Cantaloupe (Kuala Lumpur City Center)

My dream is to enjoy fine dining at Cantaloupe at Troika Sky Dining. I personally love fine dining, well, who doesn't? Finally, I got my dream fulfilled when my BFF brought me there for my birthday eve on 23rd June 2015. I was amazed by Cantaloupe. It looks way better than the photos in blogs.

There are 3 fine dining restaurants there : Cantaloupe, Strato and Fuedo. I chose Cantaloupe because my other wish was to taste French food. I forget even eating french food in Paris though I have visited this place.

I fell in love with the sophisticated ambience. It was like I was transported to another land high up in the sky of Kuala Lumpur. Even the ground has pathways leading to the tables. There was also a top to toe wine cellar in a special room. At the side is water hence making it a very wondrous sight. They did not have enough tables indoors. I didn't want to dine alfresco as there is only the scenery in the hot weather.

Even though it was a weekday on Tuesday, the tables inside are booked. Finally, after waiting for a while, there was an empty round table facing the sky view of KLCC and KL Tower.

The waiters are not very clever because when I told them my friend is lactose intolerant, he said his chef cannot make changes. Luckily, one Burmese Chinese waiter was kind enough to check with the chef for us on the food that is lactose free.

My friend ordered a Trimbace French Pinot red wine which has 13% alcohol. It was very strong. No fruity taste but quite tasty. My friend said it is a must to drink red wine when fine dining in the sky and overlooking this great scenery and she is definitely right as usual.

We had 3 complimentary appetizers. First up was Lemon Ricotta with lemon foam, clam in 2 shells. The lemon was so fragrant and the lemon taste permeated the entire tiny ricotta that had a blackish pastry as the base. French fine dining seems to be all about using foam so you can see foam in almost all the courses. Biting into this Lemon Ricotta is biting into lemon heaven. I totally love the tangy feel.

Next was Almond Jelly with mushrooms and beetroot sauce and herb soy. It looks like yam balls to me as it truly tasted like it. I wonder where was the jelly. The ball is very crunchy too.

The third appetizer was grilled prawn with foam and some carrot sauce at the side. Totally amazing and not over baked.

The main dish, called Three Bites, came next. My friend was lactose-intolerant so she got a Barley Soup which consists of barley, herb consomme, zucchini, carrot, celery and shallot. I loved the clear soup of consomme which was so smooth. My friend did not like the smell of the food because she said the smell was too strong. I was ok with it.

The Oyster Risotto with tsarskaya oyster, lemon, parmesan, beurre noisette, arborio rice and egg yolk foam was simply amazing. I am a fan of risotto. Thank god it was too creamy like how risottos normally are made. The oyster is so fresh and oyster pairing with risotto is totally amazing. I did not smell the egg yolk inside which was great. I did not like egg smell normally.

The second main 'Bite' was Mushroom Custard for me which was made of grilled eringgi mushroom, hokkigai, chinese melon, shitake consomme, green pea and micro leaves. This dish is simply amazing. The eringgi is so fresh and there is not a tinge of overpowering mushroom smell inside. The fusion of natural colours is also interesting.

My friend's second main dish was Grilled Asparagus with Mango Puree. It is a welcome change from the normal way we fry asparagus. They grilled with skill that it was like overly black though there are some remnants of blackness on the outside.

My Third Bite was Scallop Smoked Eel Burger which comprised of scallop, smoked eel, gazpacho vinaigrette and black sesame paste. When we think of 'burger,' we mistake it for breaded ones like MCD, but it was a healthier burger whereby the burger bread is replaced by scallop and the sliver of eel in the middle was great accompaniment. I totally love the eel and this is a combination of both my top most favourite Japanese dishes. The egg yolk foam at the side and the black sesame paste were great matches.

In between, they served us a greenish sorbet each in a shot glass. There is some sourish taste too. It was refreshing for the throat and body to have this. They actually used a gun like equipment to put in the foamy sorbet. I totally fell in love with this.

The fourth dish was Black Olive Crusted Cod for my friend. The cod was the most succulent I have ever had. There were dried black olive tapenade, cilantro puree, garlic, leek fettucine and also celeriac fondant. Even the presentation of cod fish was so creative and the cod looks flowery. I totally like the cute celeriac fondant at the side.

The Lobster and Beef Tendon was quite interesting. It was a mix of of a red lobster with beef inside. I totally love the concoction. The losbter was succulent and juicy. It is so far my favourite dish.

My duck confit came next made of duck confit, mashed potato, mustard sauce and crispy potatoes. My personal favourite is the potato crisp that is made like cup to contain the mashed potatoes. The duck confit is made like a Danish pastry surrounding it. The dark black chocolate brownie type on top was not tasty. The duck confit was too salty for my liking.

Lastly, was the dessert I have been waiting for. The French is well known for its dessert. The signature dessert here is the Rhubarb and Beetroot which comprised of rhubarb cream, beetroot ice-cream, crispy sourdough, burnt ginger meringue and black orange gel. I was surprised and was looking for the ice-cream but could not seem to find any and guessed it was probably the one that looks like cream. Overall, I just liked the crispy sourdough which was so crispy and delicious. The other parts of it seems like garnishing. I was told that the Pistachio Cheese Cake which consists of frozen pistachio cheese cake, spiced caramel syrup, feuille de brick and pistachio moss is another signature dish but we could not have too many desserts in a night.

5 courses costs RM 250, 8 courses for RM 360 and 10 courses for RM 450.

Our bill came up to RM 836 inclusive of the French Pinot Red Wine. In KL fine dining costs really expensive.

We could not finish our wine and the waiter kindly offered to let us drink it in the bar since the restaurant is open till 12 am only. The bar has cosy cushioms for chilling out.

My wish is to try Strato and also Fuego the next time.

Cantaloupe Open Now Now Closed

Cantaloupe

Open Now

Now Closed