Despite working at KLCC (a stone’s throw away from Ascott) and having heard good things about SevenAteNine, I have never been to the place until this. I invited Michelle to join me for dinner. Michelle is actually one of the first persons I got to know through this blog from more than three years ago, and it had been quite a while since we last play catch up over a meal.

very posh interior, Guinness-infused menu

As with Cafe Chulo at Jaya One, Ronnie Q at Bangsar, and Gypsy WIne & Bar at Changkat Bukit Bintang I reviewed recently, SevenAteNine is running the Guinness-infused Christmas main course promotion until the end of the year. It works like this (just in case you missed the previous entries):

• order a Guinness-infused Christmas main course
• fill up a voucher with your details
• tear it in half and give the side with your details to the restaurant to redeem a small pint of Guinness Draught
• keep the other half of the voucher to get RM12 off 3 pint of Guinness Draught on next visit

KY, Guinness, and Michelle

SevenAteNine is a rather posh restaurant with very tastefully decorated interior, there are proper dining tables as well as sofas (more for drinking) arranged in fully indoor or semi alfresco settings. We picked a quiet corner upstairs and started browsing the menu.

Curiously, a plate of papadem with chili sauce instead of chips and salsa as tidbits, a little closer to home I suppose.

papedem and warm salad with foie gras

We ordered a serving of warm salad with foie gras as appetizer, lamb cutlet and Guinness-infused beef ribs as main, and a creme brulee as dessert to share.

I have been ordering foie gras whenever I have a chance since I first tasted the delicacy at Zipangu. The simplistic appetizer came with 2 slabs of fattened goose liver, salad, balsamic vinegar, and a few slices of strawberry. The foie gras was pretty good, though it could be served slightly less cooked, but still it did not disappoint and went well with the salad and balsamic vinegar. The bitter after taste of Guinness Draught complements the rich and creamy taste of foie gras perfectly.

lamb cutlet and Guinness-infused beef ribs

The lamb cutlet is prepared with a choice of medium or well done and served with potato, bell pepper, long beans, and some herbs. The taste was certainly pretty good and at least on par with those I had at Gaucho Grill. Juicy and full of flavor.

The Guinness-infused beef ribs, however, is another animal altogether (I apologize for the pun). A rather generous slab of ribs served cooked with a good deal of influence from Guinness Draught served with beetroot, coriander, and balsamic vinegar. Certainly a signature of the Chef in Black with its more complex and sophisticated taste. I like it.

the excellent creme brulee

The dessert picked by Michelle made a perfect conclusion to the excellent meal. A generous amount of some sweet liquid that smells of alcohol is poured onto the dish and set alight just prior to serving. The creme brulee came in three flavors, sweet, creamy, chocolaty, with a pretty strong taste of alcohol. It was very, very good, a must order if you are there.

SevenAteNine is located at Ascott KL

SevenAteNine is a proper fine dining restaurant, and thus with the good food and nice ambiance come the slightly upper class pricing. The two main dishes were priced RM 49.70 each, warm salad foie gras at 39.70 (pretty decent price for the ingredients), and creme brulee RM 19.70. With other drinks (Guinness comes free with the meal), service charges and taxes, the bill came to just under RM 230.

Address:
No. 9, Jalan Pinang
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GPS: 3.154967, 101.710589
Tel: 03-2161 7789

Tags:  creme brulee,  foie-gras,  guinness,  lamb,  michelle

Posted by KY | 45 Comments »

I had been anticipating my second Friday Wine Lunch ever since the first installment at Carat Club last month, so when Lenny from Millennium Associates invited me to Chinoz a couple weeks ago, I was overjoyed.

Nigel Dolan, chief wine maker, Wyndham Estate

The Friday Wine Lunch at Chinoz was hosted by Wyndham Estate, and organized by Millennium Associates with Pernod Ricard Malaysia. We were lucky enough to have Nigel Dolan, the chief wine maker from WE to join us for the session.

Lionel Lau and Chris Low who blogs at the cork brothers played excellent hosts, while Eiling, Gareth, Kim, and I were joined a few dozen Friday Wine Lunch regulars in this session.

foie gras bon bon, wild mushroom consomme oxtail ravilioli

We started off with soup, the Wild Mushroom Consomme with Oxtail Ravioli paired with chilled Wyndham Estate Bin555 Sparkling Chiraz. I actually liked the soup quite a lot, it kinda carry stronger mushroom and a weak marmite taste to it. The texture of oxtail ravioli and it’s rather raw meaty taste gives the soup a very strong contrast. The sparkling wine washes the soup down just nice.

