Tiger Crystal Pairing Dinner Garibaldi, Bangsar

Wines pairing, cognac pairing, whisky pairing dinners.
I have tried them all, some on a weekly basis, especially so for wine pairing ones.Another common affair are Guinness pairing dinners, where the ubiquitous Guinness beef/lamb stew, Guinness ice cream has now become a commonplace.

Still, being a food connoisseur, I find that every meal; simple or luxuriant, can be a journey of discovery. Top chefs spent their lifetime experimenting and studying how the match and combination of different ingredients and produce can come together to create that coveted taste that both pleases and excites our jaded human palate. And it is this ongoing affair that keeps dining exciting.

Tiger Crystal pairing dinner - Garibaldi Bangsar-3

One of my recent culinary experiences was a beer infused and beer pairing dinner with authentic Italian cocktail food.

Now, lets be honest, beer with food aint anything new. The proliferation of pubs around the city can attest to that.

But beers with Italian cocktails? Thats probably not something youll come across everyday. Neither isTiger Crystal, the limited edition and different brew from Tiger which is back again for the second consecutive year, in conjunction with the year-end festive season.

Tiger Crystal pairing dinner - Garibaldi Bangsar

I have to admit that I have not heard of Tiger Crystal prior to this, since Im not much of a beer drinker myself. Sipping it over dinner for the first t! ime just last week, I can vouch that the name suited the lager perfectly; clean, crisp and clear taste and refreshingly smooth down the throat.
Our session that night allows us toexperience how Tiger Crystal blends with unique Italian cocktails; with some prepared infused with the Tiger Crystal and others to be enjoyed simply sipped with the beer.

Coffin Bay oyster with poached quail egg and smoked caviar. RM10.

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Fresh oysters are hard to disappoint, the key being that the oysters must be absolutely fresh of course. Oysters, however, can be oh-so boring after a while.
Hence kudos to the Chef for dressing these plump, briny babies up with creamy, perfectly poached quail eggs and topping them with luxurious caviar.

Sea bream carpaccio with tomato tartare and Tiger Crystal reduction. RM5.

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Beers are commonly paired with savoury, or more specifically salty food. Tartare or carpaccio (semi raw food) are certainly less familiar. That was most likely the primary reason I thoroughly enjoyed this session. I didnt have to chow down greasy salty pub food with a strong bitter beer. What I had that night was elegantly prepared dishes with a light, clean tasting lager.:P

S moked lamb loin in parsley crust on braised capsicum (RM8), yellow tail king fish, seasoned with Tiger Crystal (RM6), Italian veal cheek braised with Tiger Crystal on sweet potato puree (RM8).

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The infused beer in the yellow tail king fish tartare was prominent enough, especially in its bed of sweet melon and onions mix. However, the best of the trio was uncontested that night. All votes went to the exquisitely melt-in-mouth veal cheek, still gently enveloped with a gentle flavour of beer, sitting in a pool of moreish smooth, sweet potato puree.

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Smoked lamb loin in parsley crust on braised capsicum. This was satisfying pink and I loved the parsley crust!

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I had thought pasta would be boring, as most are served with the usual cream/olive oil sauce base. Thankfully theSpaghetti with asparagus fresh tomato and broad bean topped with Robiola Ai Tre Latti- (RM15) was anything but that. While I couldnt pinpoint exactly what the sauce base was, it was good enough for me to finish the bow! l though I was supposedly on a low-carb diet. #DietFail and Im blaming it on the Chef!!:P

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Oh, by the way, the little sheet topping the pasta isRobiola Ai Tre Latti a mold-ripened cow, sheep and goat milk cheese from the Langhe region in Italy. It was creamy and has wonderful lactic (milky) flavors.

Finally it was dessert time! Though I was late for the Kings & Queens Comedy Show 2, I was glad I stayed on for desserts. It was a case of 2 extremes here, for theLayer of Coffee Flavored and White Truffle Flavored Pannacotta was divine yet the Warm Tiger Crystal Sabayon with Apple and Pecan Nut Crambles barely left an impression.

