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SOCIAL DINING |
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Press Index
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Malaysia Chic | December 2008 The Edge | Opinion | 27th Feb 2006 Harper's Bazaar | August 2006 TRENDS Magazine | September 2006 New Asia Bars + Restaurants | design book | coming soon Faces | Sept 2006 | Issue 70 Metro | M40 Food | 11th August 2006 Corporate Journey Magazine | September 2006 Le Prestige | June 2006 Star | September 23rd 2006
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Star | Kuala Lumpur
September 23rd 2006
Text : Tan Lee Kuen
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D E L I
C I O U S F O
O D Sevenatenine is something of a puzzle - you can't quite make out what it is supposed to be, until you meet one of its owners, Michelle Kwok. The pretty lady's all dolled up but underneath all that make-up is a down-to -earth person - much like the restaurant. Sevenatenine looks incredibly posh on the outside, but once you've settled for dinner, the radio-friendly hits playing loudly from the bar downstairs sort of take away the formality. The restaurant is the creation of Fred Choo and Kwok, owners of the highly popular Souled Out Cafe, but it isn't an offshoot of that sports bar | restaurant. Sevenatenine has a polished identity all its own. Some RM 3 mil went into its look, with designer Ed Poole doing the honors. A wall of glass fronts the restaurant, giving the place a sense of space without letting the air conditioning out. White is the predominant color here - from the wall fittings to the sofas and ergonomic chairs. This gives Sevenatenine an airy expansive feel, which is balanced by dark wood flooring and padded walls. |
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Diners and sunset drinkers filter in as soon as the restaurant opens at 5pm, making their way to the bar for a splendid margarita or the sofas to relax. The dinner crowd usually comes a little later. On weekends, the place is full at 8pm : by 10pm it's absolutely packed, so much so that they are thinking of implementing block dinner reservations - one at 5pm and another at 9:30pm. The restaurants a la carte menu was originally conceived by Belgian chef Emmanuelle Stroobant, who has since been replaced by Philip Azzarello. Azzarello's resume includes Simpson's-in-the-Strand in London and L'Aigle d'Or in Singapore. Kept deceptively short and sweet, the menu has Western and local dishes with new additions every other month. A meal begins with the short appetizer list, of which the fresh and lightly battered Three Pepper Squid Tempura, Prawn Ravioli, and Fragrant Wild Mushroom Soup are excellent choices.
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For the main course, the Rosemary Scented Lamb Cutlets are bold and flavorful, while the Fillet Beef Rosinni is tender and robust, slightly burnt on the outside but juicy on the inside. The beef comes with a topping of duck foie gras, but this was in short supply at the time of review, so they had replaced it with goose liver. The combination of chewy beef with creamy liver is gorgeous. The Dover Sole en Papillote, which is fish baked inside a wrapping of greased parchment paper with scallop, abalone and asparagus in a white wine sauce, is wonderfully flavorful. The other fish dish, the White Miso Cod with Japanese eggplant and gorma sauce, is also recommended. Cod is a great fish to begin with, and at Sevenatenine they cook it just right. |
.jpg) Herbal soup with white peppercorns, fish and mushrooms
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 Sevenatenine is a restaurant with a nice view |
When it comes to the local items, prices are what you would get when you make a currency conversion while dining in Europe. Rm44.70 for char kuay teow? Ah yes, but it comes with 140gms of lean Australian tenderloin beef - something your neighborhood hawker wouldn't offer. Still, it is an extravagance which according to marketing manager Sara Kwok-Lecomte, Sevenatenine diners are more than happy to sample. The Asian dishes do better than the Western ones," she reveals. The usually humble plate of flat rice noodle in this upmarket place is a hefty plate of beef, kuay teow and macadamia nuts. I thought it was a little dry but the chilled, air flown beef was very good. The lotus Leaf Fried Rice is fragrant, being fried in a concoction of lobster, char siew chicken and salted egg. The Garoupa Fillet Curry didn't quite live up to expectation, but the Fried Sang Mee with blue leg king prawns is worth a try. As for the desserts, there is only one thing to say : Have them all. The warm Pear and Almond Tart with Almond Ice-Cream is delicious. Most diners go for the Flourless Chocolate Cake, but the Baked Chocolate Fondant, warm and spongy with gooey chocolate filling is also meltingly good. The restaurant only opens for lunch on Fridays with Lunch Unlimited. For RM97++, diners can have their fill of three starters, five main courses and five desserts, accompanied by a free flow of Martinis, Cosmopolitans, beer wine and fresh juice. If you think that Sevenatenine fixes itself up in an effort to please, you wouldn't be wrong. With regular events such as Thirty-somethings and House Beautiful, coupled with good food and drinks, the place is attracting diners like moths to a flame.
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sevenatenine The Ascott Kuala Lumpur 9 Jalan Pinang, KL noon till 1:am Mon-Sat | closed Sundays Reservations : 603 | 2161 | 7789 |
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