An Orgasmic Five Movement Symphony. Pris-Fixe Dinner. Cilantro, Micasa All Suite, KL.

(no pork served)

Bird of Paradise

There is something intensely sexual about a good dining experience. From the smacking of lips, licking of fingers, the sighs and moans of pleasure, the mixing of bodily fluids with the food right down to the pleasure of evacuating it. A labour of sorts as penance for seeking fulfillment from carnal gustatory pleasures. A dull Saturday saw me trudging to see solace from food at Cilantro. It had been quite a few months since my last visit and the menu has recently been revamped.

The menu at Cilantro is very seasonal and also very intensely rich, indulgent and opulent. Their Degustation menu comes with 6 to 7 courses that might be very daunting even for a person with a voracious appetite. It is heartening to know that they have recently introduced a Prix-Fixe Menu where diners are given a choice of 2 starters, one mains and a dessert from the a la carte menu.

Smoked Ocean Trout with Salted Kelp

The food was contemplative and serene and dinner as usual, a beautifully ochestrated symphony that began with a lovely, fleeting prelude of a small piece of Smoked Ocean Trout with Salted Kelp as an Amuse Bouche. The Trout was smooth and natural oily, and the natural succulence played with the ocean flavours of the kelp animatedly to ensure that interest was maintained for the rest of the meal.

Sous Vide Baby Abalone with Daikon

The second movement was Sous Vide Baby Abalone with Daikon, the perfect amalgamation of thermodynamics, microbiology and culinary arts. The Abalone was placed inside a vacuum pack and immersed in a warm water bath below boiling temperature and cooked under low heat for a prolonged period of time, cooking the ingredient while maintaining the integrity of the abalone and getting rid of harmful bacterias that might putrefy the abalone prematurely.

The result of this is a beautiful piece of Baby Abalone, buttery soft in consistency while maintaining it's chewy elasticity with enhanced pristine, natural flavours. The beautiful abalone juice was absorbed by the daikon which acted as a sponge. The dish was topped with a piece of slightly salty duck ham that resembled a folded origami corner. It was the perfect introspective ensemble, the Andante Sostenuto e Molto Cantabile of the second movement.

Mentaiko Angel Hair Pasta

The Third movement was a more pedantic Largo, the Mentaiko with Capelli d'angelo. The richness of the Mentaiko Roe was brought up to a magnificent crescendo with the help of some butter and some seafood. Togarashi (Japanese Five Spice Powder) and Dried seaweed strips played the part of Prozac which lifted the dish out of it's somber mood by adding a dimension of capricious vivacity. This was a decadently rich dish without being cloying and played the part of a melodious Largo served with al dente pasta.

Both entrees were paired with Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc (House Pouring) which had a rich bouquet of passion fruit and lyches and vibrant acidity with some hints of leaves.

Chateau Pinchon and Mouton Rothschilds peeking out from the cellar, guarded with a coded entry lock system.

The Wine list at Cilantro is generously extensive. Particularly drool worthy Bordeaux are the Premier and 2nd cru wines from Paulliac, the eldest which is still in their adolescence. Margauxs and the two Saints are not particularly well represented but was made up for with some beautiful Borgognones.

Roast Pigeon with Hatcho Miso and Kinome

The Fourth Movement was an Allegro Vivace for Mains. It was a beautiful medium roasted deboned pigeon resting on some Miso and sprinkled with some Kinome leaves, served with potatoes. The meat of the perfectly roasted was so perfectly tender and the flavour of the pigeon was simply astounding. Such purity, such beautiful texture. The kinome played the role of an experienced lover who coaxed the bashful pigeon out of shyness. The pigeon played along and once shed of inhibition dominated the game and turned this dish into an orgasmic hedonistic feast.

The Pinot Noir

The Pigeon was paired with a glass of Beutiful Louis Jardot Borgognone Pinot Noir (House Pouring). Ruby in colour, with predominantly berry notes and a slight greenish mossy undertones. It had medium longevity on my palate and accompanied the Pigeon Beautifully.

Cigar Room

The final movement, the Dolce was A beautiful Pistachio Souffle puffed up with pride and confidence, served with Bitter Chocolate Gelato. And complimentary petite fours were mini canalles and chocolate truffles.

Clockwise from top left: Rose, Pistachio Souffle, Exterior of Cilantro and The Bar.

Another beautiful meal by Chef Takashi, and as usual, the service in Cilantro under the watchful eyes of Jason was faultless and impeccable. It is hard not be effusive when served a meal like this. Obviously the Chef had put in a lot of effort to come up with the menu. He has studied, subdued and tempered all the ingredients and forged them into little notes in his Symphony. Bravo to another masterpiece.

Dinner was RM 245++. With San Pellegrino, coffee and wines was RM 370.

