First it was Acme Bar & Coffee which was an excellent café with chic and modern ambience, then came along my long-time favourite Kampachi, and now the 24th floor sky dining Cantaloupe, which is the offsprings of people behind Frangipani, Troika sees no ends to making its building a new dining hub in KL. Yippee!
Adjourning to Cantaloupe is a place guarantee for a good and quiet drink or two- a wine bar named Claret, and Strato, the Italian restaurant which my friend commented served pretty damn good pasta, i’m looking forward to give it a try.
Upon arrival we were shown our way to a beautiful lit corridor that unveil first its wine bar, Claret then leads us down to the double volume spacious dining space of Cantaloupe with a sweeping view of the Twin Tower. In fact, we were pleased to be placed at a table with the maximum enjoyment of the view. Cantaloupe is no doubt relays a fine dining atmosphere, however use of designer furniture, and careful planned spaces with different level platform and water element sees a more casual and private ambience. It reminds a bit of Frangipani, We like.
Their menu is one of compact choices of 5-6 items per section but all that sounds equally enticing as we slowly walk through the content with our eyes. Indeed there was a debate of what to choose for a good 15 minutes or so because all items sounds very very exciting. That, however comes with a hefty price tag of starters-RM48onwards, Main Course average RM80-RM120, and dessert RM45. But you will want to pay for the ambience.
In a nutshell, we felt that Cantaloupe dishes may be too experimental to our likings, but this is just a personal preference- much similar to our experience with Lafite in Shangri-la, sure there is one or two dishes that caught us hanging and left us happy, like the lobster bisque and wagyu steak. The rest, we wade through skepticism, unsure how we felt about it, maybe due to our minimal exposure to this fine culinary scene. Pardon us if we offend.
Amuse Bouche of the evening, smokied catfish with potato confit. A compliment beginning to the gastronomic journey that Executive chef Chris Bauer would bound to bring.
Starting off with the Fine De Claire oysters with marinated anchovy cream, cucumber jelly & Japanese cucumber (48), came out light and refreshing dish that came in petite four presentation, taste wise is so-so.
Chorizo Spiced Salt Dusted on Scallops, Caramelised Onion Slices, Wild Seasonal Mushrooms, Parsley Foam, “Bacon” and Ancho Chilli Oil. (RM75), we enjoyed the plump scallop, which should be a tad jucier, while the other elements combine well in taste, it wasn’t mind blowing.
Rosemary Smoked lobster bisque, tomato jelly, beurre noisette cured lobster, lobster emulsion (RM56), according to my dine partner, this is by far the better bisque she’s had and thoroughly enjoyed to the last sip of liquid.
Toasted oats crust of peekytoe crab cooked ala carbonara (RM75) with applewood smoked duck breast, winter truffles and scattering of brussel trouts. We loved the fresh and sweetness of the crab which was not overpowered by the rest of the ingredient, the applewood smoked duck breast is an interesting pairing, crisp and resembles very much to normal applewood bacon. Overall order worthy.
My favourite of the night goes to this, Roast Wagyu Sirloin Pave and Cheek Pot-au-Feu terrine (what’s that) with Warm Beef Jelly (What’s that?) and Japonaise Sauce (What’s that???). (RM175), with all these fancy foreign names, I relied on its description that promises me a different contrast of two method of cooking its beef, one of tender bliss from its pot-au-feu, which by the way is beef stew, and another pairing of sirloin steak, with texture just right for me to gently forked through, down to the very last bit. Nom Nom Noms!
There are also those on the list that looks interesting that may need a deeper pocket, like their starter Oscietra Caviar “panna cotta” lemon Tapioca (RM98?) and their main course Scotia Lobster with crispy fried beef tendon and green Chartrouse Emulsion (RM198), I need a pay raise now!!
Desserts! Boy were we excited, all dessert has a standard price of RM45. The eye catching ones and also advised by its servers being the best two sellers were Pina Colada and Black Forest Bombe. Fingers crossed!
Out came the Pina Colada with pineapple, poached sous-vide with Madagascar Vanilla, Coconut Sherbet, Macadamia Nut Brittle, Hot buttered Rum Sphere, Sichuan pepper Foam. What a interesting description, it taste like- well, what do you know, the Pina Colada drink- Mocktail version! The sous vide pineapple has an interesting soft texture, if you put all the ingredients into one bite, it was one combination that was melded nicely but does it make us go wow? Nah.
Being a Chocolate Lover, It is no brainer we would go for the Black forest Bombe, dehydrated Dark Chocolate Cake, Marinated morello Cherries, Chantilly, Chocolate and Cognac. Comfort food it is! Oh just scoop all those wonderful dark bitter chocolate in your mouth and melt yourself with happiness!! Such a tease!! more more more please!
For drinks, we started off with our personal favourite, I’m a happy girl with Hendriks Gin, tonic with a slice off cucumber and lime (RM33). My dinner companion opted for her Belvedere Vodka, Tonic and Lime (RM25), but felt the alcohol content was barely tasted and drop in an additional shot of Vodka, still weak. To go with my steak, a beautiful medium bodied French wine Vacqueyras “Azalais”, Domaine Le Sang Des Cailloux (RM46 by glass, RM214 by bottle)
Service is speckless. The pleasant servers kept their distance but close enough to pay attention to the customer, an eye contact or a wave of hand, they will be by your side within seconds.
Good Night KL, it was a good one!
Ratings:
Food: 6.5/10
We appreciate that they take experiment to a new height, looking forward to come back to try other enticing sounding dish!
We appreciate that they take experiment to a new height, looking forward to come back to try other enticing sounding dish!
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 8.5/10
Good for special occasions
Presentation of food: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Thank you Cantoloupe for this gastronomic journey, keep it up!
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Cantaloupe,
Troika Sky Dining, Level 23A, Troika,
Persiaran KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
Tel:03-21620886 for reservation
