Clinking glasses with Joey Tan (advertising and sales)..we looked deliriously happy : so much bubbly, so little time!Every month in my inbox mail, I will recieve the latest's month expat wine dinner invite........(this is this month's): .........
You're Invited to a Sit Down Dinner -
Xenri D'Garden Restaurant
Menara Hap Seng, KL
Our August 2009 Wine Evening
Date : Thursday, 27th August 2009
Time : 7pm to around 10.30pm
Address : Xenri D'Garden Restaurant
No 2-04, Second Floor Podium Block of Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P.Ramlee, KL.
The scarcity of clutter in Xenri D'Garden Terrace allows the subtleties and nuances of the seasonally driven cuisine to sing out loud and clear.
Be it food, service or ambience, you can be sure you would not be disappointed.
This is Japanese cuisine taken up a few levels.
MENU
Registration
Edamame & Nori Tempura
Sake
Appetiser
Chilled Silk Bean Curd With Marinated Scallop
Amberjack Sashimi
Fresh Oyster With Ponzu Sauce
Stickleback White 2008
Grilled Dish
Grilled Duck Breast With Yuzu Kosho
Dionne Chardonnay, Semillion, Viognier 2008
Entree
Oven-baked Sea Catch Tiger Prawn
Fournier, Chardonnay Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France
Main dish
Braised Wagyu Cheek Meat
served With Pumpkin Rice
Denise Special Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Dessert
Sesame Mochi With Tiramisu
Tempted and appetite whetted, I went, since it was school vac, and what a good time I had!! When I walked into the restaurant this sight greeted me:
The interior : zen marries contemporary chic...since it professes to be of Japanese cuisine taken up a few notches. (this picture from Klue on line)..the rest of the pictures are mine!
Antoinette Perera (manager of operations) was great company! (pardon my red eye...dunno how to lessen red-eye effect on my cammie)
I saw Guat Hong and Barry Shaw at the far end...later I went to their table and Barry gave me the best bear hug I had ever gotten! Earlier, I saw their daughter Sharina...
I was late and when the appetiser was served, I took some pictures of it but they never turned out in my camera!!! Must be too famished to press the shutter release harder!! So, no pictures of that: I could remember the taste though: soft tofu with chewy scallop, fresh oyster which "one is not enough"..as I usually slurp off 6 at one go! and yummy sashimi of I don't care what fish, I love sashimi..........The grilled dish: grilled duck breast with yuzu kosho....being weaned on my Teochew father-in-law's (he cooks it personally) soya sauce infused teochew braised duck, this was a welcome change...the subtle flavours of the fowl could be relished without being masked in sauce...although I have not yet googled what yuzu kosho is..(must be the drizzle of black gravy)
The pumpkin rice that came with the main dish...it had chunky bits of pumpkin topped with pumpkin seeds, which I thought was a nice touch as I liked the crunch mixed with the mash..
The entree : oven baked sea catch tiger prawn....true to its promise: "sea catch"!!! it was very fresh indeed!! All of us agreed the creamy topping on top enhanced all the "nuances" of flavours (as stated in the blurb!)...Anne lamented that the portions were too small!!!
The main dish: wagyu cheek beef that was fantastically soft, beefy with just the right amount of marbled fat distributed in it...so good by itself, we forgot to touch the pumpkin rice that was supposed to accompany it.
As usual, look at the amount of glasses for each person and the different wines we had to sample! It would have been better if the waiter told us what he had just poured and which dish it was supposed to go with.
The other main dish that was offered as an alternative to wagyu beef.
All too soon it was time for dessert: sesame mochi with tiramisu. The mochi was not too sticky and it had streaks of chocolatey cream inside, served with a bamboo pick, the tiramisu in a tiny chocolate cup was that: too tiny! All in all, a satisfying meal, but like Anne said, the portions were too small, even for me, .....let alone the expats!!!
Bye! Thanks for a great evening, Anne (I love "Antoinette" : great name! so much historical and queenly connotations, you should use it instead of plain Anne!)This is a last shot of Xenri, before I dashed for my car parked at the Weld. (St Mary School opposite the back of Weld looked so different..it's been ages...and my daughter's all grown up).
As for the wine, I loved it all!!! I had sips of them all! Sipped only!! If you come with me and offer to drive me home, I will swig it!!
Last night I hit the sack as soon as I reached home!!
Never had such a good night's sleep!!!
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