Cover Gastronomy cuisine with liquid nitrogen

Molecular gastronomy - especially this 20-course tapas menu by Michelin star Chef Jeff Ramsey - is not for the faint-hearted.

6- Chef Jeff Ramsey.jpg - Chef Jeff Ramsey from Molecular Tapas Bar, Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
In the early 90s, molecular gastronomy had made its presence known to the culinary world with the help of Michelin star chefs, Ferran Adria of El Bulli and Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck.

While this extraordinary cuisine is often mentioned everywhere, very few of us actually have the chance to get a taste of it. Now, thanks to Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian foodies will get a chance to taste this wondrous cuisine with Michelin star Chef Jeff Ramsey of Molecular Tapas Bar, Tokyo making a guest appearance at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur from 21st to 24th May 2014.

0- Liquid Nitro.jpg - Gastronomy cuisine with liquid nitrogen
The dinner will take place in theatre style display, where diners get to witness the step-by-step cooking procedures for the menu from flash freezing to sous-vide and infusion techniques.

We were lucky enough to be invited over to get a first-hand experience of what true gastronomy is, through a 20-course tapas menu which included DIY tobacco free smoke, golden carrots and exploding lamb cutlets.

This is when we learned to never to judge a dish without tasting it and you will agree to this testament, once you read through our dinner experience with Chef Ramsey.

But instead of a lengthy post explaining all 20 dishes, we decided to round up five of the most mind-blowing dishes we tried from Chef Ramsey’s famous menu from Molecular Tapas Bar, Tokyo. Itadakimasu!

1- Golden Carrot.jpg - Golden Carrot at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL
Golden Carrot

Just like its name, the dish is a piece of baby carrot coated in edible gold flakes served with a side of fragrant saffron marmalade or at least, that is what it looks like. However, when you cut into the carrot, instead of the crunchy texture you’d expect from carrots, this shiny edition sports a squishy texture and gamey flavour. Lo and behold, it is actually rabbit meat rillettes (a French dish prepared ala pate style) that is made to look like a carrot - such an irony.

2- -196 Tempura Collage.jpg - -196 tempure at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL
-196 Tempura

This dish comes in a stone bowl consisting of dried shrimps served with burdock, dried carrot shreds and coriander. However the dish is not ready to be eaten until the finishing ingredient is added on. From a simple bowl of pub grub, it transforms into a bowl of smoking wonder using one simple garnish – ice shavings of miso infused tempura mix, created by the flash freezing technique with liquid nitrogen at -196 celsius.

Due to the speedy melting of ice, the garnish is only added to the dish when it is on the dining table and it neeeds to be eaten immediately. The result? A mind-blowing flavour that will remind you of an iced Malay cucur udang - weird but true.

4- Sliced Crab.jpg - Sliced Crab at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL
Sliced crab

Countless foodies have used the phrase, ‘a feast for the eyes’ but this dish takes it to another level with a real work of art – Japanese manga art, to be exact. A deep-fried soft shell crab sliced into two parts and separating the two is a silkscreen artwork made with black mayonnaise. The artwork that shows Japanese characters mirroring a slashing sound effect, which will slowly disappear into your crab as you dine in. In this dish, two different sauces are used to recreate the fresh crab flavours – the turmeric mayonnaise (crab mustard) and cilantro vinaigrette (crab juice).

5- Roast Lamb Very Juicy.jpg - Roast Lamb, Very Juicy at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL
Roast Lamb, Very Juicy

When this dish is served, it comes with two cautions from the chef. The first, you need to eat it in one bite and second, it is better to let the dish cool down for a minute or two before eating. The reason to these special rules is because the roast lamb cutlet is a piece of meat with exploding flavours – literally! Within the lamb roast is a mouthful of hot flavoursome meat jus that will explode in your mouth when you bite into it.

So, if you do not want to scathe your tongue, be cautious! Basically, the piece of lamb is cut into two and a meat jus jelly will be placed in the middle before joining the two halves again using meat glue. When the meat is roasted, the jus jelly will melt inside, producing a ball of hot liquid infused with all its meaty goodness.

3- Puffing Passion.jpg - Puffing Passion at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL
Puffing Passion

This is perhaps the most exciting and joyous dish ever seen in town where you will experience smoking without any nicotine or tar in your lungs - namely a DIY tobacco free smoke. To start, a piece of passion fruit meringue is stabbed with tiny holes and doused in liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Immediately when it is taken out from the liquid, put the entire meringue in your mouth and munch on it without opening your mouth. The result will be astounding with ‘smoke’ puffing out your nostrils like a hot steaming dragon!

 

This special menu created by Chef Jeff Ramsey will be available between 21st to 24th May 2014 at the price of RM 298++ per person at Casbah, Mandarin Oriental KL. Each session will only be able to accommodate ten guests. For more information and reservations, please call +603 2380 8888 or email mokul-fb@mohg.com.


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