Dining Room Macalister Mansion Penang - 8 Course Chef Set Dinner Menu

What makes our 8 Course Chef Tasting Set Dinner Menu Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang (Malaysia Tatler's Best Restaurant for 2013 and 2014) special is that you do not need to worry what's for dinner, you are game on to experience the multitude of surprised dishes that the Chef has in store for us.

Dining Room @ Macalister Mansion Penang Address

228, Jalan Macalister, George Town, 

11400 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

The decor is pure colonial couture with all-white furniture accented by a giant faux white tree in the centre of the room, exudes a full elegant, classy and romantic ambiance.

The kitchen at the Dining Room is headed by Chef Johnson Wong (who was trained in a Michelin-starred restaurant) and his menu of modern contemporary cuisine that favored local produce (which changes every two months) is just so tasty and his humble, friendly manner makes the meal a relaxed one.

As mention earlier, the only menu available is a 4-course dinner where patrons can choose from. Other than that you don't expect pages of dishes to choose from but for us tonight, we are here to taste out the 8 Course Chef Tasting Menu. The menu according to Chef will only be revealed at the end of the dinner. This concept of Chef Tasting Menu is quite popular in oversea especially so in Japan (Omakase - Chef Choice).

Wine Pairing Dinner : Gobo Upstairs Lounge & Grill Traders Hotel KLCC - New Zealand Week

In conjunction with the New Zealand Week, Gobo Upstairs Lounge & Grill @Traders Hotel KLCC together with New Zealand Unlimited is running a special promotion to taste and wine with some of the best produce from New Zealand.

New Zealand is popular for its meat, for example, their lamb, the dairy product such as Cheese, seafood produce namely King Salmon and of late its' wines which are regarded as some of the world’s best.

During the week from 7th to 12th November, there will be a series of New Zealand top quality food produce that will be used to by Chef Mat Cook with a special 6 Course Wine Dinner on the 10th November 2016. There will also be a cooking class which will be held on 12th November 2016 (RM160.00 Nett).

For other days, the New Zealand specials will also be offered for lunch (2 or 3 Course as above).

For the 6 Course New Zealand Wine Dinner (RM289.00 Nett), the first course is the BREAD - it is a Light Rye Handmade Bread served with Green Lipped Mussel and Miso Butter and Cauliflower Almond Puree.



This BREAD is paired with Woven Stone Pinot Gris 2012.

while the second course is the APPETISER i.e the Cured NZ King Salmon - served with Avocado Milk, julienne cucumber, tinkles of pomelos and shaved fennels. We always like the texture and fine taste of the NZ King Salmon and find this pairing of the different ingredients to be just balanced.

The New Zealand wine that is paired for the appetiser is the Wooing Tree Chardonnay 2012.

For the ENTREE we had the Roasted Venison which is served with Red Cabbage, Turnips, Smoked Chestnuts with Cocoa Nib Jus.

The wine that is paired with this Roasted Venison is the Waimea Estate Trev's Red 2013.

And for the Main dish for the night is the Pure South Lamb Loin served with a Shoulder Confit, Cracked Wheat, Eggplant, Saffron Yoghurt, Peas and Pine nuts. Lovely texture and taste that was perfectly paired to the Pinot Noir.

Our wine for this lovely dish is the Tankersley Estate Pinot Noir 2013

the Fifth Course is the CHEESE. A good quality cheese always goes well with wine. For this, we had the Kapiti Cheese served with Baguette, Rose Pear, Earl Grey Tea and Fig Jam.

and the wine for this fine cheese is the Wooing Tree Trickled Pink 2012.

while for Dessert, we had the Whittaker's Chocolate Cremeux; a coffee sponge that is served with passion fruit melting moments and hokey pokey ice cream.

The wine for the dessert is the Vinoptima Gewurztraminer 2008.

New Zealand Week Wine Dinner Menu

For reservations and more information about the New Zealand Week, you can call 603 2332 9910 or email to goboupstairs.thkl@tradershotels.com

Rendez-Vous Bangsar French Restaurant - A Wine Pairing Dinner With Traditional French Cuisine - Bangsar Kuala Lumpur

French people are well known for their dining antics and so in every dinner meals, it is not only about ambience, plating, food but also the right wine pairing for the dishes. At Rendez-Vous French Restaurant located at 100, Lorong Maarof, Bangsar Park, 59000 Kuala Lumpur; is where you can find great traditional French food cooked by artistry French Chef with a wine selection for each dish.

Recently, we were invited to taste out a new menu offering from Chef Benjamin which hails from Toulouse, France. Besides serving the popular other French dishes that we had in our earlier review (pls click Here); he is offering some newly crafted French cuisine in its original taste for us to savour.

