Putting the haute in French cuisine

Tartare et Carpaccio, a fresh maguro tuna tartar in spicy mayonnaise placed alongside a salmon and scallop carpaccio with soy sauce. — Photos: M. AZHAR ARIF/The Star

EXUDING a sophisticated and eclectic ambience, Supperclub Kuala Lumpur positions itself as a fine dining restaurant with its recent redesign of its space and visual aesthetics.

Bronze and metallic tones, warm wood, plush lounges and sleek dark marble table tops readies diners for a chic contemporary French dining experience.

French chef Romain Fabre, who trained in the distinguished Culinary Institute Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, completes the transformation with an eight-course degustation menu.

It starts off with a surprise for diners – the amuse bouche which is left to the chef’s skills, imagination and pretty much any ingredients they have fresh at hand.

During our meal, Fabre whipped up Beef Tartare topped off with caviar and the tangy taste of balsamic vinegar, a slice of fluffy focaccia with the briny flavour of anchovies and sweetly caramelised onions, as well as a frothy and warm earthy Mushroom Velouté with bits of chestnut puree.

Le Millefeuille is the chef’s contemporary take on a classic French dessert that uses the brittle, crispy brick leaf stacked with vanilla and light cream and salted caramel.

The second course was another less than conventional dish, La Truffe – a cool, gin-based cocktail accented by the distinct scent of truffle and balanced with the strong fragrance of basil to open up the palate.

It is quickly followed with the Tartare et Carpaccio, exactly as the name suggests with raw tuna tartar in spicy mayonnaise with ebiko and a side of thinly sliced Hokkaido scallop and salmon carpaccio with citrus soy sauce and chillies.

Taking full advantage of the fresh seafood the restaurant sources, Fabre created another dish when he presented poached oysters in the Huitre Pochee.

Here, the oyster delicately floats in coconut milk foam and the heaviness is cut with fresh mint and finely diced cucumbers and the salty richness of Avruga caviar.

Focused on pleasing the Asian palate, he has developed several dishes with the Gyoza de Langoustine et Oursin being an elegant example.

It is a bay prawn gyoza with the creamy taste of sea urchin subtly added to the clear consommé using the natural sweetness of langoustine as stock.

Gyoza de Langoustine et Oursin is a consommé made with the natural sweetness of langoustine stock.

The luxurious St Jacques Rotie is next with its foam lobster bisque matched with celeriac purée and roasted velveteen textures of glazed chestnut.

Balancing between the land and sea, the main course consists of either the signature Boeuf Rossini that is also found in the a la carte menu or the Agneau Sous-vide, browned on the outside yet temptingly pink inside.

The lamb rack is cooked in a water bath in a vacuum-sealed pouch to retain the lamb’s solid flavours and succulence.

It is then roasted to brown its surface and its flavours enhanced through light caramelisation and doused with a peppery jus gras with a side of faintly sweet creamy artichoke puree for contrast and crispy kadaif threads.

The amuse bouche is a dish left to the chef‘s imagination.

The Cheese Platter is the perfect way to end the meal with a mixture of four French cheeses featuring either goat’s or cow’s milk that range from pungent yet creamy to those with a little bit of bite.

Diners craving for a sweet end to the meal can opt for the Le Millefeuille, Fabre’s contemporary take on a classic French dessert.

Topped with gold leaf, this dish features brittle wafers, vanilla ice cream and light cream drizzled with salted caramel to create a balance of flavours,

Reservations of 24 hours is required to enjoy this meal and it is for a minimum of two diners.

La Truffe is a less-than-conventional second course in the degustation menu.

The restaurant can seat up to 200 people.

Diners can opt for the six-course version of the menu priced at RM268.

The full eight-course is priced at RM348, with an additional RM25 both dessert and cheese platter.

Fabre has worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants both in France and Switzerland, bringing his own brand of contemporary French cuisine that caters to the Malaysian palate.

SUPPERCLUB Kuala Lumpur, TREC KL, Lot E12-14, Electric Boulevard, Jalan Tun Razak Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: [phone] and 016-2648 529 / www.facebook.com/supperclubkualalumpur). Business hours: 5pm to 1am (Monday) and 5pm to 3am (Tuesday to Sunday). Pork free.

This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement of StarMetro.