Cilantro, MiCasa All Suite Hotel

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Cilantro opened its doors last week after being closed for over a year due to renovations at MiCasa. Naturally, I was expecting to be wowed by the “transformation”. Instead, the familiar cream coloured upholstery with circular seating greeted me. To put it succinctly, it was like visiting an old friend. Bathed in warm tones thanks to the the large barrel-like light fixtures that diffused an even but mellow glow all around the perimeter of the room, it appeared like time had stood still in this place. The room resounded with laughter. Bald Eagle’s friend at the next table apologized for the noise.

“No, don’t apologize,” I said. “It’s fine.”

I turned to Bald Eagle.

“I love the sound of laughter in a restaurant.”

“Why?” he asked me.

“It’s the sound of happiness.”

Over the years, it has become evident to me that a good meal is elevated in the fellowship of good friends, and a bad meal is mitigated by the same virtue.

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In preparation for this post, and because I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to articulate my thoughts about the all-new Cilantro, I read a couple of my old posts. One was written two years ago, when we celebrated our wedding anniversary over one of the most amazing meals I had eaten (in my lifetime, up to 2007) at Cilantro, and the other was written last year, when Cilantro’s sister-restaurant, Sage, had newly opened. Sage filled the void that Cilantro had left behind, and in the latter post, I asked the question, how is Sage different from Cilantro? Now, more than a year later and after Sage has established itself as a leading fine-dining restaurant in KL, I find myself asking the same question but in reversed fashion – how is Cilantro different from Sage? When Cilantro prices itself significantly higher than Sage, there must be enough reasons to justify it, other than the fact that Chef Takashi Kimura is helming the kitchen in Cilantro (Chef Takashi has left Sage in the able hands of Chef Daniel). His genius in cooking is, of course, a premium, but I don’t think Sage will suffer too much in his absence. Better quality ingredients at Cilantro? What does that say about Sage? Location? Perhaps. Ampang, with its loftier abodes and affluent residents, does hold an edge over a busy shopping mall.

Don’t get me wrong. I thought the food at Cilantro was good that night. We both ordered from the Degustation Menu (RM300++ per person). The ala carte menu, listing all of five appetizers (from RM58 to RM118) and six mains (from RM118 to RM268), seemed to be there merely to justify the reasonableness of the pricing of the Degustation Menu (some items on the menu are changed daily). Die-hard Cilantro fans will rejoice at the sight of the truffle butter served with freshly baked bread.

“Welcome home.”

“It’s good to be back.”

“I’ve missed you, my truffle butter.”

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The amuse bouche, hamachi served on a block of ice, is a visual marvel. The first serving of hors d’oeuvres consist of a portion of angel hair pasta with sea urchin (which is my favourite of the lot due to the masterful combination of a perfectly cooked pasta and creamy uni), cured saba with nasu and avruga, venison with cuttlefish and konbu, Japanese oyster with kyuri and ponzu, and Choya umeshu (yes, the drink). All the bite sized portions tease and tempt the palate for the next serving. Pan fried unagi with foie gras, is a classic Cilantro dish. Coated with flour and fried, it offers a crisp surface and a rich and melting centre. Absolutely perfect. A soup comes next – a seafood broth that is brought to the table in a kettle, then poured over slices of abalone and Hokkaido scallop, just barely cooking them. Whilst I am a big fan of Chef Takashi’s clear soups, always so intense in flavour thanks to a medley of ingredients that caress the palate, this is on the salty side, but it contrasts well with the sweetness of the scallop. My main course is Maine lobster with Americaine sauce, which contrary to what its name may imply, is actually a classic French recipe. Cooking it is apparently a laborious process which involves shelling the lobster and cooking it in a sauce that boasts at least ten ingredients including wine, stock and garlic. The resultant dish is extremely flavoursome. Bald Eagle’s grilled Japanese wagyu, with high level of marbling is cooked medium to enable the fat to be turned to a nice crisp, with a texture resembling grilled bits of char siew. The meat, is as expected, exquisite. And desserts – chocolate terrine with pistachio ice-cream – possibly one of the better desserts I’ve had the pleasure of sampling in either Sage or Cilantro. After all, it is hard to go wrong with a chocolate and pistachio combination.