As usual, in the full French tradition, we had our pre-dinner drink which is the popular Kir Classique (a white wine with Creme de Cassis (is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants) - RM34.00). Kir is a French refreshing cocktails which are mix with fruit liquor and topped with white wine.

Next, is, of course, the Amuse Bouche, a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-Bouches are different from appetisers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but are served gratis and according to the chef's selection alone. For the night, the chef served us the Scambled eggs topped with Caviar. With the bland taste of the Eggs and slightly salty flavours of the caviar, it blended well with the cool fruity Kir.

For starters, we had the "Ouef Parfait Et Gnocchi" (RM22.00)- Gnocchi is a popular dish in France, it is made from a combination of mash potatoes, flour and eggs. For this dish, the chef served the Parisian style Gnocchi; with the Fried, Choux strip rolls pastry that gives it a crunchy feel and topped with a half boiled eggs served in a clay pot with cheese and bechamel sauce.

For this dish, the recommended wine is the Chardonnay.

Next, we had the "Thon Confit" (RM25.00) which is Candied Tuna (slow cooked together with Olive oil and Tarragon leaves) served with cauliflower puree, with a refreshing sides of chop green apples and cabbage sprinkled with rouille sauce.

The recommended wine pairing is the Sauvignon Blanc

After that it was time for the main course, the first main course dish is the "Filet De Loup De Mer" (RM58.00) - a fish based dish which is made out from of a pan fried Seabass Fillet which has a nice crisp skin served on a bed of carrot puree with a tangy citrus vinaigrette sauce that married perfectly to the fish meat. It is then topped with the flavorful and savoury Avruga Caviar. 

For this dish, the recommended wine to be paired is the Pinot Grigio (dry, semi-sweet white wine)

Our last main dish is the "Poitrine De Porc Fondante" (RM49.00). The pork belly is slow cooked for 2 days and pan fried to a light crisp on the outside which has its' meat and pork belly fats literally melting in the mouth. A simply delightful feel that satisfy our craving. It is served with Crispy "Gribiche" style Pork feet. We were taken aback that they was no sign of any pork feet/knuckles in the dish; As it turns out the chef has cooked the pork feet and has its' meat chopped to small pieces and together with Gherkin pickle, capers, onions, parsley, boiled eggs and Dijon Mustard rolled in a spring roll and deep fried. 

Beside the Gribiche there is another roll which is the Mushroom Cannelloni, which has chopped chicken meat and mushroom stuff in a pasta roll. The sauce of the dish is the meat juice which was slow cooked with the pork belly and added with fried bacon chip.

The wine to be paired for this dish is the Baron Monbarduc (a fine, soft and fruity wine)

We had 2 dessert to end our lovely dinner; the first of which is the "Tarte Au Citron Meringue". Sitting at the bottom is the home-made biscuit like lemon tart which is topped with lemon flavoured cream and the soft crusty meringue. Decorated with freshly slice apples to give it a crunch and a home-made lime sorbet that add to a refresh feel to this dessert.

For those that would like to savour this dessert with a sparkling wine, a Prosecco; a sparkling wine made in Italy; now you cannot call a Champagne unless it is from this region (as the saying goes all champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne) - would be an ideal choice for this dessert.

Our last dessert is the Paris Brest (RM20.00); an in-house made Choux pastry which has a slight crust and an inside soft texture which is then sandwiched with a hazelnut custard. My dinner partner loves the flaky pastry crust with the right balance of buttery taste.

It was our pleasure to have a nice French cuisine in which we discover the Chef great efforts and skill to showcase these delicious dishes at Rendez-Vous French Restaurant. We look forward to taste more enchanting dishes in the near future.

"Bon Appetit"

Mutiara Damansara Food: Minori Japanese Restaurant Special Kaiseki Omakase Set

Minori Japanese Restaurant which is located at The Royal Chulan Damansara Hotel 1st Floor No.2 Jalan PJU 7/3 Mutiara Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya is famed and popular for its various Omakase dishes which offers it's' client a multitude of special exotic ingredients. +BestRestaurant ToEat got to taste the new offering of this season Kaiseki dishes specially crafted by the Great Master Chef Takahiro. You can also read our previous review of another exotic dish which is Cod Fish Sperm from this link.

We started our special "Kaiseki" Omakase meal with an appetizer which is the "Yum Tofu and Grilled Seasonal Eggplant with Crab Sauce, Ginger Flavour, and Mountain Caviar". This appetizer is served chilled and it was a delight to taste the many flavours from the ingredients and condiments. We started off with the soft tofu with crab sauce and move to the Eggplant which when eaten with the salmon roe exudes out a slightly natural salty taste. The Mountain Kaviar  which is used here as the topping is actually a black seed which gotten its name because of the same texture like of the caviar.

