KY eats – French Italian cuisine at Le Midi, BSC
Le Midi is a name that I’ve came across for quite sometime, and it was a privilege to finally be invited for a food tasting session in conjunction with the arrival of Chef Andrea Alimenti, who has some 30 years of culinary experience since graduating from Aurelio Saffi Florence Hotel School in 1983.
Chef Andrea Alimenti is a multiple Michelin star chef, with his first coming at the tender age of 20, then at age 30 he left Florence to open his own restaurant with some partners (the renowned Aquamatta in Capolona) for 15 years… which also received a Michelin star. It is not common that we have the opportunity to sample creations from a chef with such pedigree, we felt very honored.
Le Midi at Bangsar Shopping Center, with live nautilus
The restaurant is located on 3rd floor in the East wing of Bangsar Shopping Centre, the interior oozes a sense of mystic and class, with a couple nautilus in a round aquarium at the centre of the dining hall. This was actually the first time I witness these pelagic marine mollusks outside Aquaria, way cool.
Anyway, we’re here for the food, and you can’t order the nautilus.
eggplant nest with truffle egg yolk and parmesan cheese
Out first dish was eggplant nest with truffle egg yolk and parmesan cheese. A dish with deceptively simple base ingredient – poached egg and eggplant, manage wow us with it’s wonderful combination of texture and taste. The eggplant fried to a texture not unlike bacon, the egg poached perfectly, and shaved parmesan with truffle gives it that touch of complexity. I was impressed.
mozzarella ravioli in tomato consommé
Next up was mozzarella ravioli in tomato consommé, a classic Italian dish with a well balanced taste of acidity from tomato consommé countering the stronger mozzarella cheese within the ravioli.
A glass of Secret de Berticot Sauvignon Blanc proved to be a worthy companion for the above two dishes.
homemade Tagliolini in saffron butter whiskey salmon cream and crunchy almonds
Next we had homemade Tagliolini in saffron butter whiskey salmon cream and crunchy almonds. A type of pasta popular in Emilia-Romagna, a region in Italy.
While we love the soft smooth texture of the pasta, I thought the salmon cream was a little too mild, but nothing a dash of sea salt won’t help. We also had Secret Berticot Rosé to go along with the pasta. Though the Rosé was a decent pairing with pasta, we felt that the Savignon Blanc was actually suited for this occasion.
seabass with fine herb crust on spinach bed
Next up – seabass with fine herb crust on spinach bed. Seabass, or barramundi, is quite a popular fish in local cuisine, but I’ve never had it prepare this way before. The crust gives it a crispy herbal taste while leaving the texture of the fish still tender and moist. The spinach did a fine job as a side kick, and we had more white wine to go with this.
It was already a rather good night at this point.
tenderloin in old Madeira sauce with foie gras and fig
Then came my favorite dish of the night, tenderloin in old Madeira sauce with foie gras and fig.
When it comes to beef, I’m usually one who likes to have it as is. Be it ribeye, NY strip, tenderloin, of Black Angus, Wagyu, you name it. I like to have it medium rare with nothing on it.
On this occasion though, I was proven wrong. The Madeira sauce and fig really enhanced the taste of the already excellent beef. The foie gras, of course, managed to kick it up a notch. Give me this any day and I’ll be the happiest man.
Red meat deserves some red wine to go with, so we had a glass of Château Pouroutou red to go with (I believe it was merlot). Perfect.
dessert galore!
As usual, by the time we were well full, dessert is served. Not one, but five creations from the good chef. I took a bite from all of them and wished that I had a bigger stomach to properly devour them. They are:
- Millefoglie with Chantilly cream and caramel
- Vanilla panacotta and strawberry coulis
- Chocolate fondente and mini chocolate cup
- Chocolate tender heart with Amarena cherry parfait
- Orange cheesecake and chocolate drawing
KY, Haze, Mei & Josen, Melissa, Kelly, Chengyi, Chef Andrea Alimenti
It was a great dinner with even better company, thank you Melissa for being a generous and wonderful host. We will be back to Le Midi.
Address:
Le Midi Restaurant
3rd Floor, East Wing,
Bangsar Shopping Centre,
285 Jalan Maarof,
Bukit Bandaraya, 59000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.142808,101.667448
Tel: 03-2094 1318