A restaurant named after a bitter herb
Last year, I had my official birthday dinner at LaFite. This year, I chose Sage because I just had to try it. Many bloggers are talking about Sage. The fact that I kept stumbling on posts about Sage seemed to be a calling as well as a fuel for my curiosity. I thought to myself: Was Sage really that good?
There was only one way to find out.
Feels like home to me
As I reached the wood-lined entrance of Sage, the melody of a famous chanson was dancing in the air. A wave of familiarity swept me. It was Edith Piaf. I immediately relaxed. With the sight of the clean, crisp decor and the natural light bathing into the restaurant, I felt like I was transported back to my own home in Melbourne.
Dress to match the decor
I was very impressed by the waiting staff. They were very helpful and they really knew what was going on in the kitchen - they knew which ingredients were fresh on that day and the components in a dish. I was having a good feeling that things would turn out right.
Uniquely Green
On the table was a sauce container holding green bread dipping and bread basket which consisted of two different selections of bread: Wholemeal and ciabatta with caramelized shallots. What I loved about the bread basket was that it was served warm, like the ones in Vue de Monde.
However, in my opinion, the ciabatta was slightly saltier than the former. As the green dipping itself has a strong note of garlic, the wholemeal bread was a clearly a better match.
Amusing Amuse Bouche
To be honest, I was not very sure what the amuse bouche was and I was too absorbed in its unique, refreshing taste to actually ask the waiting staff about it. All I know that it was raw fish marinated in a citrusy vinaigrette. There was also a hint of garlic, ginger and other aromatics that I could not quite name. My mom whose palette is so much more refined than mine, could not even fathom the ingredients.
Insulting the nostrils with its heavenly scent
My mom absolutely adore black truffles (tsk tsk, the lady has better tastes than me even though she is new to haute cuisine!) so for starters, she had the pasta with julienned truffles. I can say that her pasta starter was very insulting. I love truffles a lot too and could not help but to envy at her choice. The insult came mostly from the truffles' intoxicating scent. Unable to resist the temptation, I asked for a sample. Three words could only describe my experience: Oh my God!
My dad chose the kanpachi (amberjack) with plum vinaigrette because the waiting staff told him that the kanpachi was very fresh. Indeed, it was. It tasted so sweet from the natural oil of the fish. The plum vinaigrette cuts through the fatty taste, leaving the palette refreshed and ready for more kanpachi.
I squealed in delight at the sight of the foie gras. Such a large slab! I deftly cut up the foie gras into pieces to find the insides still slightly pink. Dabbing it with the red wine reduction, I pop it into my mouth, followed by a tiny shred of cooked fig. I love how the raw, fatty taste of the foie gras blend so well with the acidic red wine reduction and the tart taste of the fig. It blends together to give you the most marvelous sensation. I could not wait for mains. :)
My mom's herb crusted lamb rack with garlic confit is a dish that I highly recommend. What I really liked about this dish is that the lamb is cooked just right. Not too raw and not too overcooked. The juices are still sealed inside the meat, giving it an extra sweet taste. The jus complemented the lamb very well.
I am certainly not lying when I said that the juices are still inside of the meat.
My dad's cod in miso sauce with scallops and tempura-ed zucchini flowers was a much lighter fare compared to the flavourful lamb dish. This dish really delivers through the freshness of the cod and Hokkaido scallops.
Again, I had foie gras. This time with smoked duck. You can call me greedy but I really, really, REALLY love foie gras. Once you have one taste of good foie gras, you can never ever forget it. I had my foie gras virginity lost to Vue de Monde. The foie gras for this dish tasted better than the one I had for my starter, and I thought the one I had for my starter was good. To my surprise, it went very well with the smoked duck. I thought it would be too heavy for my liking because when I saw the dish, I could only envision myself feasting on the foie gras with the red wine reduction, not with the smoked duck.
By the time I was done with my main course, I was already foie gras overloaded. I do not think I would be able to handle any more foie gras for quite some time. Two is more than enough to sate my insatiable appetite for this rich, liver-y goodness.
And time for desserts. My dad's choice of baked Fuji apples in phyllo pastry with caramel ice cream was the least favourited dessert. My mom thought that the caramel ice cream was too sweet. I thought that it went very well with the rather bland pastry filled apples but it was plain.
My mom's Mango Melba ( Strange name... ) was slightly tropical. The mangoes, although they were of Pakistani origins, reminded me of the overly sweet Australian mangoes. However, the slightly salty ricotta ice cream toned it down, giving it a nice balance. Still, I felt that it paled in comparison to my...
... luxurious chocolate fondant with earl grey ice cream. Yes, earl grey ice cream. Can you believe it? Although the earl grey is pretty faint in the ice cream, it was nice to have it with the decadent chocolate fondant. The fondant was hot, molten lust on my lips. It was as good as the ones that Damon made and so much better than the Michel Bras' inspired chocolat au biscuit that I had in Vue de Monde although the chocolat au biscuit was described by me as "orgasmic". If that is orgasmic, I do not know what to make of this.
Will I return? HELL YES!
Little things:
-Cuisine:
Japanese-French
-Service:
Top notch. Staff is knowledgable and very attentive.
-Ambience:
Good view. Clean and crisp decor. Very comforting.
-Budget:
Expensive but worth it considering that my mom had truffles and I had two rounds of foie gras. RM 150 nett per pax.
-Portion:
Huge. We were all on our knees after three courses.
-Parking:
Rm 1 for first three hours. Ample parking space in Gardens and Mid Valley
-Location:
See webpage.
The restaurant is located in Level 6 of Gardens Residences. Go to Isetan (the floor where the make up booths are )at Gardens. Turn to the right where the lifts are located. Go through the glass doors and take another lift to level six. :)
-Webpage (Click here):
-Other reviews:
Masak-masak
Paranoid Android
