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

We're in the home stretch.


Alilfatmonkey, who's neither little, nor fat, created the badge you see on the left.

Nuffnang is closing the voting on 11 October. So as of today, we have less than 2 days left to vote for the BEST FOOD BLOG for the Region.

I thoroughly believe that Lyrical Lemongrass deserves the nod.

Yes, she's a friend. But if you read her blog you will know that she's passionate about her subject, is honest yet diplomatic, and has a hunky hubby! ;-)

What more could you ask for? So go to http://awards.nuffnang.com/votes.php and vote for an original!

Ensure you vote for ALL the categories. Or your vote won't be counted.

Elegant Inn, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P Ramlee

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Roll 70It was fantastic to meet someone so passionate about food. Jeanette Han, one of the owners of The Elegant Inn asked Kris of weddingsmalaysia.com to invite some wedding planners to review their new private rooms. Ann Lee, ever efficient AND insisting that we do a better job than her charming people, dragged us along. I think that's her ruse for company really. ;-) We get to Elegant Inn and it's obvious the waiters' have been briefed. We are ushered into a pleasant room, furnished quietly but well, Roll 701and we meet Jeanette, who immediately takes charge of the afternoon, informing us, very breezily, of the changes that have taken place and the food that we are about to eat as well as the nuances of their philosophy on food. In short, she definitely leans toward slow food but as realistically as it can be applied in Malaysia. Provenance of food is obviously important and contrasts and balance of flavour, as well as texture, and presentation are all meticulously taken into account. We started out with some awesome starters and if I go into detail about every course, we'll be writing a thesis. So instead, I will let Roll 702the photos do the talking and I will elaborate on dishes I particularly enjoyed. I should say that I enjoyed all the dishes but in the interests of brevity, I will go ahead and highlight the exceptional ones.I was thoroughly impressed as to the delicacy of the presentation. Very contemporary and flavours were very well balanced and textures made it very interesting on the palate. I absolutely adored the soup. Sweet corn on the cob, pork ribs, figs, and all sorts of good stuff crammed this bowl to the extent that the soup was sweet, savoury, meaty, and everything a good cantonese broth Roll 703should be. There are a few types of soups in the Chinese pantheon of cuisine. Your clear soups (which are simmered for hours and hours) and the thickened "kang" which uses this broth and thickens it with arrowroot starch. I'm a good Eurasian/Cantonese boy. And I LOVEADORE a good soup. And this was one heckuva doozy! Next came the Kobe Beef which was like...repeat after me...BUDDAH!. Omigod. "Melt on your tongue" has this picture of it next to the definition in the dictionary. Just amazing. Desserts, a particular favourite of mine, also featured largely in this spread. Some interesting, others Roll 704yummy, but always with that particular emphasis on taste, texture, provenance, and presentation. All in all HIGHLY RECOMMENDED but expect to pay a premium. Having said that, all their prosaic dishes are very affordable and you should be able to get away with a generous weekday meal here at around RM50 to RM60 per person.



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In an email from Kezia of Elegant Inn, she had this to say :-)

"The lunch menu was RM1076+, for your info Kobe was almost half the bill and by normal standard we have also overordered the desserts. This menu is also suitable for dinner, with Kobe RM120+, without Kobe RM65+ per pax.
Lunching at Elegant Inn, with dim sum averaging RM30-40+ per pax and dinner is from RM60+ per pax or less for simple dinner."

Not bad really. Again the food was yummy!

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block,
Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P. Ramlee,
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2070 9399

Sipadan-a spiritual journey (Pics in the links)

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

We arrive on Mabul after losing a bag at the hands of Malaysian Airlines. Notwithstanding the fact that they have systems to retrieve it, it shouldn't have happened.

Our checkout dive on the housereef was uneventful. Or eventful, depending on how you look at it. A 5 foot garoupa swimming 3 feet away from you and catching you in it's backwash is eventful, isn't it?

Jun, Allan and I were listed as going to Sipadan the very next day.

The weather held.

