In The News

Tuesday November 11, 2008

Asian touch to Mediterranean cuisine
By OH ING YEEN

Red Restaurant
Hilton Petaling Jaya2
Jalan Barat
46200 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-79559122 ext 4062/4063
Business hours: 6.30pm to 10.30pm (Monday to Saturday).

Expect something different at the Red Restaurant this month. As Red makes its debut in Malaysia’s most prestigious dining event of the year, the Malaysian International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) 2008, expect nothing less than a great dining experience.

Taking up the challenge is chef Zul Aman aka Carloz, with 14 years of experience in the culinary industry. His drive for trying new things stemmed from his stint in Maldives.

“There was nothing much there, only coconuts and seafood on the island so I had to make use of what’s available. The creativity is there,” said the innovative chef.

Desserts galore: Zul with some of his creations.The restaurant serves Mediterra-nean-Asian cuisine and Zul tries to add in Asian elements whenever he can.

“I want to promote Asian flavours and I try to use local produce as well.

“The berries used for the desserts are from Cameron Highlands and some of the vegetables and herbs are sourced locally,” he said.

He believes that taking things slow is the best way to produce a good meal.

“Slow cooking can retain the natural and fresh flavours, there’s no additional flavours added. If the dish is too complicated, you can’t get the natural flavours.

“There’s a lot of effort and love going into it, too,” he said.

The chef has collaborated with the restaurant’s mixologist to come up with signature cocktails to complement the courses in taste as well as presentation.

Restaurant assistant and bar manager Ruben Jack said after many experiments with friends and colleagues as their guinea pigs, they finally came up with the right concoction to be paired with each course.

“It’s too common to have wines during dinner so we wanted to try something different

Tempting:
The Cod fish is best enjoyed with the bell pepper marmalade cucumber creme fraiche.Although vodka is normally sourced from Russia, we chose 42 Below, a vodka from New Zealand,

“However, customers who prefer wine can still order it at a special price.”

You can also opt to forgo the cocktails and the mixed juices served are the same minus the vodka.

Creativity is also added to the special festive menu. For instance, the appetiser is titled “To begin...’’ and the soup “a few spoonfuls’’.

Start the meal with Amuse Bouche, a bite-sized hors d’oeuvre, which is placed on an upside-down glass. The homemade papaya jam adds a balance with the right amount of sweetness and complements the foie gras. Then, remove the glass to uncover the appetiser, which is Jellied Mutton Shank and Chiffonade, Salmon Tartar with Caper Remoulade Poached Quail Egg and Anchovy Crisps.

The accompanying cocktail is 42 Below Feijoa added with orange, lime and mint.

Seafood lovers will love the soup, Crab Bisque Green Pea Puree and Shrimp Lollipop. The soup is only poured onto the green pea puree and shrimp lollipop when the soup is served. With the different ingredients, every mouthful is a different taste. The shrimp lollipop is a unique idea, giving a hint of the chef’s cheeky side. The 42 Below Pure with grapefruit and lime adds balance to the seafood.

Named “A touch of twist’’, the entrée is the Orzo risotto with roasted fresh prawn and yabbies with green asparagus and vanilla foam. The cocktail-42 Below Pure with cranberry juice, mint and lime is rather bitter to the taste.

Next is the much awaited main course with three tantalising selections to choose from. The Cod and Sea Urchin with Bell Pepper Marmalade

Main course:

The oven roasted lamb rump is scented with spices and enhanced with harisa prawn.Cucumber Crème Fraiche and White Asparagus scores a thumbs up with its burst of flavours, as the bell pepper marmalade goes well with the cod.

“The cod was pan-fried to a crisp and cooked using a slow fire in the oven,”

Watch out for the kick of the Spiked 42 Below Passion Fruit, Kafir lime, watermelon combination. You’ll just have to try it yourself to find out what the secret ingredient is. A word of caution: don’t down it in a gulp.

Another choice for the main course will be the Slow cooked Australian Beef Brisket. It is cooked with cepes and pink peppercorn tossed with local green, red and white bean salad with thyme and parsley. The cepes, which are dry mushrooms, are soaked overnight to get the flavours. It is complemented with the 42 Below passion, cranberry, lime, mint cocktail.

“This is the first time I’m using beef brisket,” Zul said,

“The popular choices are steak or rib eye but I wanted to try something different.

The Oven Roasted Lamb Rump is another choice for the main course. It is scented with cumin, harissa prawn, cilantro falafel and onion confit.

“The lamb rump is from Australia, I chose it instead of the usual lamb chop as people want to try something different,” said Zul.

While it may be almost impossible to have any space left after all that scrumptious food, you must make room for desserts.

Entree:

The Orzo risotto with roasted fresh water prawn, yabbies, green asparagus and vanilla foam.The restaurant has come up with the dessert library and just the sound of it makes your mouth water.

Pick from a vast selection of desserts such as the Soft Chocolate Fraise, Chocolate Truffle, Financier, Raspberry Angel and more.

“We prepare 10 to 16 type of desserts a day, depending on the number of customers. If there are more, we’ll make more,” said Zul.

The festival menu is priced at RM198++ per person (with cocktails) and RM168++ per person (without cocktails)

Jazzing up the atmosphere is Take 5, who will entertain guests at Uncle Chili’s (situated next to Red, hence its patrons can also enjoy the performance) from now till December.

The group performs from Monday to Saturday from 9.45pm onwards.

So do as the Red tagline goes: Relax, Enjoy and Discover!