We speak to the chef to find out more about Lafite and its special 30th anniversary menu, and what makes the two so essentially French.
This year is a big year for Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur as it celebrates 30 illustrious years of being one of the top hotels in the country. Joining the hotel in the milestone is its house French restaurant, Lafite, which has also been on the long and fruitful journey since the beginning.
For this momentous occasion, the restaurant will be taking guests down memory lane for a taste of what Lafite was like back in the days. It will be serving a special anniversary menu throughout the month of April, inspired by the very first menu it premiered onto the Kuala Lumpur dining scene with all the way back in 1985.
The four-course authentically French menu, called 'A Taste of Lafite from 1985', is crafted by Lafite’s Chef de Cuisine Jean-Philippe Guiard and will feature all the best flavour, history and style of Lafite.
We snuck 5 minutes with the chef to get him to tell us a little more about the menu and the restaurant, and what makes the two so essentially French.
Chef de Cuisine Jean-Philippe Guiard
Your anniversary menu is inspired by the first Lafite menu in 1985. How much has French cuisine changed since then?
In the past 30 years, French cooking has evolved tremendously, especially in presentation and plating. The most vivid is the arrival of the ‘sous vide’ technique, which I use in the Salmon course (of the anniversary menu).
What was your favourite part about coming up with this anniversary menu?
To make a very traditional and tasty dish from the 80’s. I want to keep the authenticity with a modern approach.
Did you have trouble recreating such a traditional menu? What was the hardest?
Overall it was not hard. The only challenge was to train and explain the history of those dishes to my colleagues.
What would you like to evoke within diners when they taste this special menu?
French authentic cuisine at its best! Very traditional, but with true flavours, as guests will feel as though they are travelling through time with these four courses.
30 years is a long time. In your opinion, how do you think Lafite has retained its authenticity of traditional French cuisine while keeping up with the times to introduce new innovative dishes?
Lafite has been fortunate to have had many great chefs in the past years. From traditional to molecular and Mediterranean cuisine, the restaurant has become an institution in Kuala Lumpur. We are now back to authentic French food with a modern twist.
From the menu, what are you most looking forward to having people try, and why?
The ‘Pot Au Feu’. It is a very traditional dish and close to my heart. As for many French, this is a dish their parents have been cooking for centuries. It has a combination of tender beef cheek, vegetables that melt in your mouth, tasty broth and for extra indulgence, roasted foie gras!
'A Taste of Lafite Back in 1985' will be served all thoughout the month of April. The menu is as follows:
Salmon 'Bellevue' with steamed tiger prawn, salmon roulade, and salmon roe
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Poached white asparagus with hot hollandaise sauce and egg mollet
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Beef cheek 'Pot au Feu', bone marrow, and roasted duck liver
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Traditional vanilla millefeuille, vanilla ice-cream and caramel sauce
The 4-course dinner is priced at RM295 nett per person. The 3-course set (without the white asparagus dish) is priced at RM235 nett per person. It is available for both lunch and dinner at Lafite from now until 30 April.
For more information or reservation enquiries, please call 03 - 2074 3900 or email restaurantreservations.slkl@shangri-la.com.
(Photos: Lafite)
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