Sun, blue sky, and a relatively calm sea. The salt tang of the Celebes in our faces and the warmth of father sun on our backs.

Same old rigmarole. The part I hate.

Zip up wetsuit. Bend over slightly and throw weight belt over your back and cinch it tight. Dislocate your shoulder to fit your arms through a Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) already fixed to a tank of air; your lifeline. Tubes and protrusions sticking out the end of everything. It's all you can do not to tie yourself in knots. Check first stage. Sound like Darth Vader. Good. Check second stage. Still sounding like Darth Vader. Air? 240Bar. Contort yourself into your fins and snap on your mask. Hope that said mask doesn't fog up and you've hawked up enough spit to prevent it. At this point, I'm grateful that my hair is usually shaved into the bathroom sink. Having a mask pull your hair out is the next worst thing to being waxed.

Clamber, crawl, lift yourself up with size 30 feet/flippers onto a small bench while the boat is rocking, sometimes gently, sometimes like a crazy 5 year old about to take off, and yell "CLEAR?" and wait for a response from someone looking the other direction. Then roll back, the cool, blue water envelops you and you bob up, tap your head for the "all clear" signal and wait.

Check for your buddy at this point, give the "descend" sign, pull the BCD's in/deflation tube up and release the air and you start to sink beneath the waves.

Peace. Beyond the hissing and burbling of your breathing, there is silence. As you near the bottom, you double click your BCD with a hishhish and your arrest your freefall.

You're weightless and suspended. A single quick kick is sufficient to move you along. And most of the time, that's how I move. Single slow kicks to get to the next clump of reef or coral to view the next wonder of God.

The sights you see are really the icing on the cake. That feeling of weightlessness and the spirit of exploration of a world in which we are the aliens takes you out of yourself. Puts you into a place that you're just a visitor. And it's humbling. In all of God's Universe, there is a place so near to home where you can see His wonders and know that He is There.

From the smallest crustacean to the largest Turtle we've seen, the hand of God, the unknowable and ineffable, is present. The breathtaking views of Barracuda schooling, Jacks racing past you to an unknown destination, Flamboyant cuttlefish pulsating to the lambada, the experience of diving is spiritual. You spend time listening to your own breathing and marvelling at the wonders He hath wrought.

Then you have the opportunity to surface and on the next day, do it all over again.

Shark's Fin House, Jalan Imbi

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Roll 496One fine Monday evening, we stepped out with Mo Lin with the wind in our, well, eyebrows, and roared down to The Marc Residence in Jalan Pinang.

We attended the "I♡KL" event held in Delicious at the Marc. And it was the biggest agglomeration of people in white that I've seen in a long time.

The event was organised by Randomalphabets.com for no other reason than to have Malaysians from every walk of life gather and have a good time. Basically, a way to promote civil society. The idea, I believe, is that if people know each other, they won't spend time fighting with each other. AND, it also benefitted some charities, one of which was the SPCA.

Roll 492Since it was rather packed and the opportunity arose to have dinner at Shark's Fin House, we decided to skip the buffet (after some lovely Passion Fruit Marshmallows at the Buffet in Delicious) and headed on out to Jalan Imbi where the aforesaid restaurant is located.

The restaurant was taken over recently by The Oriental Group and redone. Kudos to the group for knowing how to target their restaurants. They live by the axiom "Locationlocationlocation" and they tweak every one of their restaurants according to that idea. This one is no different in that respect.

Roll 491The minute you walk in under the canopy, you know the type of restaurant that you're walking into. Clean,Roll 495 contemporary, but catering to a chinese market. The type that grew up in traditionally chinese households who follow cantopop, ginza fashion, and speak mandarin and chinese on a daily basis. The type that values sharks fin for weddings and considers it a luxury item to be enjoyed periodically. Not something I agree with which is why we didn't have any shark's fin that night.
Roll 493We started with two choices of a starter. What Allan's aunty calls "teeteetahptahp." Sorta the sounds you make crunching and smacking your lips to whet your appetite. Except in this instance, it was a free choice with the menu that we chose.