Cilantro Restaurant Wine Bar,
MiCasa All Suite Hotel,
368-B, Jalan Tun Razak,
50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: +603 2179 8082

Post-Merdeka Litany. Sage, Gardens MidValley, KL.

(no pork served)

Happy Merdeka!

Cry, beloved country. Cry. Cry for your anointed sons, who sprung forth from your loins for after 53 years of peace and harmony for they are defiling the hallowed halls of the Parliament with their witless speech. They have forgotten that you have been built on the basis of brotherhood and harmony. Stirring the masses with ribald speeches of hate and sowing distrust among your children, these rabble rousers desecrate the vision and the dreams of our founding fathers and mock their sacrifices.

Bread.

Weep, Oh! Weep. For politicians fight one another and forget that the common enemy of your children are Poverty, Injustice, Crime, and Diminishing Competitiveness. It is not their own brothers and sisters irregardless of their skin colour, religious affiliation, sexual preferences, choice of dressing or political inclination. Weep for them, those who have been abroad and studied in prestigious colleges. When they come back as politicians, they too are ever to eager to jump into the foray together with their baser cousins and use Religion as a tool to divide. God, whom praises about His Mercy and Compassion have been sung by his followers throughout the ages. They play the accuser, judge and executioner. Dominus Illuminatio Mea.

Tataki of Wagyu Beef, Kabu (Japanese Turnip) Salad served with Miso Mayonnaise.

Lament, oh lament. Lament for them who beat their chest and cry. The poor, the displaced, the aged and infirm who have no where to seek shelter and solace. Those who roam the streets and sleep by the side walk. The downtrodden, the orphans, the meek, the victimized, the illiterate, the voiceless. Those who hunger have no use for figures, percentages and ratios. It is only the rich and idle who argue about the pie as a diversion while they loot, plunder and hoard.

Panache of Trio of Seafood With Cheese on Toast and Iranian Saffron.

Be proud, my beloved country. Be proud of your sons. For they have grown up to be wise and are able to resist the temptation to resist the diatribe of racial and religious polemics. Where politicians have failed, the citizens have shined and shown that they are mature and wise enough to refuse being sacrificial pawns in the struggle for political survival.

Forgive me, my country. Forgive me for calling you mine. My country, your soil, your flesh where lies buried, the bones. flesh and ashes complete with the dreams of my grandparents and parents. Forgive me for calling you mine for we live in a time where we are told to go home to our ancestral land not for treachery, not for crime but for the reason of being different. For holding on to a set of values that would be morally just by any reasonable sentient being. For the crime of demanding for accountability and transparency.

This one was misleading. The Menu stated Confit of Free Range Chicken with Corriander Pistou and Foie, but what was serve was Chicken Roulade in Jus with Foie. Not even a whiff of Pistou in sight.

It is always easy to blame and accuse. Perhaps after 53 years of independence we should be introspective and ask ourselves whether we ourselves should be blamed. Before we accuse others of being racists, are we ourselves racial chauvinists? An entire generation of Chinese-Malaysians where a majority can't speak in Bahasa or even in Chinese dialects but use Mandarin as Lingua Franca. Even if they do speak Bahasa, it is laced with thick accent. Our Politicians fare no better. Would Judy Chu appear to be credible in the US Congress if she spoke in Pidgin English?

The flags are all folded up, the feel good rallies are but a memory now. But our country plods along like a big vessel with all of us aboard without an inkling about the course.

Sous Vide European Pear with Caramel Ice Cream. It was switched to Cinnamon.

Merdeka Day saw me satisfy my lust for a Ménage à quarte food orgy at Sage again. Last week's meal was less praiseworthy and I used my discretionary powers as the editor of this blog to suppress and veto it, like an Information Minister in a semi dictatorial country. This week's is more crave worthy and rather worth braving the incredibly ridiculous jam to get into MidValley Gardens plus the presence inescapable public holiday Mall Trolls.

Both the entrees were commendable. The Tataki of Wagyu was slightly singed at the edges which added a beautiful smokiness to the rare beef and the lovely light salad complemented the sinfully rich meat beautifully. The Panache should be listed as one of the gastronomical wonders of Sage and unlike their more plebeian cousins elsewhere, it was generously flavoured with Saffron. The mains were wrongly described as a confit. What was served was Chicken Roulade with natural jus and I was a bit miffed that the serving staff did not mention that the menu had been revised as I was curious how the corriander pistou would taste like. Pistou is French Pesto minus the pine nuts.

Their covert operation of menu revision was seen again during dessert, where the Caramel Ice Cream was substituted sensibly to Cinnamon which was a good thing because it would have paired better with the Sous Vide pear which although was fragrant, tasted a bit bland. Beautiful contrasts in the dessert. Hot, cold, soft and crunchy. The meal ended with Macchiato and an a silent wish that our country will survive the hailstorm.