Bites: Sage @ The Garden Residences, Kuala Lumpur

Home has now become a lot quieter.  Most of my relatives live outside the country in Australia, Canada and Singapore. So now, even during the winter solstice festival, it would just be mom, dad, sis and I.    Normally such festivals include a whole lot of cooking but this time around, we decided that with only 4 people in the house, this was way too troublesome.  So for this special occasion, mom still made the obligatory tong yuen but we went out for a nice dinner at Sage @ KL, a Japanese – a French fusion restaurant.

 

The interior is neat with high ceiling.  When we first stepped in, it was super quiet and it pretty much stayed that way the whole night.

 

Bread with delicious EVOO parsley dip!

 

Two types of bread.  One white, the other whole meal.  And boy I have to say that the quality of the bread was pretty amazing too a level that it can easily rival Amuse.  But learning from Amuse, it makes sense to serve the bread on lava rocks to keep it warm throughout the occasion or at least for a bit.

 

The Amuse Bouche:

Scallop Carpaccio with a hint of tomatoes.  Not too bad but it was not the best I have tasted.

 

Chef’s special of the day.   King Fish sashimi slightly smoked with a edible flowers.

Having eaten it, my first question was why did the chef slice the fish so thick?  I soon realised that it was probably a smart idea since you would want the fish to have enough smokiness without actually cooking it through.  This was pretty yums.  I preferred this to the Amuse Bouche.

 

The few appetizers we had for our 4 course meal

Seared Foie Gras with Dark Grapes and Red Wine Reduction was sister’s choice.  This was absolutely moorish if you fancy rich, fatty Foie Gras.  For me, half of this would more than justify as an appetizer but for my sister, this was just spot on.  It was insane IMHO.  Other places that I have dined at do not even serve Foie Gras of this richness until I re-visited Joel Robuchon’s Restaurant in Hong Kong again.

 

I decided to keep the cholesterol low with a small serve of spicy seafood pasta angel hair.  This was delicious and I would expect so as its flavors were very inclined towards the Asian palette.  This means, there is a lot of acidity, salt was perfect for me and woah the flavors were just very nice.  The seafood was nicely prepared with generous servings of fish, scallops and prawns.  A very appetizing way to prepare diners for their next course.

 

Dad has the Cream of Cèpe Mushroom Soup with White Truffle Oil was dad’s choice to share with mom.  I felt like the soup was just mediocre.  It was creamy and rich but nothing that I have not eaten before.

 

 

For the mains:

Mom and Sis called the special of the day which was a lobster pasta.  This featured a generous serve of lobster cooked in a very rich seafood sauce.  It felt like a very condensed bouillabaisse or perhaps a lobster bisque which was fine if you are a big fan of rich seafood but mom said she preferred it to have a little more Asian feel to it.  I understand why because this might feel very one dimensional if the only thing you could taste is a lobster bisque flavored sauce throughout the whole meal.  Normally at this level of dining, it is always about the layers of flavors harmoniously pleasing the tongue.   Perhaps a little more thought?

 

My choice for the night was the Beef Rossini with Roasted Foie Gras and Red Wine Sauce.  Having chosen this as a main was the only reason why I did not order the Foie Gras as my main.  It was a good call really, because the Foie Gras used in this dish was no lesser awesome compared to what my sister had.  More importantly, this awesome piece of beef fillet puts even Perth Royalty of fine dining Balthazars to shame.    This was just perfect.  No saddening fatty muscle to disrupt the meal.  Just very tender yet decently lean red meat melting in your mouth in each bite.  Mash was delicious and so were the greens which were cooked just spot on the complement the meal.

 

What dad ordered was even more intriguing when it showed up like that.   Paté en Croute Chicken with Foie Gras and Natural Jus was dad’s choice and eh did not quite like it.  I think probably the fact that is was a free range chicken and they probably used the leaner part of the chicken to make the pate rendering it too dry.   Seems like my dad was on a spree of bad selections that night.  Or perhaps it was not that bad, just not good either.

 

Then comes the desserts:

I decided to tryout the Mille Feuille of Strawberry with Cointreau Ice Cream.  Which was, sadly, a looker but not quite a tasty treat.  Its Mille Feuille felt shortchanged like I wanted a million layers but you clearly gave me 3.  And the bigger problem was that each of the 3 layers did not each feel like a third of a million.  I expected more crumble.  More crack with my spoon.  For these reasons other than the sour strawberries, this dessert was not my thing.  Oh but the ice cream was nicely prepped!!

