Food Explorer & Home Chef
Here’s the thing about wines bars. While many may have a pretty decent selection of wines and some even offer top notch vintages, food, however, is often relegated to being no more than just a side attraction, with just small bites or the predictable cheese …
I tried to look nonchalant as Ginny rattled off the Thai dishes in the menu, in case I was the only ignoramus who didn’t know that Meat & Sea was a Thai restaurant. Turns out I wasn’t the only one taken by surprise as my …
With a name like Ultime (pronounced as oul-tim), an obvious play on the word ‘ultimate’, this newly opened restaurant is poised to be the next crowd puller in KL city. Officially opened to the public since early March, Ultime boasts a full fledge kitchen capable of serving 80 guests at any one time. Located smack in the centre of town just 5 minutes away from the bustling Changkat area and strategically accessible via Jalan Sultan Ismail and Bukit Bintang, it might well give the other establishments in the area a run for their money.
As you enter through the lift into the boudoir lobby, the consummate Instagrammer will definitely find this stop worthy of a post. The East Casual Dining is more casual, great for business lunches or meet-ups, while the patio-dining cocktail area tempts one to linger and chat while admiring the city skyline. For more formal affairs, there’s the West Formal Dining, and VIP rooms. Ultime also has a full on Luxe Wine Room, full fledged bar as well as a special set up known as the Chef’s Dining Table where you can watch the chef prepare your meal and chat with him about ingredients if you so fancy.
At the heart of every notable restaurant is the kitchen. Helmed by Executive Chef Shirosan and Head Chef Azan, Ultime offers European fusion cuisine with a twist on Asian nuances.
“What’s fundamental is our attitude and discipline in ensuring the food is always the freshest and the best quality to satisfy our guests,” said chef Shiro Oonishi.
A specially curated menu was designed for this review: First up was our bread and butters, and what a delight this was. Bread never had it so good as we were served an assortment of lovely freshly made loaves, ranging from sour dough to tomato bread and Country bread. Even better was the choice of creamy, rich French Brittany butters – pesto garlic, porcini mushroom, charcoal truffle, salted – made by the chef himself. Before we even got going on lunch we had already stuffed ourselves silly.
Amuse Bouche was paired with GH Mumm Grand Cordon: Miso Waffle, Croque Madame and Sea Foie Gras. Trout roe and chantily cream went easily in one delightful pop; uni and truffle upped the ante on croque madame while monk fish with ponzu sauce was a commendable approach to conventional foie gras.
The meal proper kicked off proper with Herring fish and beetroot salad – prettily layered with different textures, colours and tastes – paired with Clarendelle Blanc 2016. This was a decent set up with the cold starter, accentuating the combined flavours of the dish that had a bit of mushy, a bit of bite and the slightest crunch all in one mouthful.
Langoustine with cold soba gave us all something to fiddle with – looked intimidating but there’s really not that much meat in this crustacean. The natural sweetness of this Norway lobster came through nicely though the soba was on the soggy side and didn’t stand out for me. This was paired with The Hilt Chardonnay 2017, which I confess, was more memorable.
For the main course, there was a choice of Aging Smoked Duck accompanied by Zhao Wei’s Chateau Monlot Fronsac or or Aging Halibut paired with Rimapere Sauvignon Blanc 2017. The acclaimed actress bought the winery in 2011 and went on to buy 3 other chateaus in her bid to expand her vineyard holdings. A dry, smooth and velvety red with strong black berry notes, the Chateau Monlot Fronsac is said to have great aging potential. Offering a nice balance of floral and spice, this is easier to drink than other complex French wines. The moist duck meat that came with gravy had the slightest hint of pink and a firm texture, and retained the light smokiness and marinate on the fringes. For someone not usually keen on reds, I really enjoyed this pairing. Aging Halibut was good too, though I did not choose this main course. Stole some from my neighbouring diner!
Dessert was Napoleon Mille Feuille (pic) and Crazy Hazelnut milk chocolate. I found this a bit on the sweet side but liked the play of textures, layering of soft cream in between crisp biscuit. But that’s relative as those with a sweet tooth might find this lacking.
The cocktail programme is seasonal in nature whereby a new cocktail list is developed every quarter so that guests are fettered with a refreshing drinking experience. The very first cocktail menu is inspired by the Spice Route. This menu shares ingredients, flavours and culture that spans the historical spice trade between the West and East.
Ultime offers Lunch Degustation from RM120, Elite Lunch Degustation from RM260; and Dinner Degustation from RM390, Elite Dinner Degustation from RM650. The wine pairings range from 2 glasses onwards, charges depending on the number of glasses.
Add: Level 3A, Menara Noble Land, Kuala Lumpur. Available for reservations via www.ultime.com.my or call 03-2704 0988 l 012-858 8016
Last year, many may have missed out on special occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduation ceremonies, or even just gatherings with friends. Guinness wants to give everyone a chance to celebrate the missed occasions this St. Patrick’s month. For 31 days in a row, …
Aiming to bring the Indonesian street food closer to Malaysians, Tetangga Kita claims to use authentic ingredients and recipes imported from Indonesia to come up with their version of Martabak. If you haven’t already noticed, it’s called Martabak, and not murtabak as we know it …
Was meaning to share this recipe ages ago but procrastination got the better of me. And with this MCO/CMCO/RMCO/dunno-what-CO, the days meld into weeks and months, and sometimes, it’s hard to believe that suddenly a month has gone by.