Next up was foie gras bon bon with caramelized apple. I love foie gras, and while this dish tasted pretty good, the portion left me with somewhat unsatisfied cravings. We had Wyndham Estate Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot to go with it. Cabernet Merlot is one of the earliest wines I’ve tasted back when I was in the states working in a restaurant, memory of yesteryear rushed back as I sipped the wine, not unlike the effect you get from listening to an old song on radio.

Confit of Salmon with poached oyster

We were given a choice of two main dishes and I went with the salmon. The color of the fillet captured my attention as soon as I set eyes on it, still bright orange and just very, very lightly cooked with minimal salt or any other spices to preserve its natural sweetness. It was so good I savored every single bite of it. The poached oyster adds character to the dish as well.

Fish is often paired with white wine, and it was not surprising that Wyndham Estate Show Reserve Chardonnay is chosen for this dish.

Oven roasted Beef Fillet and Green Tea and White Chocolate Mousse

Wyndham Estate Show Reserve Shiraz, the last of the 4 types of wine for the session, is paired with the other main dish – the oven roasted beef fillet, which was a little too tough and too cooked for my liking. However, I did enjoy the Show Reserve Shiraz and took liberty in having a couple glasses before the session is over.

The green tea and white chocolate moose concluded the meal in a sweet note. The two types of moose served in (surprisingly delicious) chocolate cups. I had another Shiraz with this.

Eiling and I, group photo with Nigel, Chris, and the gang

It was a very good lunch session and I would like to thank Lenny for the invitation. Friday wine lunch usually falls on the last Friday of the month, you can check with Millennium Associates for more information.

Address:
G47 Suria KLCC
Petronas Twin Towers
50200 Kuala Lumpur City Centre
GPS: 3.157581, 101.712102
Tel: 03-2166 8277

Tags:  beef,  eiling,  foie-gras,  friday wine lunch,  gareth,  kimberly,  klcc,  oyster,  salmon,  wine

Posted by KY | 19 Comments »

To commemorate my last day of work at KL and the hot chick’s vacation back to Malaysia. I decided that we should have a nice dinner at more exclusive place, a fine dining experience that is worthy of the occasion. It wasn’t difficult to choose Cilantro at Micasa Hotel, consistently voted as one of the best restaurants in KL. So I made the reservation last Tuesday and we headed downtown last Saturday night.

nice ambiance, truffle butter and the tiger prawn with fish roe

Micasa Hotel is not exactly easy to find, I would have been unfashionably late if I didn’t have trusted N95’s GPS navigation system guiding me to the restaurant. The somewhat hidden location gives an exclusive feel to the restaurant, the ambiance is very nice with the minimalistic deco, a Zen like environment.

Our waiter was very good, giving us the specials of the day and explaining the dishes in a professional manner. I ordered the dishes based on suggestions by Kelvin (who probably spent a small fortune dining there over the years). While waiting for our first dish to be served, we had some bread with the truffle butter. We were also served the excellent tiger prawn with fish roe, complimentary from the chef.

wagyu tartar (raw beef) and foie gras unagi

For starters, we had the Wagyu Tartare and Foie Gras Unagi. The wagyu tartare came with anchovy toast, egg mollet and Aioli sauce. Having been missing the raw beef sashimi I had in Tokyo, I just had to order this dish. The aioli sauce goes very well with the raw beef and egg, and the contrasting texture provided by the toast makes this dish such a delight to chew down.

The Foie Gras Unagi was very rich. Two generous slab of lightly cooked foie gras sandwiched between the grilled eel gives a very oily and rich texture that is best had with the accompanying salad. This dish is perfect for someone who loves fatty taste (in a good way).

wagyu with wasabi crust and duck breast with foie gras

For our main dish, I had the foie gras with duck breast while the hot chick had wagyu beef with wasabi crust. I had been missing foie gras since the Zipangu experience more than 2 months ago, so a generous slab of foie gras was not to be missed. The duck breast was really great, so succulent and tender. I had never imagined duck meat to taste as good as this, coupled with the foie gras and a piece of radish and some vegetable for contrasting texture and character, it was just perfect.