 

Classic Crêpe Suzette with Grand Marnier Ice Cream.  Dad dessert was really nice I felt.  I would have preferred his to mine any time. 

 

Sister decided to stick to her favourite which was the Ginger and Lime Brulée with Mixed Berries, Almond Tuile.  This was probably the saviour for Sage’s dessert Kitchen.  The brulee has a good taste of ginger and lime but the important thing to me was that the brulee custard was spot on.  It was soft, smooth and creamy.  Not gluggy, hard and sometimes having a lot of bubbles in it.  This was really nice despite me having just one teaspoon of it!

 

At the end of the meal, we had hot drinks and petit fours which sadly only had 1 chocolate per person.  Sipping hot drinks after dinner the family just stayed there and chilled.  It was a rather good night marred by some underperformers which had really fancy names.     Something like how company sometimes give their workers title like Executives but they are nothing but graduates Hhahaha.

 

Family photos:

Sis and Mom!

 

 

Dad and I!

 

Not sure really awkward coincidence but out shirt colors are fairly similar according to the gender.

 

WenY

Bites: Overseas Restaurant @ Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur

Having celebrated dad’s birthday so many times, I soon realized that I have never paid his dinner once.  Since I have started work, this spelt the perfect opportunity to treat him to his favourite food.  Chinese food.  While Malaysia is a heaven for foods of all sort, our Chinese food is easily one of the best in the world.  But as restaurants become overly popular, they become way too commercialized.  One such restaurant is Overseas Restaurant in Malaysia.  While I have tried so many of their branch restaurants before, I was never a fan of any.  Yet, the hype of this charming old spice continued in Malaysia.  So for this rare occasion, I decided to bring dad to Overseas first roots located along Jalan Imbi in the heart of the city center :)!

 

Calling some of dad’s favorites, I decided to start with a Chinese delicacy, the sharks fin soup!

While I am not a big fan, this one definitely blows your mind!

 

The next dish was the four season which is a large appetizer platter containing four types of dishes.  That night we had:

Sharks fin and crab meat Sang Choi Bao.  Very nicely prepared.  And for me, definitely a good variation of lettuce wrap compared to the overeaten duck Sang Choi Bao.

 

Braised bean curd stuff with fish paste.  Deliciously braised in a sauce which coated these tiny morsel nicely!

 

Crumbled prawns with fish paste.  Crispy on the outside soft on the inside!   Best eaten with the garlic-chili sauce!

 

Crumbled scallops drizzled with mayonnaise!   Another kid favourite but at this age, I could easily do with lesser fried foods lols.

 

Another house specialty at Overseas! 

Homemade tofu with hairy gourd!  Really yummy and more importantly, smooth on the inside!

 

Overseas Restaurant Roast Pork!  Crispy skinned delicacy!  Very lean but still pack that beautiful crunch!

 

Overseas's Barbecued Pork is another highlight among it frequent customers.  But for the family, we have tasted better.    Then again, this is easily delicious when compared to most restaurants!

 

To finish the night, we also ordered a ginger steamed fish and a longevity noodles! While the noodles turned out fine, the fish was really salty.  Probably intended to be eaten with rice rather than on its own @@!  If more complains are needed from me, my only comment would be the slow service which could be due to us being seated in a private room on the 3rd floor @@!

 

Dad’s favourite cake is the classic butter cake with a butter icing made by an old aunty.  No fake cream or unnecessary additives.  Just plain honest butter cake from the olden days!  Pretty delish except for that after thought on how unhealthy each slice is!   lol much?

 

At the end of the day, this restaurant was pretty impressive.  I guess the original is always the best.  Never could I have understood why is it that parents have shun this place.  But when you see the effort required to reach this restaurant in the heart of the city, you will probably understand why @@!  This restaurant now span 4 floors above the ground which  is an impressive feat.  But when you learn that they have more than 6 branches around the state, their success is clear! 