Roll 494One appetizer we chose was 3 types of mushrooms sauteed with their special sauce. Tasted of oyster sauce as the base. And the other a Thai cuttlefish with a green chilli and lime sauce. Yum!

Next up was this deep fried codfish with a pomelo sauce, and a Braised Pei Pa Egg Taufu with Crabmeat. Yum. What's not to like with deep fried battered fish with a sweet tangy sauce filled with little bursts of pomelo sacs.


From a fish course to meat; a charcoal grilled pork ribs. Tender, flavourful. As only SLOW COOKED ribs can be. The Hiong Ha Meen Pok was a lovely almost "chai" (Vegetarian) take on the broad wheat flour noodles. Very simply done but great texture and NOT gloppy. A pet peeve.

Dessert was a "Kwai Ling Ko" with a sugar syrup, Hasma(Frogs glands) boiled in Papaya with Almond Milk, and Mango Pomelo "Chowder." I only use the word "chowder" because that's the closest texture that comes to mind.

I did spy with mine little eye that prices for combo menus started at around RM38++ per person and went upwards from there. A very value oriented pricing strategy. All in all a great evening of giggles with good food and good friends.

Shark's Fin House (Formerly Yu Jia Restaurant)
No. 51, Jalan Barat, Off Jalan Imbi , 55100 KL
Tel: 03- 2143 9966 Fax: 03- 2143 8966 :-)








Dinner & Ramadhan Menus at Bangsar Seafood (HALAL)

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

"What la you! I've been here for 30 minutes waiting for you on my own already! I'm heartbroken!" So sings the oft repeated refrain from A2, otherwise known as toyboy(not mine, he's taken). I've warned him about crying wolf too often but to no avail. And he does it so charmingly, so I play along.

Roll 393Fatboybakes had arranged a food review with Bangsar Seafood Centre on request from their Public Relations Consultant and had put together a flogroll of about 20 odd people to say something about the food. As is usual with this crowd, honesty is the best policy. So we were asked to write about what we had and what we liked.

In addition to that, these occasions are also great opportunities to meet new floggers/bloggers and for old friends to reconnect. So there we were having a rip-roaring time, especially thanks to Paranoid Android and Frat Mustard ( the one who brings his ceramic avatar everywhere) because of their generous contribution of a few bottles of the most amazing amber nectar, uisge beatha or 'water of life.'

Roll 392As with all dinners like this, the menu is varied and at Bangsar Seafood, presentation is always given importance. I particularly like the vegetable carvings and the "go-for-height" aesthetics that the chefs practice. The omelette was particularly interesting in this regard with a stalk of spring onion speared right through the 10 pieces.

I absolutely adored the Butter crab (butter is the secret of the Universe) and the salted egg crab (and salt is the other) as well as the Stewed Cabbage with Dried Scallops. The Curried Roll 391Prawns were also amazing and the sauce was creamy & curried, redolent of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. It was just heaven to sop it up with a little of the "mantou" at the end. I got them to save the sauce in a bowl for our table.

The rest of the dishes were home cooked fare, well presented. Bangsar Seafood Centre also has a Ramadhan promotion for buka puasa. For some of the menus, there is a free gift of 1kg of crabs.

IMG_2258Yes, Ramadhan Menus. That's the beauty of Bangsar Seafood. It's certified halal. Not just pork free. More and more there is a market for good, chinese food catering to our muslim brethren and for those who might find that important, its comfort on a very personal level.

Service has always been decent and customers are given good value. Come here with the family. :-)

Dine in style, this Ramadan:
Enjoy 9 signature dishes. Devour 1 KG of crabs for free.
Fom RM 498+

RM 498+: Appetizer, Shark’s Fin Soup, Chicken with Ginger, Spicy Fried
Fish, Lychee Prawns, Signature Beancurd, ‘Kampung’ fried rice, Custard
Buns, Dessert

RM 598+: Appetizer, Sharks Fin Soup, Chicken with Plum Sauce, Pomfret with
Bean Sauce, Prawns with Sweet Corn Sauce, Steamed “Sang Gan”, Tom Yam> Noodles, Banana with “Gula Melaka”, Dessert

