The CKT Supperclub presents Taiwan with a twist

Underground supper clubs hint at exclusivity, immersive culinary experiences and no holds barred as chefs explore new dishes and put their creativity to the test.

It is exactly this premise that attracted chef Andy Choy to the idea of starting The CKT Supperclub. CKT, btw, doesn’t stand for Char Kway Teow, but is an acronym for his full name!

“I’ve always wanted to do a Supper Club as I find restaurants quite limiting. Even with collaborations, at most, chefs take turns to handle just one dish each.

“Since we couldn’t travel during MCO, I thought it would be great to travel gastronomically instead. With the supper club, we can do something new and help promote chefs as well as form a food community,” said Andy who has close to 20 years’ experience and worked with Michelin-starred restaurants by Guy Savoy and Gordon Ramsay in Paris, London and Dubai. He also spent 8 years in China before returning to helm Chateau Dionne, together with partner David Lim.

Over the weekend, the second The CKT Supper Club convened for a Taiwanese themed affair. The only culinary rule, says Andy, is “no rules” so you get different techniques, expertise and all sorts of ingredients in a unique marriage of dishes.

Dishes were inspired by well-known Taiwan dishes, mainly streetfood fare, and reinvented to convey the nuances of the actual dish given an artistic twist by the chefs. This round, Andy collaborated with Chateau Dionne’s sous chef Maxc Cheng Xin Hou who has worked in Singapore and Japan, with 9 years as a chef under his belt.

First course, Sweet Potato Ball on aioli sprinkled with furikake was surprising as the texture was chewy, and the first note was savoury rather than sweet, which only appeared towards the end, like the base note of a perfume – quite unexpected and full of flavour.

The Scallion Pancake, typical Taiwan street food, was given an ‘atas’ twist with garlic cream cheese, omelette, smoked salmon and ikura on pastry biscuit. Keeping it authentic, this was paired with a glass of rich, unsweetened soy milk – breakfast food, says Andy!

Onto to the third – inspired by Oyster Mee Sua, it was cold cappelini in oyster cream that came garnished with Japanese oyster, garlic oil, drizzled with shaved smoked duck breast meat, topped with tobiko, coriander and herbs. This had me at the first mouthful itself, as the sheer delight and umami that burst forth on the tongue convinced me I was in love! With the dish, not the chefs. Well, maybe …

Keeping it close to the theme, we had even Stinky Tofu which came in a box, as if it was freshly bought from the stalls! We had to work for our food here – donned on gloves and piped the tofu onto sweetish brioche, garnished with pickled cabbage which elevated the taste. The odour was minimal, milder than blue cheese if you will, and the ensemble turned out quite good with the play of textures. While ‘twas a great experience, no repeat, thanks!                

Thankfully, chef also prepared Taiwan’s famed drink – boba tea – nicely balanced milkiness, sweetened with gula Melaka, but not overly so. I don’t take Boba tea generally, but this I would, any day!

Another street food inspiration, claypot fishhead noodles, gave rise to chef’s version that had 4 pieces of Japanese fish – Kimidai, bream, isaki and red gurnard – and no carbs. The rich-tasting creamy broth had white wine (rather than shaouxin wine) and was definitely familiar, with none of the fishiness often associated with this dish. Such lovely seafoody sweetness with each slurp – brilliant interpretation by the chefs.

Carbs came inside the deboned stuffed grilled quail, dramatically served over foggy dry ice. A take off from the Taiwanese sausage stuffed with sticky rice, this was similar to the Chinese Pat Poh Duck (8 treasure duck). Besides glutinous rice, the stuffing included chestnut, mushroom, duck liver sausage and foie gras. Familiar, filling and satisfying, another touch-down score.

Main course was beef sirloin (wagyu MB9) accompanied by chou farci (cabbage roll) that had beef brisket, tendon and foie gras, held together by chicken mousse. Inspiration was the Taiwanese beef noodles. No words for this amazing dish. Beef was absolutely tender, moist yet with firm, and the perfect partner to the roll especially when eaten together in a mouthful.

Dessert was refreshing Mango with shaved ice and almond milk, and Pineapple choux (a nod to the famous Taiwanese pineapple biscuit). Every dish outdid the one before – thank you, Andy and Maxc, for a meal par excellence!

The theme will be Italian next March with Andy in a collaboration with chef Kenny on March 27^th . You can find out then what CKT really stands for then! Held at Chateau Dionne and priced at RM280, seats are very limited so book early!

Chateau Dionne also offers exquisite French fare daily, offering menus that feature seasonal fresh and premium ingredients such as Hokkaido scallops, black truffle, Japanese A5 Miyazaki beef, as well as some of Chef’s signature creations.

Add: 24G, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. tel: 018-318 8199