The winning layer was the top truffle pannacotta layer of course. It provided a lovely earthy aroma to an otherwise ordinary sweet dessert. The middle layer was studded withChocolate chips and the bottom layer wasCoffee infused Pannacotta. Dip you spoon in and scope everything out or savour it layer by layer if you wish.
Kudos again to the Chef for a savoury & sweet combination dessert that was memorable!

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Below: Addition to dinner Garibaldis pizzas to help fill us up.

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NOTE:

Tiger Crystal is also proud to present an incredibly exciting opportunity to win a experience to stay in a hotel made entirely out of ice and snow, the iconic ICEHOTELin Sweden.
Each room is uniquely designed and the hotel offers amazing art, nature, accommodation and gastronomy experiences for the guests.
This once in a lifetime opportunity is available to the consumers via the Refreshingly DifferentTiger Crystal Facebook photo contest. All they need to do is upload a photo of their mostrefreshingly different Tiger Crystal moment. The grand prize winner will walk away with a trip fortwo to the fascinating Swedens ICEHOTEL.

Contest begins from 10 November 2011 until 10December 2011.

To find out more about Tiger Crystal and the Refreshingly Different Facebook photo contest, kindly log on to www.facebook.com/tigerbeer.

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My previous Garibaldi dining experiences:
Dining at Garibald, Bangsar
Garibaldi, Bangsar The RM150 Degustation Menu

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant + Lounge
Lot10 & G22, Bangsar Village I
Jalan Telawi 1,
59100 Bangsar, KL.

For Reservations: +603 2282 3457.


Time Out KL Food Awards 2011

flounder with autumn truffles and mushrooms
Flounder with autumn truffles from TOKL Best Fine Dining Winner Cilantro KL's Friday lunch menu


This year's Time Out KL (TOKL) Food Awards had less surprises up its sleeve compared to last year's shocking results. Held at KLPac and hosted by the two D's aka Dominic Lau and Daphne Iking, the award night saw some shake up in some categories that have been previously dominated by a few restaurants. That change could most possibly due to the fact that this year had a phenomenal 50% increase of votes to reach 50,000 votes (per TOKL's press release and not verified).


Some results though were a big surprise such as Hakka Republic picking up Best Continental Restaurant, a place I see more for the bar with their fine wines versus its dining room. The Japanese Restaurant category was so close that they had two specially commended awards for the first time in the awards history. This year also saw the first time there was a Bloggers Choice category. This went to Memoirs of a Chocoholic (congratulations J!) who recommended Village Park, that infamous place for nasi lemak.


Here are the results:


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Honey glazed cod from TOKL's Best Chinese Winner Li Yen, Ritz Carlto! n KL


Best Chinese Restaurant
2011 Winner - Li Yen, Ritz Carlton KL (Other nominees include Yut Kee, Shang Palace, Chynna, New Paris in SS2 and Grand Imperial)
2010 Winner - Chynna, Hilton KL
2009 Winner - Chynna, Hilton KL


Best Continental Restaurant


2011 Winner - Hakka Republic (Other nominees include The Press Room, Albion KL, twenty.one tables+terrace, Tanzini)
2011 Specially Commended - El Cerdo
2010 Winner - La Bodega
2010 Specially Commended - El Cerdo




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Blue lotus dumplings from TOKL Best Thai/Indochine winner Rama V


Best Hawker/Mamak
2011 Winner - Devi's Corner (Other nominees include Lot 10's Hutong, Nagasari Curry House, Sri Nirwana Maju, Nasi Kandar Pelita)
2010 Winner - Nasi Kandar Pelita


Best Healthy Eating/Vegetarian Restaurant
2011 Winner - Marmalade (Other nominees include Haven, RAW, Yogitree and Annalakshmi)
2010 Winner - Marmalade


Best Indian Restaurant
2011 Winner - Kanna Curry House (Other nominees include Passage Thru India, Sri Nirwana Maju and Gill's)
2011 Specially Commended - Bombay Palace
2010 Winner - Bombay Palace
2009 Winner - Bombay Palace