 

For those who are concerned about cleanliness in dining in Malaysia, this restaurant definitely is the place to be!  But remember that booking is compulsory for most nights!  Specialty dishes like the sharks fin and barbecued meat are very popular and often finish early.  So always pre-order :)!   Also, do not expect this old school restaurant to be cheap!  By Malaysian standards a meal like this should only cost around $300 but for this restaurant, it was something closer to $550.  All in ringgit of course :)!

 

Address:

84 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur,

Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Phone:+60 3-2144 9911

 

They also have a website which can be accessed here  Overseas Restaurant Website.

 

WenY!

Bites: Balthazar @ Perth

As one of the earliest fine dining establishments, Balthazar's is one of the famous landmarks along the Esplanade Road other than Grand Palace Restaurant.  For me, this was my birthday dinner venue with my sis :)!  Walking in, the atmosphere here clearly portrays the dining style of the restaurant which is casual fine dining.   It felt relaxed, no fake suits or overdressed individuals which is pretty good considering we were in the CBD.  At the bar counter, the mixologist churns out drinks at a never-ending pace.  I pity him but he seems to enjoy his job a lot!Hard at work.

 

The bread counter was not in the kitchen but rather one a little kiosk just by the table which my sister and I sat at.  Wonder how they keep the bread nice.Bread stand!

 

Looking through the appetizers, there are two ways one can start their evening.  First, by sharing small plates. and the other, by ordering individual appetizers.  Deciding on which to pick was not difficult as the individual appetizers felt too similar to the mains.

 

My sister decided to start with the freshly shucked oysters topped with smoked tomato caviar.While I declined her invitation to share, I felt like there was a lot of technique in preparing the smoked tomato caviar.  Felt somewhat like the fabled El Buli restaurant in Spain where they had the Apple Caviar.  More importantly, my sister felt that the oysters were really fresh and the overall chemistry suited her palette well.  Win!

 

While she enjoyed her oysters, I decided to try the Swordfish belly coated with sesame served with garlic, miso and black pudding!It is my first time having black pudding and it was superb! Very fragrant and the intensity of the spices were spectacular!  Miso complemented the fish well but I felt that the sesame coating of the swordfish belly was a little oily.  Nonetheless, it was yummy!  If had any complains besides the oil, it had the be that the use of the fish belly did not really shine through the dish.  Just a fancy disposition for me.

 

Next were the wanton skins, feta and celery mousse.Served upside down, this little cornets had my hopes high as I had something very similar at Jackson’s a few years back.  But this was unlike that.  Its filling of feta and celery mousse was nice, but the wanton skins were lacking a very essential crisp!

 

Our last sharing plate was possibly the best thing that night.  The spiced lamb ribs served with a hint of mint and lime.These were every bit delectable.  The meat was absolutely tender with a falling of the bone characteristic.  It was slightly gamey but even my sister who was a fussy eater did not have problems with it.  This was just so good!  Would definitely return just for this one.

 

Before our mains came out, we were served complementary palate cleansers that was nice too! It was a lychee sorbet as far as I can remember :)! 

 

Mains:Sister’s beef fillet, four mushrooms, smoked potato, herb butter and black garlic.  Depending on your focus point of the dish, you would easily have different verdicts on how this dish fared.  For me, every bit felt perfectly executed except where it counts the most.  Meaning, all the sides were good.  The mushrooms, the black garlic, the smoked potato.  All except the beef.  It still had those muscle bists around the fillet making it difficult to eat.  More importantly, it did not have in itself the tenderness I was expecting! *emo*!

 

For me, I had the pork fillet, jamon, mash, scallops, crackle and black pudding! For me I was happy with this dish for most parts.  The pork fillet was moist while the berries had just the right amount of sweetness that fared well with the saltiness of the jamon.  Mash was delicious and the scallops were cooked spot on.  All of these though, felt a little salty when the black pudding was added to the equation.  Lastly, the crackling was OK but hmmm.. not the roast pork crackling that I was hoping to see.  In the end, it was more of a textural component but with little flavor!  As mentioned before, this was nice but could have been better!

 

At this point, we were pretty filled.  In fact, the sharing plates already made us very full.  But with one last effort, my sister and I shared  a dessert!This was one complicated dish.  Coconut panna cotta, basil sorbet, sesame tuile and peanut mousse.  For me, this dessert clearly screams Thai.  But perhaps a little more effort is required to make all the components complement each other.  At this point, my sister and I agreed that while each element is flawless, the dish as a whole was no more than a lost puppy. 

