One of the perks of running a food blog is having the opportunity to sample foods at restaurants that I typically wouldn’t walk in myself. This is due to the preconception that these restaurants must be really, really expensive, and there wouldn’t be anything I can afford to eat and then still feel it is okay to shit em out 12 hours later.

I know food would usually be of very good quality, but the prices are just not tallied with my income level just yet.

Mandarin Grill, at Mandarin Oriental KL
Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

Mandarin Grill is one such restaurants, so when I was contacted by the Nicole, the PR exec from Mandarin Oriental KL, it didn’t take me more than half a second to decide that this is one that I am going for sure. Since Sheryl and I both stayed in US and enjoyed good steak, I asked her to tag along with me to this review session.

Located at the space previously occupied by Pacifica at Mandarin Oriental, this restaurant is tastefully decorated. Gone are the funky colors and overly in-your-face deco at Pacifica, the ambiance at Mandarin Grill is a lot more relaxed with elegantly arranged pieces of furniture as well as artworks.

bread, scallop carpaccio, grilled sea bass
bread, scallop carpaccio, grilled sea bass

Like most fine dining restaurants, bread is served at the beginning. There were half a dozen interesting named breads on offer to go with their five spice and normal butter. They were good, but I only tried a bit to conserve stomach space.

Before even the appetizer is served, we were treated with a tidy plate of scallop carpaccio accompany with diced mango and a bit of “some other shellfish”. It was certainly fresh, and positively yummy.

The grilled sea bass was another one of those samplers in between appetizer and main course. The bread and these two samplers are both on the house, and depending the chef’s mood, you might get something completely different.

pumpkin and french onion soup at Mandarin Grill
pumpkin veloute and french onion soup

The ladies started off with soup. Sheryl had the pumpkin veloute (RM 32) that’s got this very interesting foam like texture that I’ve never tasted before. Nicole ordered the french onion soup (RM 32). To be honest, while the pumpkin veloute had a very interesting texture and tasted alright, I’m not sure if I liked it, a bit too strange for me.

Other soup on the menu were lobster bisque (RM 48) and tomato gazpacho (RM 32)

appetizer sampler
appetizer sampler – lobster, crab cake, smoked salmon loin

Instead of soup, I chose the Mandarin Grill appetizer sampler (RM 125), perfect choice for someone who can’t decide between the other choices on the menu. The smoked salmon loin was tender to the point that it is almost “tofu” like, crab cake was rich, but the slow cooked lobster tail was my favorite, very sweet and succulent.

The other two interesting looking appetizers on the menu were Angus steak tartar (RM 82) and foie gras au torchon (RM 82).

USDA tenderloin
USDA prime – 80% Angus, grain fed tenderloin

Then came the steak. Since I spent quite a lot of time in the States and sorely missed the steak there, I chose to go with the USDA prime – 80% Angus tenderloin 250g (RM 190).

The tenderloin looked like a big muffin. I sliced it with the super sharp steak knife and admired the color for a minute before sending the meat to my mouth. It was every bit as tasty as it looked, very succulent, with perfect texture and the taste of a good USDA prime that I missed so much. It was really, really good and definitely worth every sen of the RM 190 asking price.

To go with the steak, there are a wide selection of butter, vegetable, potatoes, and sauces. I picked giant asparagus and steamed broccoli.

1824 Australian grain fed steak
1824, Australia, grain fed 120 days, strip loin and ribeye

The girls had 1824 Australian grain fed strip loin 250g (RM 106) and ribeye 300g (RM 118). I had a bite of the strip loin and it too, was very good, but I still prefer my tenderloin though.

Other types of steak includes Master Kobe tenderloin and sirloin that goes for over RM 400 a piece, wagyu priced from RM 185 to RM 310, and even the jumbo 1kg T-bone at RM 320. They also offer lamb, veal, duck breast, and scallops.

Crème brûlée, Manjari Chocolate Ganache
Hazelnut Crème brûlée, Manjari Chocolate Ganache

I was already over full by the time I finished enjoying the excellent steak, but Nicole insisted that we must try their desserts.

With her recommendations we went for the hazelnut creme brulee and manjari chocolate ganache (all desserts priced at RM 32). It was seriously the best creme brulee I had, caramelized at the top layer and super flavorful underneath, with blueberry compote and yoghurt sorbet to go with it. Very rich and super delicious.

The manjari chocolate ganache is something a chocolate lover should not miss, I particularly like the chocolate sorbet.

Sheryl and KY at Mandarin Grill
Sheryl and KY at Mandarin Grill

To complete the dinner, I had a glass of red wine (they had a huge selection of wine). It was easily one of the best food review sessions I had, the ambiance, the food, and the company were all great.

I also learned that you don’t necessarily have to spend RM 300-500 per person to get a meal at these 5 star restaurants. If you keep it to the steak (which would feed me pretty good anyway) and perhaps share a starter or dessert, a meal for two could still be under RM 300-400.

I think I need to go there again.

map to Mandarin Oriental KL

map to Mandarin Oriental, KL

Address:
Mandarin Grill
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
50088 Kuala Lumpur

GPS: 3.155771, 101.711748
Tel: 03-2179 8960

Steaks at Mandarin Grill
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45 thoughts on “Steaks at Mandarin Grill

  • April 4, 2010 at 9:46 pm
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    wah so naiss! I like the wine glass you’re holding. wah drinking wine also horrrr?!!