IMG_4306
risotto from Il Lido


Best Italian Restaurant
2011 Winner - La Risata (Other nominees include Nerovivo, Ciccio, Tatto and Sassorosso)
2011 Specially Commended - Il Lido
2010 Winner - Prego
2009 Winner - Prego


Best Japanese Restaurant
2011 Winner - Kampachi, Equatorial KL (Other nominees include Tatsu at Intercontinental Hotel, Gonbei San and Zipangu at Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur)
2011 Specially Commended - Fukuharu
2011 Specially Commended - Rakuzen
2010 Winner- Fukuharu
2009 Winner - Kampachi
2009 Specially Commended - Zipangu, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur


Best Malay Restaurant
2011 Winner - Bijan (Other nominees include Songket, Rebung, Makan Kitchen at DoubleTree by Hilton)
2011 Specially Commended - Enak
2010 Winner - Bijan
2009 Winner - Bijan
2009 Specially Commended - Enak


Best Middle Eastern Restaurant
2011 Winner - Al-Amar (Other nominees include Al-Andalus, Tarbush, Al Rawsha, Laziz and Hadramawt)
2010 Winner - Al-Amar
2010 Specially Commended - Tarbush
2009 Winner - Tarbush
2009 Specially Commended - Al-Amar


strawberry compote with basil ice cream
st! rawberri es compote with basil ice cream from Cilantro Kuala Lumpur


Best Thai/Indochine Restaurant
2011 Winner - Rama V (Other nominees include My Elephant, Sao Nam, Erawan and Tamarind Hill)
2010 Winner - Tamarind Springs
2009 Winner - Tamarind Hill


Best for Pub Grub
2011 Winner - Jarrod & Rawlins (Other nominees include Tom Dick & Harry's, Sid's Pub, Arthur's Bar & Grill and Hoofed)
2010 Winner - Jarrod & Rawlins
2010 Specially Commended - Sid's Pub
2009 Winner - Finnegans


Best place for Coffee (inaugural award)
2011 Winner - Espressemente Illy (Other nominees include RAW, Antipodean, Whisk and Chilla Cup)


Best place for Seafood
2011 Winner - Fatty Crab (Other nominees include Lala Chong, Pantai Seafood, Fisherman's Cove, Green View and Causeway Bay Spicy Crab)
2010 Winner - High Tide
2009 Winner - Fatty Crab
2009 Specially Commended - Magnificent Fish & Chips


blackmore wagyu beef steak
Blackmore Wagyu steak from TOKL 2011 Best Place for Steak Winner, Prime from Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur


Best place for Steak
2011 Winner - Prime, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur (Other nominees include Suzi's Corner, Meatworks, Jake's Charbroiled Steaks, QBA at Westin Kuala Lumpur)
2010 Winner - Prime, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
2010 Specially Commende! d, QBA, Westin Kuala Lumpur


Best Restaurant for fine dining
2011 Winner - Cilantro, Micasa KL (Other nominees include Sage, Lafite, Shook! and Chalet)
2011 Specially Commended - Lafite, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur
2010 Winner - Lafite, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur
2009 Winner - Lafite, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur




norwegian poached egg
Norwegian salmon poached egg from TOKL 2011 Outstanding Chef of the Year, Nathalie Arbefeuille at Nathalie's Gourmet Studio


Best New Restaurant


2011 Winner - Ben's (Other nominees include Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie, Arthur's Bar & Grill, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur, Antipodean, Brotzeit and Hoofed)
2010 Winner - The Pressroom

Restaurateur of the Year
2011 Winner - Benjamin Yong from BIG (other nominees include Edward Hyde from Gastrodome, Joseph Afaki from Al-Amar, Werner Kuhn from El Cerdo Group, and Holland & Thomspon from twenty.one)
2010 Winner - Edward Hyde from Gastrodome
2010 Specially Commended - Benji Conway from Nero Group




Outstanding Chef of the Year
2011 Winner - Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille, Nathalie's Gourmet Studio (Other nominees include Chef Adi Radzi from Hakka Republic, Chef Michael Karam from Al-Amr, Chef Saiful from The Press Room and Chef David King from Westin Kuala Lumpur)
2010 Winner - Da! vid King
2009 Winner - David King
2009 Specially Commended - Damon Campbell


Meeples

Battle while you binge: this cheerful cafe stocks hundreds of hugely engrossing board games, letting customers compete with friends for endless hours in everything from warfare strategies to trivia challenges.

