MANDARIN GRILL,
Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur,
Kuala Lumpur City Centre , Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2380 8888
Business hours: Noon to 2.30pm, 7.30pm to 10.30pm.
THOSE who appreciate delightful food-and-wine pairings will like Mandarin Grill’s romantic, five-course candlelight dinner titled “Liquid d’Amour” this Valentine’s Day.
There is also a non-wine version, known simply as “Amour”.
For the amuse-bouche, chef de cuisine Benjamin Halat has prepared a platter consisting of a beetroot espuma atop foie-gras mousse, a heart-shape beetroot chip, and lastly, a beetroot marshmallow.
Despite the seemingly intimidating amount of beetroot, the espuma and mousse is a light combination that can be spooned in smaller portions onto the marshmallow for an impromptu spread.
In between, the light sugar of the heart-shaped chip helps defuse the foie-gras’ rich taste.
Halat starts the dinner with Lobster Medallions — where you have the shellfish, accompanied with a ponzu jelly and avocado dip, topped with tapioca chips and paired with a glass of Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial.
The meat course: A well-portioned Australian Black Angus Tenderloin, sitting atop a puree of broccoli, sweetish-savoury port-wine jus, with a cake of polenta and baby carrot for garnishing.
The next course, a Duck Foie Gras Raviolie, is made with “him” in mind, and it shows, with an al dente ravioli (filled with the foie gras), swimming in a small pond of madeira and white truffle foam.
Classically, foie gras is paired with a sweet wine, and head sommelier Peter Teng has selected the Hungarian Tokaji Szamorodni, titled “Eloquence” from the Holdvölgy winery.
If one enjoys black cod, the seafood course Poached Black Cod will be a treat. The portion is just nice, especially with the 2000 vintage white from Bekaa Valley-based Chateau Musar.
The fish is accompanied by fregola sarda, a Sardinian pasta which Halat explained was cooked similar to rissotto, with chicken stock added intermittently.
The paella sauce on the other hand is infused with mirepoix, fennel and garlic and further flavoured with mussels, brunnoised peppers and fish stock.
The meat course is an Australian Black Angus Tenderloin, accompanied with a broccoli puree, polenta fortified with cream and milk and flavoured with garlic, rosemary and thyme.
The puree also holds the reduced portwine jus, and the wine, a 2003 vintage from Chateau Musar as well, was a complex, full-bodied red with hints of pistachio, sweetish notes and deep, slightly woody finish.
For dessert, one is served a Passionate Manjari Chocolate Melt, made with Valrhona’s Manjari dark chocolate, with a side of raspberry sabayon (with champagne in the mix) and creme fraiche ice creme.
“Liquid d’Amour” is priced at RM898++ per couple and its non-alcohol variant “Amour” at RM698++ per couple, and is inclusive of a special gift from Mandarin Grill for both him and her.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