 

The night for me went pretty well.  I enjoyed the food quite a fair bit.  But considering this was one of the best places to fine dine in the state, perhaps I expected a little more.  Not that this was not good, but out of all the dishes we had that night, the ones that will live in my memory are just too few.  In fact, the lamb was the only memorable dish.  At the end, the bill for two settled somewhere in the mid 100s including drinks. 

 

WenY

Bites: Fibber McGee’s @ Leedervile

In a country, that prides itself with one of the best beef in the world, Australia certainly does not disappoint.  In my latest foodie visit, I decided to give Fibber McGee’s in Leederville a try.  This Irish pub has operated for more than a decade with its very own farm (according to its website).  All cows are butchered and dry-aged in house, meaning diners should only expect the best.

Using the entertainment book, my sister and I both ordered the humungous dry-aged rib eye with a side vegetables and fried goodies which include tempura onion rings and chips!  Believe it or not, the discount is a buy 1 free one which made our steaks only $25 dollars each.  It was such a steal! Generous Dry Aged  Rib Eye which came weighing in at 500grams.  While I thoroughly enjoyed the delicious sides which includes the vegetables, tempura onion rings and chips (can’t fault with store bought ones), I had a question about the steak.  What constitutes a good dry aged steak?  For me, two important requirement, first is the robustness of the flavour thanks to the higher concentration of blood and reduced moisture.  Dry aging lets the beef naturally reduce its moisture (water content) through evaporation.  The next important thing is the increase in tenderness due to the deterioration of chewy muscles intertwining the meat layers as the meats due to natural enzymes digesting them.  So how does Fibber McGee’s stack up against my two requirement.

My sister and I had our steaks cooked to two style, one was medium rare and the other medium.  My medium steak felt slightly overdone as all it had in the middle was a very pale pink colour.  I was hoping to see a little darker shade of pink but it still works fine for me.  In terms of tenderness, the steak was spot on.  Cooking large slices of steak is usually impossible to get even cooking but this was perfectly executed.  However, my major complain is that the flavour of the beef felt lacking in richness.  I am not sure what Rockpool does to their steaks but theirs carry a certain flavour and taste to their beef which makes it even more tempting to eat!  Sister’s beef on the other hand, was deliciously red on the inside and for me, this is the maximum cooking that dry aged steaks should be prepared to.  Medium Rare.   But then again, like my steak, I believe the richness the steak flavour still felt lacking.

 

At the end of the night, we barely finished half of our meal as sis decided to add a side of mash which was velvety smooth and yummy.  With so much leftovers, it would be a waste to throw it away such good meat although sceptics even questioned among themselves why would we even bring steaks back when they were pretty “positive” that it was going to get thrown away.  So to those disbelievers, a steak can be used for more than one purpose.  In this case, the steak was still absolutely tender when I did a quick pan fry to make my steak sandwich!  :P!

 

Last but not the least, I found the service here pretty slow although there were so few of us.  On the positive side, at leas the waiters were keen to serve!

 

Fibber McGee’s to me is a pretty damn good steakhouse that charges decent money for quality steak.  With such places around, is there even a need for places like Hog Breath?  I doubt it.  If you have a budget and want a bite of luxury, Fibber McGee’s definitely is definitely the place to be.  In fact, 3 people can easily share two serves.    However, if you are an extremely picky eater who wants nothing but the best, the steaks at Rockpool still holds a place dear to my heart.  Its steaks are tip top with no expenses spared in making it absolutely the best.  The catch?  $60-120 dollars for a piece with no sides.

 

WenY

Follow me :)!

Bites: BlueWaters @ Cottesloe

Bluewaters hold a happy memory for me as I first came here with the little darling awhile ago.  Last week, I decided to pay a visit with my friends to see how the cook, a former Michelin starred restaurant chef has cope with time.  The food that night felt a little lackluster but where it was strong before, it still is now.

 

For starters, risotto dishes at Bluewaters are just simply delicious! They are light, buttery and pack the beautiful flavors of the season.  That night, I had the Nero Risotto which was squid ink risotto with scallops.  This for me was the highlight.  Superbly executed and easily comparable to the mint and sweet pea risotto I had 2 years ago.  Many kudos for the consistency!