The fee is RM5 per person for each hour; customers are not required to order food & drinks unless they want to (excellent!). Simply browse the selection, pick a game & let Meeples' affable service team show you how to play it.

We kicked off our evening here with Settlers of Catan, establishing roads, settlements & cities in an intricate quest to colonize an island (I won!).

Next up: Wasabi, in which we assembled complex sushi recipes on the board (I came in second, after failing to complete a maki that contained sea urchin, egg & daikon).

Fina! lly: Sma rt Ass, a fast-paced trivia game that forced us to call out answers such as O.J. Simpson, Adelaide, the Amazon & the square dance (I won!).

Meeples' food menu is limited to the likes of chicken nuggets & calamari rings, so we returned to the conveniently nearby Hungry Hog, which introduced new items this month including the wittily named "iPork" _ pork burger topped with apple mayo & cinnamon apple sauce.
Earlier entry on The Hungry Hog: July 25, 2011.

Humpty Dumpty, a patty-free burger stuffed with egg, streaky bacon & cheese. Sinful, for sure, but relatively light _ not hefty enough to fill all the king's horses & all the king's men.

Pork chops in honey mustard sauce, oozing with meaty juices & monumental flavor.

Prefer rice instead of bread & potatoes? The Hungry Hog's siew yok rice is more than worthwh! ile, tha nks to perfectly crisp roast pork & delicious, gravy-drenched grains.

Save space for dessert & scream for porky ice cream, laced with candied bacon bits for a sweet-savory bite that's brilliantly addictive.

Back to Meeples, wrapping up with their drinks: milkshakes & honey green tea.

Meeples European Boardgame Cafe @ SS15 Subang,
64-1, SS15/4D, Subang Jaya.
Open Tues-Sun, 11am-1am.
Tel: 03-5633-8033

Birthday Eve Celebration @ Frangipani Restaurant, Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

We started off my birthday celebration at Cilantro, followed by meals at Prime, Makan Kitchen and Sim Hap Ke with the family. It was indeed a week of indulging in good food. On the eve of my birthday, Hubby took me to Frangipani, a fine dining French restaurant which we have been wanting to try.

One of the most striking things about the restaurant is the interior and ambience that it exudes. In the middle of the restaurant is a still black pool... when we entered the restaurant, we were told 'to be careful not to fall in'. For me, Frangipani is definitely one of the prettiest, modern looking restaurants we've been in KL. I'm so happy we chose this place for my birthday eve meal -- really romantic!



That's the still pool in the middle!




No frangipani as table decor.. the restaurant is named after the frangipani tree that used to stand in front


We spotted Chef Chris Bauer having dinner with some of his friends as we walked into the restaurant -- thankfully, our food turned out well despite the chef not being in the kitchen :) The menu is quite an interesting read; the chef briefly describes what each dish is made of.. it was nice to know what sort of preparation went into each dish (will copy some out and put them in Italics below the dish). Since we had afternoon tea just 3 hours before that, we couldn't handle the tasting menu (RM220 without and RM390 with wine) hence we went for the 3-course menu for RM160 with an option of adding on dessert for RM30.

We were served an amuse bouche (ratatouille on toast) and a pre-starter (smoked salmon with apple and roe) which were both very tasty.

Amuse bouche


Pre-starter


For the first course, I had the pan roasted porcini powder dusted Hokkaido scallop with half cooked potato sliced, seared porcini mushrooms and white gazpacho vinaigrette (supplementary RM10). Phew what a long name!

"This little dish packs a huge flavour punch. We roast dry rice until brown, then grind it to a dust and add dried porcini mushroom dust to this, then coat the scallop with this mix before frying it. The result is wonderfully fragrant, beautiful scallop with a light crust that seems to heighten the taste of the sea. Still crunchy potato slices and a few dabs of a lightly acidic gazpacho vinaigrette perfect the dish."


