DCODE by Reservation featuring Chef Darren Chin

DCODE by Reservation featuring Chef Darren Chin  

How far will you go for good food? How about Penang? Last week, I traveled up to Penang for a special dinner organized by DCODE. The one night only dinner event is called DCODE by Reservation and it was held at Straits Quay Convention Center in Penang.

DCODE by Reservation Penang is only by invitation and only the selected few were invited. A total of 72 guests of socialites, influencers, bloggers and Instagrammers for this gastronomic experience and exquisite tastes from around the world created by Master Chef, Chef Darren Chin.

Chef Darren Chin a Malaysian chef with over a decade of experience cooking French cuisine in France. Hence, Chef Darren Chin decided to come back to Malaysia and started his own restaurant, DC Restaurant in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The restaurant is open for 25 persons per evening as Darren Chin wants dinners to experience the food.

The venue turn to black posh dining experience. As we entered the convention center, I was welcome by the gorgeous brand ambassadors. Within minutes, I was ushered to a lounge area.

As usual, there is a branding backdrop with photographers snapping the guests as everyone gathered in the lounge area.

There were plenty of things going on at the lounge area before dinner. There were section of snacks, coffee and cocktail and the brand ambassadors were around to keep us busy with the food.

Chef Darren Chin was spotted creating the snacks. They are ‘Petuna Ocean Trout’ and ‘Bresaola’. Each and every single dish is created fresh as if it was a live cooking demonstration. This is the dedication of the chef to prepare the food himself even it was only snacks.

Petuna Ocean Tourt is considered as the wagyu of the sea.Their version of ocean trout comes with the intense vibrant colour and luscious marbling of the fish. For the taste, the fish was fresh and creamy and one plate was never enough.

Bresaola is air dried salted beef, aged two or three months until it turns to dark red colour. Thus, it is originated in Valtellina, a valley in the Alps of northern Italy’s Lombardy Region. The taste of the dried salted beef was stronger than the ocean trout so it was better to have the salmon first before the dried salted beef. I love dried salted meat and it goes well with bread and butter. When I traveled in Patagonia a few years ago, I had similar air dried meat in sandwiches.

It was a special night indeed as World Class Mixologist, Joshua Ivanovic was behind the bar creating his masterpiece, the ‘Amarula’. The cocktail is hailed from African Origins and the taste was creamy and smooth. This talented mixologist has served the Hollywood celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Queen Latifah so to have it at DCODE by Reservation Penang was something special.

There were also coffee served and it was the Ethiopian blend and African Trio. Ethiopian beans have been regarded one of the top coffee beans in the world and the taste was bright acidity and the chocolate finish.  No complains.

There were two long table seating 32 persons each table. The dinner was hosted by Josiah Mizukami (right) and before each dish, Chef Darren Chin will talk about his creation, the ingredients and the taste. This is the proper way how food dishes are introduced.

For the whole night, we were entertained by local jazz group, the Northern Jazz unit. Coincidentally, the lead singer Vivian is a old friend of mine.

Before each dishes, there was the food presentation on the table. Check out the video to see the animations created by DCODE by Reservation for the dinner.

For appetizers, we have the ‘Exquisite Taste of Oysters Done 2 ways’.

Irish Oysters Natural; Ponzu Jelly, Pickled Ginger and Seaweed Caviar. The oyster comes with the taste of the Ponzu Jelly as well as the hints of the seaweed caviar.

Irish Oysters: Lightly Poached, Uni Emulsion, Jerusalem Artichoke and Avruga Caviar. The uni emulsion was creamy with the hints of Avruga Caviar.

‘Finely Cut to Perfection’ is the name of this dish and it comes with Perigold winter truffle with Japanese Kabocha Pumpkin and grilled local slipper lobster. The grilled local slipper lobster was impressive, fresh and lovely texture and it goes well with the Japanese Kabocha pumpkin. The winter truffle was the icing on the cake.

‘Nuance of Seductive Spice from Africa’ is tonka bean with 18 hour slow roasted rack of lamb, pear puree spiced with Tonka, seared muscovy duck foie gras, marinated shimeji mushrooms, chestnut cream and burnt onion emulsion. The slow roasted rack of lamb was tasty as the texture of the lamb was soft and the slight pink colour of the meat inside. Thus, the duck foie gras was cooked to perfection and it was hard to tell the difference with the usual goose foie gras. I don’t mind for another few pieces of this foie gras.

‘Delicate Taste of Coffee’ was Cafe au Dome-Of Mousse au Cafe, bitter Arabica ganache, crispy praline crunch, spiced dark chocolate and macerated cherries. The dessert was not that sweet, rich and thick in in coffee and chocolate.

This is my first time attending DCODE by Reservation dinner and I am very impressed. The event was well organised from top to bottom. The dinner was magical, the music was great and love the company of old and new friends.

Thank you DCODE for inviting me for this memorable dinner as it was a night of gastronomic experience and exquisite tastes from around the world and I can’t wait for future events from DCODE.

Wilson Ng