The next appetizer was the Arancini which to me felt a little dense.  The creamy dressing if I recall correctly to be Aioli or a mayo concoction of some sort did not quite make the cut too.  The Arancini itself is a pretty dense ball filled with cheese and rice which to me is pretty bland.  Perhaps a chutney for some sweetness or tomato chili salsa for that extra freshness and acidity.  That would definitely prevent this dish from starting your meal too heavy especially if you had the whole thing yourself, it would be cloying!

 

For my main, I chose the Wagyu steak.I really felt that this was nowhere near the fillet steak I had before.  What to me was a turnoff was the fatty bits which were not tasty.  So, for me, I plucked out all the fatty bits to have the meat.  Nowadays, I find the name Wagyu overused.  There is no point using the Wagyu is it does not benefit the steak enough.  This clearly is one of those instances.  A cube of prime Angus fillet would have more than suffice like it did 2 years ago.

 

The other main we had was the Salmon which my friend said was pretty good! Kudos to the chef for that one.

 

Over all, I thought my dinner there was pretty enjoyable.  Food was still quality although the misses were pretty apparent this time!  Also, my friend found the waiter quite rude as she mumbles to herself when speaking.  As if mocking as times according to fishman.  Perhaps better luck next time? 

 

WenY

Bites: Nahm Thai @ Highgate

As an amateur to the fine dining scene in Perth, the suburb Highgate and Mount Lawley has been nothing but surprisingly good (although EXPENSIVE) restaurants.  Located next to one of my favourite Japanese fusion restaurant Nine Fine Food, a Thai restaurant has taken the decadent Thai cuisine to a whole new level.   To start off, I am going to put a little controversial statement that if you dislike Thai food, you probably do not know how to eat. Fact.

For Nahm Thai, this was all business and this was no joke.  Forget messy, forget street style Bangkok food.  At Nahm Thai, it is all about the finesse and matching taste without losing its traditional roots.  Funny fact though, is that Nahm Thai is not run by a Thai person but instead a Vietnamese couple who is passionate about their Thai food.   On Saturdays, only a Nahm Thai set menu is available for $75 per head. 

 

Galloping Horse was our first appetizer where little slices of pineapples and orange segments were topped with a paste which closely resembled “belachan”  or prawn paste.  Clearly present were bits of dried prawns which were nice.  It was sweet, and salty with a hint of heat but not too much.  With the fruit, it was really quite tasty although it did not really “wow” the palette as it did to the eye!

 

Soft shell crab, watermelon, salad was probably one of the best dishes that night.  Whether it was the delicious sauce or the perfectly crispy soft shell crab, it was yummy!  Underneath all that fried crabs are a bed of diced watermelon which works quite nicely with the crispy seafoods.  I realize that watermelon goes well with deep fried slightly spicy food like the deep fried squid I had at Jacksons and even this dish at Nahm Thai is a really good example.

 

Scallop, curry and chili  was for me the reason why the first appetizer lost its “wow” factor.  The same paste we had on the fruit were used on these perfectly seared scallops with a spoonful of lip smacking red curry sauce.  For me, this combination was just absolute.  The large scallops means there is no hiding that delicious sweetness of the scallops despite the strong flavored herbed paste.  More importantly, the red curry sauce tied everything together for that one perfect morsel.  I really liked this!

 

Having the appetizers above, Nahm Thai had my appetizer riding a high although the similarity between the scallops and galloping horse will not have happened had they been able to supply their betel leaf.  Nonetheless, knowing what we ordered for our mains made me drool!First main served to us was the roast duck red curry with lychees and quail eggs.  Unlike previous versions I have had before, this was simply flawless especially the red curry sauce that was rich and extremely fragrant.   The sweetness is well toned on this one although it was a little sweeter than I would have liked.  But more importantly, is that the sweetness did not feel as if it was all from the sugared syrup.  It felt more subtle although its presence is unmistakable.  Also, one thing that made me like this even more was that the curry did not feel oily in anyway.  My previous tries even at the S & T Café was extremely oily.  To put it together, the roast duck red curry in Nahm Thai is simply sublime hitting all the right notes where it matters most!!

