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Schroppel´s Cuisine Vital
Review
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THE new chef de cuisine at Lafite tells TAN BEE HONG that good food must be prepared with honesty and simplicity.
He looks almost too young to be heading the kitchen of Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur's Restaurant Lafite.
And he's young. Chef Georg Schroppel is only 31, but already he can claim he's spent 12 years garnering experience in markets across Europe, America and China.
Born in 1978 in WÜrzburg, Germany, he joined Lafite fresh from a two-year stint in Guangzhou where he was the chef de cuisine at Ritz Carlton.
Though he's been here for only two months, one can taste a distinct change in the flavours of Lafite.
"My kitchen style is modern cuisine vital," he says.
What's that?
"It means food that's light but wholesome and satisfying. It means that customers won't feel lethargic with a heavy meal sitting in the stomach," he explains.
"Times have changed. Most people do light work these days, you know, like sitting in front of a computer. So they won't need big, heavy meals."
As we pore over the menu, we pick selections from the basket of rolls. There are brioche, tomato rolls, soft rolls and one that's dark as night. This squid ink roll is scrumptious on its own or dipped in the pate provided.
Then our table of four start with a carpaccio of yellow tuna, Atlantic cod fish, lemon oil, brioche croutons and vinaigrette, topped with edible flower petals and pea sprouts.
The sliver of pink tuna and white cod checkerboard pattern looks almost too pretty to eat. But when we start, we wish there's more. The freshness of the tuna and cod is lifted with a hint of lemon oil and vinaigrette.
The beads of crunchy brioche croutons add a contrasting texture to the softness of the fish.
Next is Brittany turbot with three colour potatoes, wedges of black olives, tarragon tomato and a frothy saffron sauce. The dish is almost as pretty as the carpaccio, with discs of potatoes in yellow, orange and deep purple.
The fish is lightly pan-fried and topped with slivers of raw celery (which I surreptitiously push aside).
With the fish, Schroppel's mastery of heat and timing is evident, with the dense and meaty perfectly rendered to remain juicy. The subtle hint of the saffron sauce merely serves to highlight the cold water flavours of the fish.
It's evident that freshness is the cornerstone of Schroppel's culinary secrets.
"I use fresh ingredients, not frozen, and I never prepare dishes in advance," he says. "I believe food should be prepared a la minute and served immediately."
Brittany turbot is one of Schroppel's signature dishes. I can't wait to try others such as marinated foie gras and quail, black truffle tagliatelle and pan-seared Dover sole.
Schroppel himself is keeping an open mind. He recalls a time when a customer said what he really wanted was pasta bolognese and would Schroppel make it for him.
"Of course I would. Even with a boring dish like spaghetti, a chef can make it very good or very ordinary. The most important thing is that the customer leaves the restaurant happy."
The turbot is followed by Victoria saltbush farm lamb with a herb crust. The roll of lamb is totally lean, not a gram of fat in sight. This is one of the tastiest, most tender lamb to have passed my lips. Apparently, the lamb grazes on the Australian saltbush (Atriplex nummularia), resulting in the tender yet robust meat.
The lamb is served with couscous, balsamic glace, young artichoke and a finely diced ratatouille.
For dessert, it's oven-warm Raspberry Clafouti with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce.
It tastes like an eggy custard and, like sunken treasure, right at the bottom of the ramekin dish are fresh red raspberries with a distinct sweet yet slightly tart flavour that cuts through the richness of the clafouti.
Lafite opens for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday and for dinner only on Saturday. It's closed on Sunday and public holidays.
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By : TAN BEE HONG
Date : 25 Jul 2010
Source : New Straits Times
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