    Reply
  • April 4, 2010 at 9:54 pm
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    really love the review u had and more to come. . .syiok. . .

    Reply
  • April 4, 2010 at 10:08 pm
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    Although I dun take beef, but it looks yummy to me 😛

    Reply
  • April 4, 2010 at 10:52 pm
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    eiling,
    hhahah yah!! learn from you 😛

    foodcrazee,
    it was awesome, i love it too!

    thenomadGourmand,
    well you can do it! just.. makan hawker food for the month. hehe

    Suertes,
    hahaha a bit kua cheong right 😛

    uLi,
    Yess, very yummeh!

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 1:29 am
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    everything looks perfect, so nice !!! maybe i should be a food blogger… hahah, but but then die die die loh, every month need buy need clothes, cos increase size!

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 2:50 am
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    They look delicious and presented well.

    Just that you know, grain fed is bad; it’s corn and is not natural diet for cattle. It tastes different from grass fed. The claim actually has the adverse effect.

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 8:35 am
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    dayum. it’s only breakfast time and i’m already salivating for the steak!

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 9:47 am
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    ky u use which camera for this review arks

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:15 am
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    Jess,
    Hahaha, I didn’t put on weight bah 😛

    knowYourFood,
    yah, taste different doesn’t mean taste worse, it could also mean tastes better! Btw all the chicken/duck/pig we ate had unnatural diet too. So are most vegetables.

    Yiling,
    ME TOO!

    JaCJaC,
    my 400D with off shoe flash. 😀

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:27 am
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    OMG steak tartare … OMG scallop carpaccio … OMG I’M SO HUNGRY RIGHT NOW x_x

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:35 am
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    Mellissa,
    go to lygon! now! lol

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:40 am
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    the pumpkin RM32 -________________-” but i m sure the texture makes u feel like a 3200! xD

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:42 am
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    very nicely written food review! ah, fine dining food always look so beautiful. Why do they have to cost so much? 😛

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:52 am
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    Cindy,
    Hehe try it then you’ll know lor.

    Chef Mel,
    Or, why don’t we make more monneh? lol

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 12:31 pm
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    Still can’t afford it yet, hmm maybe with financial year bonus, then it’s a different story. Haha.

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 12:58 pm
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    Still… RM300-400 for a meal like that is still expensive 😛 but during special occasion like anniversary or birthday, I can save for a few months just to come here la..
    Using the Olympus E-PL1??? Pictures look nice

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 1:20 pm
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    JD,
    hahah at least you have bonus!

    Leo,
    Yah true, for special occasions it’s perfectly ok. Ah this one I was using my old canon dslr. 😉

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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    waaa, every evening new chick.. i want ur life! (maybe not ur paycheck:P)
    great write up hamsum, teach me how take foto lk uuuuuu 😛

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 3:10 pm
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    cumidanciki,
    hahaha what la new chick! at patrick’s was my exhousemate and good friend from 15 yrs ago, and sheryl’s my exgf from 7 years ago 😀

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 3:57 pm
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    The one who said “when i concentrate on moving the arms and legs, i sometimes forgot to take a breath” ask me to come here lol

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 5:21 pm
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    Food looks sumptuous…but the pricetag…my eyeballs would drop out lah. >.<

    Errr….like Ciki, I noticed a different girl with you all the time too!! =P

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 6:57 pm
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    Simon Seow,
    LOL

    Bangsar-bAbE,
    haha, sheryl is my exgf. 🙂

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 8:16 pm
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    you!!!! such a lucky bastard! (just joking) but….u r really lucky!!!!!

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 8:27 pm
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    Joey,
    I am indeed a lucky bastard! 😛

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 9:08 pm
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    how do you choose your fooding-buddy, you have so many friends won’t they get ‘jealous’ or something…

    Reply
  • April 5, 2010 at 11:16 pm
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    hey ky, any of ur friends or u wanna get a digi iphone 3gs … 16gb or 32 gb, do let me know….refer me as ur introducer , and get cash rebate from me…

    Reply
  • April 6, 2010 at 12:24 am
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    lb,
    lol, it is a bit of a juggling act.

    vialentino,
    BB for the win!

    Reply
  • April 6, 2010 at 7:57 pm
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    aud,
    hahaha of course, it was delicious 😛

    Reply
  • April 6, 2010 at 8:48 pm
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    Fine diner alright, nearly RM200 for a sampler plate sounds nothing like a casual weekend meal. 🙂

    Reply
  • April 6, 2010 at 10:15 pm
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    J2Kfm,
    Hahaha it is not a casual weekend meal 😛

    Reply
  • April 20, 2010 at 9:19 am
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    Michelle,
    hahaha very right!

    Reply
  • April 23, 2010 at 11:38 am
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    aud,
    hahaha of course, it was delicious 😛

    Reply
  • May 28, 2010 at 4:19 am
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    … so… your current GF is ok with you bringing your ex out for RM500 dinners? lol. Ok, the fact it’s free does make a big difference…

    Reply
  • May 28, 2010 at 3:32 pm
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    Jason,
    well at the writing of this post I was single. 🙂

    Reply
  • August 12, 2010 at 10:39 am
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    wow good review!I wish I could write like you! still picking up though!!
    so envy u get to go to nice place to do review! I wish I could some day!

    Reply
    • August 12, 2010 at 12:17 pm
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      Dear Cindy,
      Thanks 😉 good luck!

      Reply
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