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So you see, I can’t quite fault the food at Cilantro. And yet, there was something missing. Portions were sufficient, and service was excellent thanks to an experienced crew. At first, I wondered if it was due to my changing tastebuds. Perhaps, a little. I worried about the fact that maybe I was a little jaded. Perhaps I was. The food that I ate that night was perfect in every way thanks to the use of the freshest ingredients and Chef Takashi’s expertise, but it didn’t excite me because the menu that night lacked creativity. A case of reality not meeting expectations.

Nevertheless, this restaurant is still the one to beat.

Cilantro
MiCasa All Suite Hotel
368B, Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2179 8082

Opening hours: Dinner – 6.00pm to 10.30pm, Lunch (from mid January 2010) – Fridays only – 12.00noon to 2.00pm. Closed Sundays.

(Note: Word has it that the famous Friday lunches at Cilantro will be priced at RM150nett (no alcohol) with free corkage on spirits.)

Check out Eat Drink KL for further reviews on Cilantro.

Truffle butter

Hamachi

Assorted Hors d’Oeuvres

Japanese oyster

Unagi and foie gras

Abalone and hokkaido scallop soup

Grilled Japanese beef

Chocolate terrine with pistachio ice cream

Weissbräu, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Weissbräu is like an EU Summit; a bite of Austrian schnitzel, some hefty German pork knuckles and a visiting Swiss roesti helmed by a jolly Frenchman called Chavanne. In essence, it is a German Bistro with a very casual atmosphere in a semi-open air space just opposite La Bodega on Level 3 of the Pavilion.

Almost all the mains come with a choice of sides, either sauerkraut (shredded cabbage in white wine vinegar) or market vegetables, garlic mash, spaetzli (homemade egg noodles), roesti (shredded potato pan-fried in clarified butter), french fries or potato salad. While roesti isn’t German, this popular Swiss dish has transcended borders and found its way into the menu. If you insist on being a purist, then order the spaetzli. At Weissbräu, they make their own spaetzli from scratch with a device brought in from Germany that allows the dough (flour, egg, salt) to be pressed into boiling water. When the dough rises to the surface, it is removed from the boiling water and put into iced water to stop the cooking process. The spaetzli is then fried with butter and served. My dining companions likened it to fried pancake, and reckoned it would go better with some honey and syrup. Hehe. The spaetzli can also be ordered as a dish on its own, either plain, or cooked with cheese, ham or carbonara sauce.

First pic: Nürnberger. Second pic: Schüblig

When it comes to sausages, Germans like their Nürnberger bratwurst, a relatively skinny sausage with spicy, chunky pork meat. The sausages served in Weissbräu are either imported or sourced from a German man in Malaysia; when cooked, the meat is juicy and extremely flavourful, perhaps a little salty but contrasts well with the sauerkraut on the side. The Schüblig sausage is a lot more manly, three times the size of the Nürnberger, but as we all know, size isn’t everything. (Just as well I’m not Catholic or I’ll need to go to Confession now.) The Schüblig is bigger, softer and smoother than its skinnier counterpart, and contains a blend of secret spices, non-fat dried milk and onions and is lightly smoked. Also tasty. The sauce that is poured onto the sausages is made from the lardy drippings from roasting pork knuckles (be still my beating heart), then reduced with red wine and onions, creating a highly addictive sauce that complements the dish so well.

First pic: Pork loin and bacon. Second pic: German pork knuckles

I like the smoked pork loin and bacon which was surprisingly not salty. The dish is served with horseradish and mustard sauce. Despite that, it pales in comparison with the German pork knuckles which are available in two sizes, “single” and “two to four persons”. The single serving is pretty large, though, weighing in at approximately 400 grams and can easily satisfy two moderately hungry people. Like your typical German pork knuckle, the skin is crispy and crunchy. The meat, however, is moist and literally falls off the bone in delicate form. This is probably the best German pork knuckles I’ve eaten in a long time.

Flammkuchen

A good snack that goes wonderfully with beer is Flammkuchen, a flat bread with toppings that resembles a pizza. Ours was topped with a generous amount of bacon and onions and was very good.

