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Mediterranean Inspired
Review
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As soon as you step inside Mezze, you are embraced with an air of joie de vivre. At the bar counter in front, you hear the clinking of glasses, happy conversations and laughter from those who have been here since opening hour at 4pm.
As the evening grows, the tables at the side and in the back are quickly filled up and the aroma of food quickens the pulse.
Mezze, opened last October, is the baby of two sisters, Shantini Sabapathy and Perin Petrus. "It's our childhood dream," says Shantini.
Laughing, she adds: "Yes, it's as much hard work as we anticipated and not always gratifying. But we love the challenge."
Perin chips in: "And as we have no experience whatsoever in the food business, it's been a steep learning curve. But we've done what we wanted - to serve great food in a great ambience."
We're sipping a glass of house wine, a crisp white Heartland Stickleback (RM20). Then the resident sommelier recommends a Santa Rita Medalla Real Sauvignon Blanc 2007, a not-too-dry delicious wine with crisp, fruity flavours.
Mezze has an impressive wine and malt whiskey list, almost as long as the menu. "Good food must have good wine to go with it," declares Shantini.
In the kitchen, a French chef whips up a delightful menu. Living up to its name, Mezze (which means appetiser or snack), offers a huge selection of tapas items. Roasted pork belly and a velvety duck liver pate with mixed herb salad and fennel marmalade (RM16.50) are favourites but we're eyeing other stuff as well. So we have flat pita bread with two dips (RM11.50) - creamed avocado and a chopped aubergine salsa.
Wow, they even offer clams (RM18) in two ways. One comes in a piccante tomato sauce and the other has chopped chorizo sausages and parsley. So hard to decide which I like better though I do enjoy the smokey flavours of the chorizo.
On a blackboard at the back of the restaurant, a list of daily specials are written in chalk. We pick a pighead pate and cheek pate. Served in thick slices, the pighead is definitely tops on my list of must-haves here. Perin laughs. "Yes, customers ask for it all the time and we'll probably put it in the regular menu soon."
Mezze's food is inspired by the cuisine of Italy, France, Morocco and Turkey, injected with an Asian influence to cater to local palates.
You can get pasta, with chili shrimp spaghetti (RM35) and spaghetti olio bacon (RM29) as best-sellers.
I love the former. The shrimps are huge and fresh. The pasta is served with fennel, slow-roasted tomato, shallots and fresh red chili which adds a hot new dimension to an Italian staple.
From the mains section, we pick chargrilled spatchcock (RM34). The well-marinated spring chicken is full of flavour and is served with chunky potatoes and a burnt aubergine salsa.
Moussaka (RM28) is a Greek dish with layers of aubergine and minced lamb with a creamy tomato sauce. But this is not a dish you can sprinkle with witty conversation as the taste and texture turns unpalatable when cold.
Unlike the gutsy lamb pilaf pie (RM33). Keeping hot under a blanket of flaky pastry, the basmati rice is aromatic with spices like cardamoms and cinnamon.
Well hidden in the rice are raisins and chunky pieces of flavoursome lamb, so tender it needs but the slightest pressure to fall apart. Watch out for the heat though, especially with the first bite. The pilaf is served with salad and raita.
For dessert, we have sticky toffee pudding (RM18). The chocolate cake is moist and goes perfectly with the fudgy caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream. Would have preferred it if the cake is warm though.
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By : TAN BEE HONG
Date : 25 Jul 2010
Source : New Straits Times
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