The pop-up thoroughly impresses with indoor gardens, eggs cooked inside out and a stunning smoking dessert made of champagne and rose petals.
The top culprit making all that waves in the KL dining scene right now is none other than the #Aziamendi88 pop-up restaurant at Mandarin Oriental KL.
That’s right, for 88 days, 3-Michelin star restaurant Aziamendi from Phuket will be taking over Mandarin Grill, presenting KL-ites a once-in-a-lifetime chance to taste the best of its food and hospitality.
Chef Eneko Atxa
It isn’t just the chef who is here – the renowned Chef Eneko Atxa, currently Spain’s youngest chef to obtain the prestigious 3 stars -- the restaurant’s entire kitchen and floor crew has been flown in too, to ensure you get the whole Aziamendi experience as you would in Phuket.
We popped by on the second day of its launch and were not at all disappointed.
The experience starts off with a picnic in an indoor garden, a small area transformed into a green enclave with vines climbing up the walls and wooden benches. This is reflective of how the experience begins in Phuket, although guests there are treated to a real outdoor garden complete with fresh air and sunshine.
A small picnic of canapés is served here (in a picnic basket, no less!) to go with your welcome champagne. It is a mix of refreshing and invigorating flavours, as in the case of the mojito bon bon, and bold and robust aromas, as in the corn toast and caviar. Our personal favourite is the anchovy mille feuille that is light and crispy to the bite, held together by creamy anchovy mousse that coats the tongue with a rich brininess.
After an amuse bouche of tomatoes infused with raspberry and lemon juice picked off a real bonsai tree, we dive straight into the starter that is a beautiful golden Truffled Egg. Served on a spoon and meant to be eaten in one mouthful, it is cooked inside out by injecting hot truffle oil into the egg. In the mouth, it proves creamy as any egg yolk would, but laced with the unrivalled fragrance of truffle oil that also adds silkiness. The slice of truffle on top pulls it all together at the end, lengthening the prized earthiness of truffles with a little chew.
Next comes The Garden, a clever appetiser of edible soil made of dehydrated beetroot and tinged the colour of garden soil with squid ink. The crumbs look thick at first but turn out to be light and fluffy, melting easily in the mouth. In the centre, a thick tomato emulsion awaits to inject the appetite with a mouth-watering tartness. The small bits of zucchini, carrot, broccoli and peas on top, meant to resemble fresh vegetables sprouting from the ground, lend a nice crunch to the dish.
No cutlery is served with the following Foie Gras Ashes so you are required to use your hands. Dig a good hold in at first try because the foie gras mousse can get quite slippery when it’s not falling off the toasted crystal bread it has coated underneath. Don’t worry about making a mess because it is part of the fun of this dish – just bite into it and enjoy foie gras served in the lightest, fluffiest form you’ll ever taste, yet with all its best aromas of oily liver preserved.
The Squid Noodles with its own Crunchy Juice brings an exotic Asian influence to the table. The recommendation is to eat the spoonful of tobiko (flying fish roe) first, which oiliness will prep your palate for more seafood sweetness. The noodles are made of sliced squid, which springiness can get dangerously addictive especially since its flavours get more intense the longer you chew. Once done, pop the squid croquette last so that its buttery potato filling will round up the sweet, savoury and salty elements of the dish.
The next Grilled Tuna combines the best of cooked and sashimi-style tuna. The top is grilled well-done, presenting full-bodied and briny tastes and textures whereas the bottom remains sweet and succulent. The accompanying fried eggs contribute a nice creaminess to things as well as additional bite. Tying up the tuna trio, tuna tartare on crouton bread stands in for the smoked fish element in the equation, illustrating the skill of Chef Eneko in preparing tuna in more ways than one.
Chef Eneko demonstrates his sous vide techniques to top points with his Lamb Shoulder served with pesto sauce and parmesan cheese sphere. Thanks to its long hours of slow-cooking in low heat, the meat is incredibly tender with aromas that flood the mouth from the get-go. The pesto sauce lends a nice zest that isn’t too overwhelming, lifting the buttery game of the lamb. Have the lamb with a little parmesan cheese and the flavours transform to take on deliciously bolder, stronger dimensions.
When your Strawberries & Roses dessert is finally served, be careful to not get too enthralled by its presentation lest your fresh strawberry sorbet melts away. Your sense of smell gets first treat when a concoction of champagne and rose water is poured over dry ice, releasing a perfumed rose fragrance to cloud your senses.
Then your palate gets to indulge with a creamy rose-flavoured marshmallow. Its milky sweetness is layered with zesty strawberry sorbet that is so fresh, you can still taste the strawberry bits in it. Slices of fresh strawberries provide a pleasant burst of juice when you chance upon them but the cherry on top of this beautifully pink gelato sundae is the single sugared rose petal – a crystalised petal from a real bulb of rose coated with sugar that melts subtly away in your mouth as you suck on it.
Aziamendi88 is now running at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur until 31 October 2015. Available for lunch and dinner, except Sundays, prices for its set menus are as follows:
Lunch:
5-course food only – RM198 per person
8-course food only – RM438 per person
5-course with wine pairing – RM298 per person
8-course with wine pairing – RM698 per person
Dinner
8-course food only – RM438 per person
12-course food only – RM598 per person
8-course with wine pairing – RM698 per person
12-course with wine pairing – RM998 per person
A specially created cocktails and mocktails menu as well as a lighter menu will also be available at the bar.
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