Seared sea bass Grenobloise surrounded by lobster cubes and a bright yellow foam, made with aerated clam stock, is one of the mains served at Nizza in Sofitel Kuala Lumpur. — Photos: AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
IF you’re looking for elegant lunch options, there’s a French-Italian restaurant offering weekday set menus.
Diners can choose from six starters, seven mains and five desserts at Nizza restaurant, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur in Damansara Heights.
Included in the choice of starters is a trip to the salad bar where one can snip fresh greens like kale, mesclun lettuce, pak choy, romaine and lollo rossa from hydroponic pots.
There’s an array of salad toppings like roasted eggplant, zucchini, carrots, mushroom ragout and pickled shallots.
The eggplant, marinated overnight in olive oil, and mushrooms cooked with olive oil, garlic and black pepper, add flavour and texture to the crunchy greens. As do the croutons and shredded cheese.
A slight smoky aftertaste in the roasted vegetables is imparted from cooking in a wood-charcoal oven.
Coming from the same oven is the tomato-rich Margherita pizza with its base that’s soft to the bite but toasty crisp on the outside.
Seared tuna with king crab is one of the starters.
Although this is a vegetarian dish, diners may be fooled into thinking there may be slices of pepperoni hidden under the thick tomato sauce. We found out that the “meaty” texture is from mozzarella melting over the sliced tomatoes.
Nizza’s kitchen adds flavour combinations in a very artful way. For example, peppery arugula leaves heighten the sweetness of the Black Angus beef carpaccio or by placing a strawberry and ginger jelly on a mousse of foie gras.
This creativity is attributed to culinary director Roland Hamidouche’s rich culinary background.
The 38-year-old Parisian chef’s cooking style fuses French techniques with Mediterranean influences.
Hamidouche’s cooking style fuses French techniques with Mediterranean influences.
Hamidouche, who is known to enjoy cooking meat using the sous vide, began his career at age 14 at his father’s restaurant in Paris. By 21, he had already worked in 10 countries.
Describing the Nizza lunch menu as “refined”, Hamidouche said the focus was on produce and ingredients.
In the foie gras mousse starter for example, to retain the full flavours of the goose liver, it is cooked in a sous vide water bath for 12 minutes at 65°C before being mixed with cooking cream and turned into a mousse.
Hamidouche favours sous vide cooking for its flavour-retention qualities.
To reduce the cloying richness that is characteristic of foie gras, balsamic vinegar and strawberries give the dish a sweet-and-sour element.
From the mains, seared sea bass Grenobloise is surrounded by a bright yellow, frothy emulsion that’s made with aerated clam stock and olive oil mixed with a bit of lecithin.
Foie gras mousse with strawberry-ginger jelly.
To ensure diners taste the browned butter sauce that’s augmented with capers, the fish is set atop a bed of black organic rice to absorb the sauce.
Another main dish to look out for is the Provençale chicken breast which comes with a serving of Borlotti beans and a dollop of mashed potato.
Cooked sous vide style for 30 minutes at 72°C, the free-range chicken with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, is tender.
What’s outstanding are the beans, which deliver a burst of rich flavour.
We were told that they had been simmered in a chicken stock with carrots and herbs like rosemary and tarragon.
Passion fruit panna cotta with mango sorbet.
For dessert, the light, velvety tiramisu has many fans.
Hamidouche said gelatin was used to stabilise cream made from whipped egg yolks and mascarpone.
The set lunch menus, which offer two courses for RM78 and three for RM98, are subject to government tax and include one mocktail or tea.
NIZZA, Level 3, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur, 6 Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2272 6688. Business hours: noon to 3pm (on weekdays only) and 6pm to 10.30pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
