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2013-10-02
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Despite all the glowing reviews, all this time I haven't had a chance to dine at Frangipani, but when I heard that Frangipani has now a new executive chef thus a brand new signature menu, I knew I had to check it out. Hails from Malaga, Spain, Chef Manuel Lopez Quinones has worked in many countries as well as his homeland, and most impressive accomplishments includes his stints at 2 Michelin Star "La Broche" in Madrid and 2 Michelin-star "Arola" in Barcelona, under the famed Sergio Arola. Previo
We were most impressed with the beautiful layout of the intimate dining area with a pond in the middle, and the lighting was sufficiently dim to create a romantic ambiance. Service staff was most attentive and polite, they definitely know the menu very well. Without further ado, we were given a menu to choose our dishes from the Signature menu. And I decided to stick to seafood and let the service staff do the wine pairing for me.
Of course, the amuse bouche was first given to us.
Arugula, Smoked Salmon, a touch of cream cheese and alfalfa sprouts. Tasty combination. The arugula lends a peppery and bitter note this which I enjoyed. My first course was Sauteed Baby Squid and I love the simple and elegant plating.
Adorned with super finely chopped parsley and chives (impressive knife skill), garlic, extra virgin olive oil with a quenelle of mash on the side and dots of aioli surrounding the baby squid, this was almost too pretty to eat. The herbs and EVOO definitely enhance the flavours of lightly sauteed squids. They were cooked to perfect, tender with a touch of bite. The mash is on the light side as we were told Chef Manuel doesn't like to use a lot of cream and butter, which is refreshing actually. Very good start to the meal. My second course was grilled Hokkaido Scallops presently daintily on 2 rings of Mango salad.
Once again a very elegant way of presenting the dish. Look at the giant sized scallops with beautiful char marks, what a sight to behold. I love the meaty scallops, the texture was dense yet delicate and soft, pairs well with the mango salad which had some coriander, mint and a touch of chili. Perfection. My main course was confit black cod with corn puree, baby corns and some caramelised bits of corn.
I love the simplicity of this dish. Black cod is my favourite fish and it was amazingly soft. Heavenly! Pairing with corn gives it very clean flavours. Sweet and savoury well balanced. The assorted sprouts on top lend a contrast to the the texture. Delicious!
This foie gras dish is not included in the signature menu but we ordered it anyway because I heard Frangipani does it well. And people have spoken, as this was hands down the best foie gras dish I have tasted so far. The liver was perfectly charred outside and buttery soft inside, great mouth feel. Pairing it with apple is quite surprising, but it works.I thought the foie gras was going to be the highlight of the dish as I'm usually not crazy about dessert. Boy did I get it wrong! The desserts are not specified on the menu so when this banana and toffee "fritter" (I'm sure Chef has another name for it but I think I had too much wine at that point to remember it), with Creme brulee icecream was presented to me, my eyes lit up instantly.
I love everything about it. The icecream was the first one I went for and it tasted exactly like creme brulee. The "fritter", crispy with well caramelised banana inside. It was like Chef read my mind and knew exactly how I want my dessert. Needless to say, this tops the list for dessert in Klang Valley at the moment. Good food, great service, what more can I ask for? More wine, perhaps, though I think I sure had quite a few last night. Hopefully we will get another chance to visit soon.
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