Chef Galvin Lim of Les Amis Group Singapore in Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

Chef Galvin Lim of Les Amis Group Singapore in Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

We have been missing out for a number of food reviews and event invitations. Yes, we have been busy and it is regretful we couldn’t make it for those invites. Hence, we almost missed out this one at Mandarin Grill and we are grateful to the lovely people from MO (Mandarin Oriental) for arranging a dinner session for us (and other working food bloggers) as we couldn’t make it for the earlier lunch.

Mandarin Grill at MOKL…

When I received the invite, I was thrilled. The Group Executive Chef of the Les Amis Group of Restaurants, Galvin Lim will be treating food connoisseurs with his signature culinary delights using only the finest and freshest ingredients during his gastronomic excursion at the award-winning Mandarin Grill at Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur from 14 to 16 June. For those of you all who didn’t know, Les Amis in Singapore is one of the world’s top restaurants and winner of many awards and accolades.

Chef Galvin Lim himself is a popular figure in Singapore and he has worked with some of the finest restaurants in the world. Of Singaporean descent, Lim has amassed an enviable culinary track record of working with the best in the culinary industry. Upon graduation, he worked his way up through the ranks at Shangri-La’s now defunct La Tour Restaurant. Lim spent eight years learning the ropes of the industry under the tutelage of Mentor-Chef David Mollicorne, before joining the opening team at Au Jardin, a restaurant under the Les Amis Group, as Resident Chef.

During his stint with the Group over the years, Lim has also undergone training overseas in some of the world’s most renowned kitchens such as Lameloise in Burgundy, Le Gavroche in London, L’Auberge des Cimes in St. Bonnets les Froids Rangis Macon, and Les Elysees du Vernet in Paris under Chef Alain Soliveres. In 2008, Lim earned himself the Commanderie of Cotes de Bordeaux, one of France’s highest recognition for chefs and sommeliers.

With several years of invaluable experience under his belt, Chef Lim, along with his team of chefs, he regularly creates new menus, using the freshest and best ingredients whilst also making sure that special attention is taken to strike a balance between the various flavours and textures.

Mandarin Grill offers a quiet and cozy dining experience.

It was great to have him at Mandarin Grill, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (MOKL) from 14 to 16 June 2012. Today is the last day and I hope you can book a seat for an exclusive 6-course dinner priced at 448++ per person. Trust us, it is worth it.

The eggplant caviar with Spanish octopus and fennel pollen aioli.

We started off with the Eggplant Caviar. The eggplant caviar comes with Spanish octopus and fennel pollen aioli and it was an interesting combination of flavour we have here.

Ciabatta wrapped in crispy white asparagus, confit egg, poached egg and morel mushrooms.

Next we had Ciabatta wrapped in crispy white asparagus, confit egg, poached egg and morel mushrooms. We are very lucky as it is coming to the end season for white asparagus. According to Mr. Timothy Goh, the director of wines of Les Amis Group, the white asparagus we were having is from France and they usually serve German white asparagus in Singapore. The white asparagus was tender and it tasted lovely with the confit egg and morel mushrooms. The foam is the confit egg and you have the poached egg as whole or break it.

Danish halibut ‘sous vide style’ with Australian black winter truffles and sakura ebi.

Slow cooked Danish halibut ‘sous vide style’ with Australian black winter truffles and sakura ebi. It has been a while since the last time I had a halibut. Halibut is a flatfish which live in North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. The Australian black winter truffles have its distinctive scent. As the plate was served, we got the fragrance of the truffles right away. The sakura ebi is the dried shrimps that add up the natural saltiness to the fish and it blends well altogether with the truffles.

Dining in Mandarin Grill offers you a selection of knives to choose. The only difference is the handlers.

The waitress came and showed us the Char – grilled Wagyu “Calotte de Boeuf” cooked in hay. We were impressed.

We were served with two cuts, the rib eye and the rib eye cap. The rib eye cap is outer layer of rib eye and it was soft and juicy. It was served with corns and also fried potatoes injected with truffles. The Wagyu rib eye was grilled to perfection and it was delicious. We wished we have the whole pot of Wagyu.

“Sunny Side Up”

It was breakfast again as the waiter brought us the “Sunny side up” as dessert. Don’t be deceived as the egg white was made up with milk ice cream and topped with chips of dark chocolate infused with chilli and the egg yolk is made up with pineapple.

Fancy deconstructed lemon tarte with lime sorbet.

Well, if that is not enough how about Fancy deconstructed lemon tarte with lime sorbet. The deconstructed lemon tarte was yummy and the lime sorbet add us the sour “kick” to this creamy sweet dessert.

After dinner we had a lengthy chat with Mr. Timothy Goh, the director of wines of Les Amis Group on the food scene in Singapore. The humble and yet talented Singaporean gave us a very comprehensive guide on where to eat in some of the best restaurants in Singapore. He definitely knows his “stuffs” and also very knowledgeable.

Bangsar Babe and Chef Galvin Lim.

Of course we met up with the man behind the remarkable dinner, Chef Galvin Lim himself.

If you want something more than a great dinner, please do book yourself a table at Mandarin Grill tonight (the last night) or else you have to travel down south to Singapore for an amazing dinner experience. Don’t miss this exclusive 6-course dinner priced at 448++ per person.

For more information and reservations, please call +60(3) 2380 8888 or email mokulmogrillbar@ mohg.com. Opening hours are 12pm to 2.30pm for lunch while dinner is 7pm to 10.30pm.

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About Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and resorts. Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has under development, 41 hotels representing over 10,000 rooms in 24 countries, with 16 hotels in Asia, 15 in The Americas and 10 in Europe and North Africa.

Wilson Ng