Recently, we chopped off the top half of the papaya tree as it was leaning precariously into the neighbour’s garden. We didn’t want it to suddenly land on someone’s head in the midst of a thunderstorm if it broke, so it was off with its head instead.
Harvested the whole bunch of papayas but they were really tiny … firstly, it’s supposed to be some Hawaiian papayas species. Secondly, the soil in my garden isn’t very good I reckon, so the fruits were ultra small!
Rather than have them go to waste, we gave some to friends who wanted to make pickles. Then somebody suggested papaya soup and I thought, yeah, why not? I looked it up and it seems this soup is good for ‘big breasts’ …LMAO! Errr… I’m the only with boobs in the house and they’re a good size already, thank you!
The papayas were so young and raw that the seeds hadn’t even begun to be formed yet. But in the soup, they tasted delicious and if you didn’t already know, you would have thought they were some kind of melon instead. If the papayas were a teensy bit riper, it would have sweetened the soup naturally even more.
Not a papaya fan, this soup gives me a whole new look at the fruit.
Ingredients
1 large young papaya or a few baby ones (cut into bite sizes, about 1/8th of an apple)
1.5L water
Chicken stock (or if you prefer more subtle and natural flavours, you can omit this)
Half a chicken, cut small, or 3 large chicken thighs, or pork ribs in equivalent weight
1 carrot, sliced into wheels
8 to 10 red dates (optional)
2 tablespoons goji berries (approx)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
When the water boils, put in the chicken, followed by the young papaya, carrots and other ingredients. Boil for about 30mins or until the papaya and carrots have softened. Serve as a starter or to go with rice.
Valentine’s Day is less than one week away. While the past year saw most of us spending more time than we would like apart, this year you might just be able to spend some alone time with your beloved. Life is not a bed of …
Since we can’t meet up and have our traditional Yum Seng and Lo Sang get-togethers due to the pandemic, Tiger brings the ‘Ong’ to the media and trade partners instead, with an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) twist. The Tiger ONG Box contains everything guests would …
First cafe outing for 2021 at Slow Coffee @The Hubs, SS2 in Petaling Jaya. Hopefully it won’t be the last for some time, as the number of Covid cases are on the rise again.
‘Twas so nice to be out and about with my girlfriend Jo, and for a while, it almost felt like things were back to normal, as there was a good healthy crowd and if not for the face masks, it didn’t feel any different from any other day out … in 2019. Reminiscent of the once trending industrial mode, the cafe’s decor banked on grey benches, hanging white lamps and simple, clean lines accented with brown wood.
Slow Coffee has been around for more than a year and while I’ve tried their pancakes, I never really had brunch here. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of food served.
We had Baked Eggs with Chorizo (RM26), and this was clearly a crowd favourite as every other table seemed to order this too. The eggs had a nice consistency, spread over a bed of minced beef/chorizo with a marinara base, it reminded me of lasagna without the filling pasta sheets. It was an excellent choice for us girls who didn’t want something too heavy as we used the toasts to scoop up the beefy goodness.
The other dish we ordered was Eggs Benedict with Pulled Chicken (RM21). The eggs were done nicely runny at the centre – you would think this would be a given for egg benedict but not every cafe gets it right – and we loved that it had a bit of bite to it with the chicken that had a hint of smoky bbq.
The fact that these two dishes came with meat made my day as I really hate how so many self-declared ‘Australian-styled’ brunch places offer fancy egg variations at even fancier prices and it is just … EGG! Heck, even the most expensive organic kampung egg laid by the most precious chicken can’t cost that much, right?!!
The rest of the menu looked pretty inviting too … sliders with prawn katsu, open faced sourdough sandwiches, chicken confit, baked baramundi …. definitely worth a second and a few more visits.
When Jo asked, do we skip desert … I said NO! I’m so glad we ordered the Pu-Erh Souffle Pancake (RM18). Loved how it’s so light and fluffy and jiggly, like a marriage between cotton candy and pavlova, minus the sweetness, minus the guilt. Came with a side of tea granola, crumble, vanilla syrup and a scoop of pu-er gelato. There are other interesting pancakes and waffles on the menu too so if you just wanna have something sweet, this is a good dessert stop. We were also eyeing the cakes which looked quite tempting from the usual fare.
When at Slow Coffee, surely we must have our caffeine fix, and that we did. They offer a good blend, and you have a choice of single origin beans too.
I want to say this is a good place to chill and enjoy a slow coffee but these days, we’re not exactly encouraged to do that so … drop by to try the souffle pancake. That alone is worth the trouble.
Add: B-G-03, The Hub SS2, 19 Sentral, Jalan Harapan, Petaling Jaya
This year has surely been a strange year for all of us. I’ve attended zoom meetings, conducted zoom interviews and now, a virtual luncheon. No. 1 son asked whether I actually got to taste the food or was it just a “see food” affair since …