 

Crispy skin barramundi, and herbsOur next main was a fish course which to me turned out slightly disappointing.  The fish definitely felt lack luster with it soggy skin being the main cause.  And at this early stage, I am already starting to feel worried.  The little concoction which made the soft shell crab appetizer highly appetizing is starting to feel overused although in fact, the sauces could be different despite tasting similar.  Not sure how that works but I will not mention further.  The grilled vegetables went well with the fish and my praise for this dish is that the fish is very fresh.  I would normally not eat barramundi as I have heaps of bad experience with it being overly fish with a scent of muddiness.

 

Crispy pork hock

The pork hock was also the victim of the “same sauce”  syndrome with the exception that this also had a thicker syrup on the dish.  But for this dish, it was simply perfect.  The sauce is spot on.  Hard to fault as this combination of sweetness and pork like a classic pork roast and apple sauce.   Or perhaps turkey with cranberry sauce.    But more importantly, the pork hock was crisp on the skin, tender on the inside with absolutely no bones.  This was absolute joy!

 

Other than this dish, we also ordered grilled prawns which were placed on a bed of cucumber salad.  The crime?  SAME SAUCE problem.  No insults but it did not taste  any different from the sauce seen in the soft shell crab, fish, and pork hock.  To a certain extent, this is going to be a problem for most if not everyone.   To drag things a little lower, we were 1 prawn short which had your sincerely giving up the prawn so others could have theirs.  Fortunately though, I asked for an extra serve of dessert instead of troubling the chef to prepare one large prawn.

 

After a less than satisfying main (more reasons to come at the end), we were treated to our dessert course:The lime tart with coconut ice cream was a in house specialty that had me drooling with its presentation.  Taste wise, this dish splendidly displayed the zesty lime flavors that was simply delicious in desserts.  On first bite though, the acidity might feel a little overpowering.  But when the tongue adjusts itself to this velvety smooth lemon custard, it was hard to stop.  The crust was slightly hard but that was hardly enough to fault with the dessert.  For me, I thoroughly enjoyed it but to my dismay, my dining companion enjoyed it even more than I did.  I have always thought that he is no big fan of sour foods but I was wrong.

 

For my second dessert, I could not have gone any further than to try the benchmark of any Thai cooking, the obligatory sticky rice with coconut milk and fresh mangoes.  Not joking! In Thailand  most electric rice cookers come with multiple levels drawn on the pot which distinguishes between water levels needed to cook glutinous rice and normal rice.This was delicious in almost every place that screams “I’m authentic” and the version at Nahm Thai did not disappoint either.  But where changes can be made for the better, I felt that the sticky rice was a little tougher than I would have liked it to be.  Pandan leaf taste was way too subtle as if it never existed.  For me, the rice has to be fragrant, light, and cooked just right.  And to me, having deep fried shallots just does not make the cut.    While it seems like I have faulted with every element except the coconut milk and the mango,  it was still pretty good.  But in my list of tops, nowhere near Jim’s mother’s version where authentic Thai is finished with a touch of homeliness.

 

Another issue I need to point out was the fact that the Jasmine rice was a little hard that night.  But having mixed the coconut and Jasmine rice in equal proportions help bring the carbs back on track!

 

At the end, Nahm Thai is clearly a winner when it comes to quality food which further reinforces that fact that anyone can cook anything.  But with its highs comes its lows where the food to a certain extent felt slightly one dimensional with the sauce and condiments used over and over again.    Then comes the fact that the waitress seemed more interested in varying our meat than the flavors that day.  But how does Nahm Thai change the Thai food scene in Perth.   For me, the quality here significantly differs itself from other high end places without being pretentious.  Nahm Thai could easily be a whole new level if our choices were made with better help from the waitress.  Unfortunately in this particular occasion, it was good but not great enough to be prided as Thai dining at a whole new level.  I remembered the menu and I know what we should have ordered to avoid the problem of the same sauce issue.  A step which could have made our meal a whole new level.

 

My pick for a more than 3 person Nahm degustation is:

Appetizers:

Scallops on shell

Crispy soft shell crab

Miang Prawns

 

Main:

Roast Duck Red Curry

Crispy Pork Hock

King Prawn Green Curry

Beef Stew (Nahm Thai’s version of the Massaman)

 

Dessert:

Any.

 

WenY