Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental MIGF 2012

Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental MIGF 2012

Believe it or not, this was my first time reviewing Mandarin Grill for MIGF. This is my fourth review on MIGF 2012 participating restaurants and I hope to review as many as possible in this few weeks. Mandarin Grill is located at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur and it is one of the most popular restaurants in town.

Don’t just love those lights and also the ambience.
Cooking in this restaurant is Chef Reto Webber from Switzerland. His experiences or his journey  has taken him all around his home country, to Australia, and to Dubai where he not only helped to open the first Armani hotel, but also had the pleasure of working at the Atmosphere Grill & Lounge in the super-swanky Burj Khalifa and finally to Malaysia where he obtained his first Chef de Cuisine appointment.

Chef Reto Webber of Mandarin Grill.
I was excited to taste the festival menu as Chef Reto won the Most Outstanding Main Course in last year’s MIGF, offering up a plate of the most tender, slow cooked Sous Vide style wagyu beef cheeks with summer truffles and celeriac roots. That feels bad for missing out his MIGF menu last year.

Mandarin Grill offers a comfortable and yet up-market ambience for its dining experience. It is a great place for an enjoyable quiet dining experience. It has also small rooms accommodating group dining. Service is always at its best at Mandarin Grill.

Now, let’s move on to the MIGF 2012 Menu. Their menu was quite flexible considering there are choices of appetisers, intermediate, main courses and desserts.

Festival Menu

Appetisers

Coral Dusted Bretagne Scallop

Leek Etuve / Beef Chorizo / Parmesan Foam

OR

Rabbit Loin “Perigord”

Lamb Lettuce / Cep Mushroom / Truffle Jus

Rabbit Loin “Perigord”

Lamb Lettuce / Cep Mushroom / Truffle Jus

How interesting to have rabbit loin for an appetiser, the meat was unique and strong in flavour. The Cep Mushroom was palatable.

Intermediate

Doversole Fillet

Salsify / Baby Spinach / Sauce Grenobloise

Doversole Fillet

Salsify / Baby Spinach / Sauce Grenobloise

Doversole is the smallest flat fish in the world and this was well presented by the chef.

OR

Duck Leg Confit ”A La Orange”

Braised Apple- Red Cabbage / Roasted Potato Dumpling

Duck Leg Confit ”A La Orange”

Braised Apple- Red Cabbage / Roasted Potato Dumpling

The Duck Leg Confit was cooked to perfection. It was an interesting combination there with braised apple-red cabbage. The taste braised apple-red cabbage was slightly similar to pickled Chinese cabbage. I loved the tenderness of the Duck Leg Confit and it was paried with the roasted potato dumplings were the oval-square bits while the round ones were gnocchi. This was my second duck leg confit for MIGF 2012 menu.

Sorbet

Williams Pear

Chilled Consommé / Peppermint / Calavados

Main Course

Halibut Fillet ”Winemaker Style”

Champagne Choucroute / Pomme Chateaux

Caramelized Grapes

Halibut Fillet ”Winemaker Style”

Champagne Choucroute / Pomme Chateaux

Caramelized Grapes

While Doversole is the smallest flathead fish, the Halibut is the biggest flathead fish. I had tasted halibut in a few occasions and the last one was in Mandarin Grill too. The fish was slightly over cooked but it was still good and you had to put everything together to manifest all the flavours.

OR

Pure Black Angus Tenderloin “Saliou”

Foie Gras / Brussle Sprouts / Smoked Celery Puree

Garnish Bourguignon

Pure Black Angus Tenderloin “Saliou”

Foie Gras / Brussle Sprouts / Smoked Celery Puree

Garnish Bourguignon

Desserts

White & Orange

White Sacher Sponge / Bourbon Vanilla Bavarois

Orange Custard

White & Orange

White Sacher Sponge / Bourbon Vanilla Bavarois

Orange Custard

OR

Chestnut Honey Sentenced Reblochon

Quince Chutney / Black Pepper Baquette

Selection Of Premium Coffees And Teas

Migf Petit Fours

Migf Petit Fours

It was another interesting MIGF 2012 Menu with interesting flavours and choices. The choice of rabbit was an eye opener as well as some of the creations by Chef Reto. This menu is only available for MIGF 2012 for month of October so book early to avoid disappointments.

The Lunch menu at the Mandarin Grill is RM165 ++ for 2 courses, or RM195++ for 3 courses, without wine.  For dinner it is RM345++ without wine.

For reservations, please contact Mandarin Grill at +603-2179 8960 or email at [email protected]

Wilson Ng