The wagyu beef with wasabi crust was served with some seared mushrooms. I had a taste and thought it was excellent as well, the beef so tender you could cut it just using the spoon. The crust gave it a more sophisticated taste. The mushrooms were equally as good. However, I suggest against choosing the combination of Foie Gras Unagi and the Wagyu as the combination can be a little too rich.

chocolate cupcake with earl grey ice cream

After the very satisfying main course, we ordered the chocolate cupcake with earl grey ice cream to share. If the appetizers and main dishes were excellent, the dessert was really out of this world. The chocolate cupcake has a molten core and the taste was just so good it was beyond words. Having the hot chocolate flows in your mouth while chewing some berries was just heaven on earth. The earl grey ice cream was quite unique though not too different from the green tea ice cream I had at Zipangu, it was very good.

The appetizers and main dishes were priced at around RM58 to RM68 while the dessert at RM32. With drinks, the associated tax and service charge, the dinner came to around RM361. Though it isn’t something I can afford on a regular basis, the experience was worth every cent.

Cilantro Restaurant at Micasa Hotel

By the way, Cilantro is closing at the end of the year as Micasa is geared for a year long renovation. They are set to open an outlet at Midvalley Gardens with the same chef, though there will be changes in the menu. There are only 3 weeks left if you are to have the Cilantro experience.

Address:
Micasa Hotel Apartments
368B Jalan Tun Razak,
Kuala Lumpur 50400
GPS: 3.156874, 101.722530
Tel: 03-2161 8833

Tags:  beef,  cupcake,  duck,  fine dining,  foie-gras,  french japanese,  hotel,  unagi,  wagyu

Posted by KY | 25 Comments »

A while back a reader of this humble blog was kinda enough send me a one day Shangri-La hotel prestige membership coupon. This coupon entails me to be treated as if I am one of those people who frequent this hotel chain enough to be given the membership, which also means I get to eat at the various restaurants in Shangri-La for up to 50% discount. I chose to go to Zipangu, the Japanese restaurant that has the reputation to be one of the finest in Klang Valley.

very classy design, and my membership coupon

The interior of the restaurant is most impressive. There is a huge selection of wine, with a dedicated room surrounded by walls made of wine cellars, there is even a dedicated cigar room. The ambiance is mellow and yet classy, no rowdy crowd nor screaming babies.

After checking out the menu, my old pal horny and me decided to order the set dinners as they look enticing, and probably one of the more affordable choices to experience the Japanese style haute cuisine. We ordered the beef teriyaki with tempura and the sushi set.

this foie gras appetizer is to die for

We were first served with a piece of tofu and some vegetable as starter. The texture of the tofu was somehow closer to cheese than tofu and really has the added sophistication. Then came the soup with a slice of lime and some mushroom that carries a tangy taste that I usually don’t associate with hot soup, it was very good nonetheless.

The next item on the menu was foie gras. I have heard and read about this French delicacy for a while now and this was the first time I came face to face with it. For the uninitiated, foie gras: “the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by gavage” (as defined by French law).” It was served on a piece of winter melon and lightly seared. The texture is akin to butter and yet just ever slightly more solid. The taste was subtle but yet so good, it was as like a taste I never knew existed. Kinda like the first time you had orgasm, just new, exciting, and addictive (if your wallet is fat enough). You just have to try it.

beef teriyaki with tempura, sushi set with very fatty cuts (best)

The main dish did not disappoint either, the beef teriyaki and tempura was succulent and the sauce that came with the meat so delicious horny was basically in cloud 9. As for the ten pieces of sushi on my plate, I can tell you that I had never had sushi this good before, you could see from the picture that the salmon cut was from the belly, and so was the tuna. It was of course, very fresh, and absolutely delectable.

map of Shangri-La Hotel at KL

Even after the 50% discount, the bill came to around RM 200. However, it was really a dining experience that is worth every cent. They serve buffet lunch on Sunday for around the same price as Jogoya I believe. I must bring the hot chick there one of these days.

Address:
Shangri-la Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.152139, 101.709419
Tel: 03-2032 2388

Tags:  cuisine,  foie-gras,  goose-liver,  Japanese,  shangri-la,  sushi,  tempura,  teriyaki

Posted by KY | 16 Comments »