I feel the chef definitely achieved all the aforementioned, I loved the light crust on the scallop as it provided a nice texture to the bouncy scallop. The half cooked potato tasted a little like turnip, nice crunchy texture. If I had a complain about this dish, it would be that I expected more than 1 scallop since I had to pay a supplementary for this dish (cant see the logic behind the pricing).




Looks like the scallop is dusted with gold dust :)

Hubby had the Fresh tiger prawn cevich! e with a vocado cream, dried tomato reduction and chillies. Tangy, refreshing and delicious.

"The combination is an absolute classic. Prawn, avocado, tomato but here we have given each ingredient an interesting twist. The prawn isn't cooked in the usual sense, it is turned into a ceviche, a method by which acidity of lime juice is used to 'cook' the prawn. The tomato is dried and then turned into a very concentrated sauce and the avocado is diced, fried and then blended into a cream. This process brings out a completely different flavour dimension in the humble avocado."



For the second course, I had the 'Black' Rice risotto with grilled fresh water prawn, baby squid and oyster. Although it is called a risotto, the chef did mention in the menu that "this is not a risotto nor is the rice black" but calls it one of his best dishes to date. This dish is made using risotto rice, and then a creamy (cheese?) sauce is poured over the dish in front of us. The black lines at the side of the plate is squid ink, mixed into the sauce will make it black, hence the name. The rice is perfectly cooked, and this was a dish which I enjoyed the more I ate it.. it has a lovely umami-ness to it.




When Hubby ordered the Warm tea smoked salmonwith confit potatoes crme frache and salmon roe, the waiter said 'Good choice sir'. This ranks high as one of the best smoked salmon we've eaten (another place which does awesome smoked salmon is Sage), love the pairing of ikura roe with it. The confit potatoes was lovely too, served in many pretty layers.




Palate cleanser -- honeydew sorbet with pink peppercorns


For mains, I was torn between the duck confit and brais! ed wagyu beef cheek. In the end, I ordered the braised wagyu beef cheek served with braised red cabbage, mole sauce and pumpkin dauphines. The beef cheek was braised til it was tenderly soft, so so yummy. Then it is grilled so you get a lovely crust. I didn't really care much for the Mexican mole sauce though, made with nuts and bitter chocolate.




Hubby picked from "Today's Special" (supplementary RM28), the Grilled Wagyu Rump with Portabello mushrooms tempura, sauteed Brussel sprouts with truffle glaze. The steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare, super juicy. The tempura mushrooms is a nice twist.




We were full to the brim by now, but decided to share a dessert. Since there was quite a few to choose from, we ordered the Trio of Desserts (supplementary RM5) for a taster of smaller portions of three desserts picked by the pastry chef. We were presented with the iced green apple souffl with cinnamon crumbs and a tarte tatin on the side, super dark chocolate and pistachio terrine with passion fruit mascarpone custard & forest berry coulis and pistachio & white chocolate cheesecake with Irish tea sauce, toasted pine nuts and pistachio cream filled Russian cigarette.

Our favorite of the lot is the super dark chocolate, using 80% Valrhona which tastes really rich and sinful.


Iced green apple souffl with cinnamon crumbs and a tarte tatin on the side

Pistachio & white chocolate cheesecake with Irish tea sauce, toasted pine nuts and pistachio cream filled Russian cigarette.

Super dark chocolate and pistachio terrine with passion fruit mascarpone custard & forest berry coulis


More photos of the restaurant interior... absolutely love it.



Went upstairs to have a look at the trendy Frangipani Bar


Verdict: The food definitely impressed, but what really left a mark for us is the interior and ambience. Perfect for celebrating a special occasion.


*If ordered a la carte, first course is RM38, second course RM58, third course RM80 and dessert RM35. Supplementary may apply for certain dishes.

For the full set of photos, click here.

Opening times: 7.30pm, 10.30pm last orders. Closed on Mondays.

Service: Excellent.!

Parking: There is an open air car park next to the restaurant, RM15 per entry.

Location: Frangipani Restaurant & Bar, 25 Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2144 3001

Website: http://www.frangipani.com.my

GPS Coordinates:3.147404, 101.70825