RM 698+: Appetizer, Double boiled soup, Roast chicken, Red snapper, Otak
Otak Fried Prawns, Braised Sea Cucumber, Oyster Fried Rice, Chinese
Pastries, Dessert

Roll 39RM 898+: Homemade appetizers, Sharks Fin Soup with Pumpkin, Boneless Duck,
Curried Garoupa, Braised Seafood, Mango Prawns, Garlic Fried Rice, Banana
& ‘Gula Melaka’, Dessert

Bangsar Seafood Centre
63, One Bangsar
Jalan Ara
Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2282 2555

Sage in The Gardens - Lyrical Lemongrass's almost-quite SURPRISE birthday party

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Roll 426Sage is a restaurant conceptualised and started by the Chef of the old Cilantro. Put that together with bunch of food bloggers bent on treating a dear one to a surprise birthday luncheon and you have a recipe for carnage. Either that or an orgy! What with the moans and groans from around the table, you would think that sex had been replaced by food.

Wait...

That's the case with this bunch actually!

But Sage is perfectly placed for food orgasms. Its luxe lunching (saw that phrase somewhere and I had to use it) at its best in Kuala Lumpur. The ingredients are always an adventure (like the Jerusalem Artichokes made into a creamy veloute for the starter). For RM100 you embark on a culinary sexual escapade with partners from all around the world. From Sashimi grade JapaneseRoll 423 scallops to buttery melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu beef cheeks and French style Bavarian creams using English Earl Grey served on a steamy Malaysian afternoon with Spanish sounding sorbets, your palate is teleported around the world on a platter.

For RM100 nett in a comfortable, contemporary setting which isn't the least bit pretentious, you have a world class food experience. Everything is of the best quality but quietly so. People who "dress" like this favours Bottega Venetta. No ostentatious brand logos all over the place. Just quiet confident quality.

The Vichyssoise of Scallop with Grated Summer Truffle was as delicate as it was pale. Served at the perfect temperature of cold refrigerator water, it was creamy, had a great contrast of textures and temperatures and the taste; delicate, soft, Roll 424earthy, sweet, but possessed of a delicious light unctuousness. I thought it was pureed celeriac but it turned out to be pureed jerusalem artichokes instead. I'm so glad I chose this over the more usual Foie Gras. Don't get me wrong; I love Foie Gras. But I know what it's supposed to taste like. I like trying new stuff.

Roasted Seabass with King Prawn and Sauteed Mushrooms showcased everything that was good about the ingredients. Not the most scintillatingly entertaining dish in terms of imagination but it was a solid, wonderfully tasty dish of sweet Chilean Seabass and technically flawlessRoll 425 technique of cooking.

Dessert, was insane. Texture, combination of flavours, the contrast of temperatures, the presentation. Siggghhhhhh....Ummmmm, aaaahhhhhhh, oooooooo. The Earl Grey Bavarois with a Chocolate Sorbet and a Ginger Confiture, although a mouthful to name, was a masterpiece. A Bavarois is traditionally a creme patissiere (custard cream) which is set with gelatin. Many times it can come out too firm. Almost bouncy. This one was wobbly, it had enough body to barely sit on the spoon while having some bulgy sides (guys with love handles would absolutely know what I mean) and it just slipped, literally, into your mouth, began melting, and slid like the most IMG_2460luscious cream past your tastebuds and down your throat. The Bergamot was a hint wafting up your nose, the tea came through, the chocolate sorbet had that touch of grittiness that was the textural counterpoint to the silken smoothness of the bavarois. The only disappointment (and I say this to nitpick rather than as a recommendation) was the ginger confiture. It was a clever name but my expectation was set. Basically it was thin slices of ginger "pickled" in sugar and herbs/spices. The texture was a little tough. I would have preferred a light crunch contrast.

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All in all HIGHLY recommended for a great afternoon or evening of "luxe lunching" or "decadent dining" at night.

Sage Restaurant and Wine Bar
The Residences Level 6
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra
0322681328