Interestingly enough, the menu is one that tries to please as many people as they can. One very strange item on the menu is the Chinese Roasted Pork (Siu Yoke), but I figure it would go well with beer anyway, and since it’s a German Bistro that serves a good variety of beer on tap like Carlsberg, Hoegaarden, Franziskaner and Leffe Blonde, and an even longer list of bottled beer like Paulaner, Lowenbrau, Becks, Konid Ludwig and Grolsch, it makes sense to enjoy a salty snack like Siu Yoke while drinking.

Weissbräu
Level 3, Pavilion (walkway with restaurants)
Tel: 03-2142 0288

Opens at 10:00am daily to 1:00am (open till 2:00am on Friday & Saturday)

Happy hours throughout the day till 9:00pm

For more reviews, check out Sean’s blog.

Chef Choi, Jalan Ampang

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Lyrical Lemongrass

I could wax lyrical about Chef Choi all day and night.

Chef Choi serves Cantonese cuisine, although some of the dishes may come across as fusion. My enthusiasm stems largely from the quality of the food; you can’t go wrong with top notch ingredients. For instance, one can get matsusaka beef here. Matsusaka beef is a form of wagyu from the Matsusaka region of Japan, and interestingly enough, the meat comes from heifers. Similar to Kobe beef, the cows receive the usual pampering – massages, soothing music and a rich diet. A cow’s life, indeed. And so, our dining experience began – with a serving of matsusaka beef, vietnamese spring roll and a foie gras on bread. An excellent beginning – the beef was well marbled and tender and the foie gras was good enough to be eaten alone. Chinese cuisine, you say?

Think of the aromatic duck as a value-for-money-meal. Even the bones are edible. You get your protein AND your calcium. Honestly, I was amazed at how brittle the bones were. A dog’s life isn’t so bad, either. The duck skin was crisp and tasty. I’d even go to the extent of calling it the perfect duck. Da duck didn’t die in vain. An alliterating tongue twister. Wait, not quite. Da duck didn’t die in dain. (Definition of dain: Colloquial Scots, particularly North East Scotland meaning “doing” . A typical example may be “Fit i Ye Dain?'” = “What are you Doing?” Can also be “Dein”.)

If you think that’s indulgence, let me tell you that I had a most amazing suckling pig as well. Fatboybakes described it well: “Crisp skin, not too fatty, cos the slicing of the skin was expertly done, so the fat was on the meat, not on the skin.”

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was not a fan of fried fish. We were served a fried soon hock (marbled goby), which left us aghast – I mean, the very thought of frying a soon hock (expensive) and slathering a sweet and spicy sauce couldn’t possibly be good – what were they thinking? But you know what? It was good. The fish was fresh, the flesh was firm, and we had absolutely no complaints. Be open to possibilities and new experiences.

I liked the prawns in superior soy sauce, sticky and sweet, although the one served in Oversea in Imbi wins my vote for this kind of preparation. The steamed chicken served with young ginger paste is one dish I’d order again. Don’t skip the ginger sauce. In appearance, it looks just like any other ginger paste, like what is served with chicken rice, but one mouthful is enough to convince you that this is a far superior sauce to any other, primarily because young ginger is used, and it is freshly ground.

The noodles deserved a pedestal of their own. Yee mee with lobster. How luxurious is that? Fan pei noodles (made of soy bean) was something I was trying for the first time – translucent in appearance with a bite to it. My absolute favourite was the sang mee with prawn roe – a simple dish that was bursting in flavour. Sometimes, limiting the number of ingredients in a dish to three or four is enough. The tomato noodles was zingy thanks to the vinegar in the sauce, but the flavours mellowed after being kept overnight (yes, I did the test).

For desserts, the almond milk with papaya was brilliantly presented in an environmental-friendly receptacle. They don’t have just typical Chinese desserts here; in fact, one of their popular desserts is the molten chocolate cake.

Until the end of August 2009, Chef Choi is offering a 25% discount for dine-ins.

Thanks very much, Marian Eu, for arranging this amazing dinner, and Cheng Sim, for hosting it. I dedicate my additional 2kg near my belly to you.

Chef Choi
159 Jalan Ampang
50450 KL

Tel: 03-2163 5866

Website HERE.

Also check out Fatboybakes, Cumidanciki, Masak-Masak.

Matsusaka beef, vietnamese spring roll and foie gras on bread