Our next course is the soup; what the chef has created was the special Steamed Eggs with Ohitashi Organic Wasabi Leaf and Asari Shell with Yuzu Orange Flavour broth. Normally in Japan the Ohistashi is cooked with Spinach but the Chef uses the Wasabi leaf for this dish. The silky soft steamed eggs are actually Chawanmushi which is topped with a citrusy orange yuzu flavour broth. Paired with the succulent Asari meat; it enhances the full flavour of this soup.

As with any Kaiseki meal, our grill item for the day is the White Miso marinated Butter Fish "Saikyo Yaki". The flaky soft meat texture of the butterfish was grilled to the right char thereby exuding the natural sweetness of the fish. Paired with Vinegar Tomato, Wasabi Lotus Root, and Sweet Potato, it marries a vinaigrette, sweet and mustardy taste of these side dishes to the grilled fish.

After the grilled food, we had the Nimono, which is a simmered dish. For this, the chef has prepared the Tender Beef Tongue With Special Sauce. Normally beef tongue is very chewy and has a rough texture, but the chef; using this method of cooking which is simmering the beef tongue in stock over a period of time until the liquid is fully absorbed into the beef tongue is able to cook the beef tongue until the soft meat like texture.

To finish off our Kaiseki meal, it is a norm to serve a rice based dish; our Shokuji is the Scallop Porridge Minori Style With Fried Cherry Blossom Prawn. The chef uses the combination of dried and fresh scallop to cook this very flavourful porridge. Each spoonful of porridge is filled with the dried scallop and coupled with the sweet flavour of the Blossom Prawn, it was a wonderful end to our meal for today.

For desserts, we had the Warabi Mochi and Green Tea Parfait served in a cocktail glass; lined with cut strawberries and smash adzuki bean and the chewy warabi (jelly-like) mochi at the bottom of the glass.

For sake lovers, you can try out the sake pairing that we had, the first one was the Jumai Daiginjo - a very smooth sake. This is the only Sake in the world that is brewed using the legendary Kikusui Sake rice.



and the Funaguchi Kikusui Nama Genshu which came in a can and has a very flowery and fruity taste. Sake in a Can is renown for its freshness as it does not go thru the normal pasteurization and dilution process. The Sake is can directly from the source and this enables it to maintain its natural aroma and flavour. Best served chilled.

Mutiara Damansara Food: Minori Japanese Restaurant Royal Chulan Damansara Hotel - Specialty Japanese Food.

Japanese is fond of eating exotic and prized seafood as it is. Little wonder when +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste some of the special menu offering of MINORI Japanese Restaurant located The Royal Chulan Damansara Hotel 1st Floor No.2 Jalan PJU 7/3 Mutiara Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya.

Minori Japanese Restaurant is a multiple MIGF award winner restaurant that has showcase some of the authentic and traditional Japanese dishes that captivate its' customer to continue to patronize the restaurant for some seasonal fare from time to time.

Set in a modern Zen style Japanese decorations, the restaurant has an elegant dining ambiance that are suitable for business and family dining. 

For this review; Chef Takahiro will be showcasing four of the dishes under his Omakase set. The first dish on the table was the Cod Fish Sperm Sashimi style which is the best way to eat it as you can taste its natural taste. This is the first time, we are tasting the Cod Fish Sperm. 

This Fish Sperm has a slippery soft white texture which is a popular delicacy during the winter season in Japan. When bitten it; together with a dip of the sauce, you can feel the bursting feel followed by a soft texture tau foo like musky taste of the cod fish. This Sashimi is complemented with chilled shredded radish, seaweed and scallion. 

The second dish is the Foie Gras Chawanmushi. Chawan mushi is one of yours truly favorite dish. The eggs texture are silky soft and was perfectly enhanced with the flavour and taste of the Foie Gras. Topped with a special sauce it was indeed a delight to slurp this velvety savoury egg dish. 

Next comes the in-house signature Minori Rolls. Using fresh ingredients such as soft shell crab and grilled eel was an interesting combination for this maki. Rolled it in with the natural sweetness of the avocados and dressed with a mayo based dressing, it was a delight to be eaten.

For dessert, we had the Fish Collagen Mochi Japanese Rice-Cake Dessert a.k.a Water Mochi. Water Mochi which has a soft and bouncy gelatin like texture; are made from fish bone and fish scales. You can then add in the Japanese Gula Melaka syrup; followed by the Finely Roasted Soya Bean powder and you have a dessert that is simple and delicious.

Make a date with Minori Japanese Restaurant to try out their Omakase style set and be prepared to be surprised with the offering of the chef.