Review: Upper Deck, Tanzini @ GTower

**Pork Free**


Capt'n Hook and I headed to Tanzini for the first time but not really Tanzini per se but the Upper Deck to sample its contemporary fine dining and fresh nuevo cuisine upon Upper Deck's opening recently. To get here, you'll need to take the lift to Tanzini before taking the stairs to the Upper Deck level. The decor and set up here oozes the contemporary chicness that Upper Deck advocates here with floor to ceiling glass windows that gave spectacular view.

Upper Deck is only open for dinner service and the dining options is varied from a four course dinner at RM155++ per pax or a five course dinner at RM185++ per pax or on a more gastronomical level - the Chef’s Degustation Menu which features a sampling of the offered menu in six courses at RM215++ per pax. The menu is seasonal and changed every two weeks.

Our table sat Vivien and her partner, Cumi dan Ciki, Bangsar Babe and Rif, together with Gladys Gan of Goldis who invited us to the dinner. Eddy Lau, Chief Sommelier was introduced to us and it was good to know that Tanzini's cellar has a pretty extensive collection of wines.

We shared our dishes with Vivien and partner, not a very clever idea especially for the appetisers, soup and starters. We could not fully enjoy the merriment of the entire dish as certain items that came in one could not be shared by four of us plus it was difficult to divide up the portions and sauces equally. However, it was meant for us to taste every dish available that day, I guess, objective has been met.

Amuse-Bouche

Everyone started off with a crab cake topped with a chip, a refreshing item to whet the appetite.





Appetiser

Having seafood here is a brilliant choice. The execution of both the scallops and lobster tail was done perfectly.



Duo of Hokkaido Scallop
Caramelized Scallop, Edamame Purée & Carpaccio Scallop, Crab Roe Emulsion

OR



Baby Lobster Tail Salad
Assorted Heirloom Tomatoes, Garden Greens, Basil Ravioli, Aged Balsamico 


Soup

Chilled gazpacho is light but everyone is cramming for the duck consommé. The consommé speaks of long boiling of the stock which really brings out the flavours.



Momotaro Tomato Gazpacho
Chilled Momotaro Tomato Succo, Tiger Prawn Salsa Timbale & Apple Mint Oil 

OR



Smoked Duck Tea
Smoked Duck Consommé and Ox Tongue Ragù Ravioli, Black Trumpet Mushroom 


Starter 

For the starter, Cappellacci, pasta filled with butternut squash, took the cake. The light cream sauce went well with the soft squash filling together with the creamy sea urchin with caviars popping in the mouth. Our trout came with a crispy skin and I quite like the smoky corn bits.



Butternut Squash Cappellacci 
Sea Urchin and Avruga Caviar 

OR



Pacific Rainbow Trout 
Dole Sweet Corn Risotto, Black Truffle, Styria Pumpkin Seed Oil 


Intermezzo

I personally find the sorbet served was more suitable for dessert rather than a palate cleanser as this is way too creamy and sweet. For me, something light and refreshing, preferably something without cream and a little tart would be appreciated.




Mains seduction

We were oohings and ahhings over the 3 mains brought to us. Once pictures were taken, I took the liberty to divide the lamb rack out. The moment I cut into one segment, red juice oozes out and the feeling is like slicing into a raw piece of meat. It's the same with the tenderloin. As I've been working in Bayan Indah, I've learnt quite a fair bit on lamb racks and leg of lambs *ahem* :p When they are usually done medium, the juice that oozes out should be pink and not red, red means it's still rare. This saw all the lamb and beef plates on our long table being sent back as Cumi & Ciki and Bangsar Babe's end thought the meats were way too rare as well.

They turned out perfectly done the second time round. Executive Chef, Johnny Fua and Upper Deck Sous Chef, Alven Tan informed us that the meats are done ala sous-vide (the meat being vacuum sealed before cooking in a temperature control water for quite a number of hours) first and they welcomed our feedback of the rawness so that they'll either turned up the temperature a little or cook them a little longer. Of all the 3, the fish turned out way over cooked - dry that is.



Lamb Rack in Granola Bar Crust
Caramelized Onion Tarte Tatin, Baby Vegetables Niçoise, Spiced Peach Chutney 

OR



1824 Beef Tenderloin & Cheek
Slow-roasted Beef Tenderloin and Cheek, Swede Purée, Summer Root Vegetables, Zinfandel Reduction

OR



Fillet of Yellowtail King Fish 
Oven-roasted Lemon Grass infused Hamachi Fish, Braised Kohlrabi and Fennel Broth 


Sweet Ending

That evening we were served profiteroles filled with ice cream, with chocolate sauce drizzled over. To end such an elegant dinner with 2 golf balls sized profiteroles filled with ice cream is kinda disappointing. Profiteroles are great when served fresh but not when come frozen with the ice cream which still have icicles on the inside. They just kinda spoilt the flow of chicness that we were enjoying throughout the evening.



The maestros behind the lovely dinner... Executive Chef, Johnny Fua and Upper Deck Sous Chef, Alven Tan. We would like to thank Johnny Fua, Alven Tan, Eddy Lau and Gladys Gan for hosting this dinner.




Upper Deck, Tanzini
Penthouse, GTower
199 Jalan Tun Razak
Tel:   +603 2168 1899
Open for dinner service only, reservations are highly encouraged as the Upper Deck sits a maximum of 40pax per dinner service.