Romanza,
241B, Lorong Nibong,
Off jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel :03-4252 6058
Business hours: 12.00pm to 12.00am
WHEN I was first assigned for a food review at a South African restaurant, I was rather skeptical but I was eager to explore the menu once I entered the the beautiful Romanza restaurant at Hock Choon Terrace, off Jalan Ampang.
The interior of the fine dining restaurant is warm and inviting with a touch romance in the air. Owned by Global Food and Hospitality, a subsidiary of Global Gases, the concept of the restaurant was conceived by its CEO and managing director Shena Mohamed.
Its menu reflects the deep culinary roots of Cape Town that is borne from the history brought by early Portugese settlers through Spice route traders.
To ensure diners at Romanza get the best of Cape Town cuisine, Shena and her partner handpicked its head chef, Steven Kruger from South Africa. In fact a majority of the restaurant staff hail from South Africa, making the dining experience an authentic one.
For starters, we had try the Beetroot and Roquefort Salad that has a honey mustard dressing in a tier of Roquefort Croquettes, pickled beetroot and green apple that are layered to create different textures in the mouth.
Next is the Duo of Duck, a combination of smoked duck that is prepared at Romanza using hickory wood and a duck rillet croquette. The duck is served with citrus and plum sauce.
For the main course, lamb shank lovers should try Romanza’s version, the Slow Braised Lamb Shank where the lamb is braised for four hours and served with a carrot emulsion, pomme puree and topped with minted peas complete with thyme jus.
“We also have a new lamb dish Deboned XO Lamb Ribs, where the lamb is slow braised for six hours. We serve it with a unique pea mousse that is a must try,” said Kruger.
There was also the succulent Beef Wellington served with sautéed kimchi, finished with a green peppercorn jus and seasonal vegetables.
Another favourite: The Sesame Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna with avocado puree, homemade sweet chili sauce is accompanied by sushi rice and topped with a nori-layered omelette roll, finished with caviar and coriander.
Kruger said he initially had to adjust to using Malaysian produce as most vegetables from South Africa could not be found here.
“I had to find alternatives and have included Malaysian vegetables like the four angled beans. It is really easy to make, we just steam it with salt and pepper and add it to our new lamb dish,” he added.
Another recommended dish is the Sesame Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna, which has avocado puree, homemade sweet chili sauce accompanied by sushi rice and topped with a nori layered omelette roll, finished with caviar and coriander. It is not everyday you see tuna rolled in sesame that gives each bite a crunchy start with a slight spicy after taste.
Known for his delicious desserts, Kruger introduced mouth watering sweet delights that he lovingly put together for diners.
The Chocolate Landscape is pleasant to the eyes and the palate. It is a unique combination of chocolates arranged on a platter to resemble a beautiful landscape.
“Chocolate is so versatile, there is so much to do and desserts are always lots of fun to create. On the plate we have chocolate ganache, white chocolate ganache, white chocolate mousse, white honey comb and a chocolate cylinder with vanilla anglaise,” he said.
There is also the crystalised Almond Parfait that has a sweet raspberry coulis filling topped with white chocolate coated honeycomb, crsytalised pistachio nut garnish and a homemade mint syrup.
The dessert is a burst of delectable flavours in the mouth coupled with the various textures.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
