You’ve seen the pictures. Scrolling through Instagram, there it is again; the infinity pool practically staring into the Petronas Twin Towers. That’s the all-suite hotel The Face Suites where swanky city slickers call home, and travellers check in and out of. The extravagant building sits within the vicinity of the city’s ‘golden triangle’ making it one of the most coveted addresses in Kuala Lumpur.
But we’re not here to pitch real estate. We’re just here to eat.
And that we did at Tangerine— all six courses and then some courtesy of the kitchen’s generosity. The restaurant, thought to be one of the best fine dining rooftop establishments around, is one we’ve surprisingly yet to try. Letting the food speak for itself seemed to be the best way to tackle our expectations.
Helming the kitchen is Chef de Cuisine Siti Arini Darsom, who just last year won the Golden Chef Award for the Most Outstanding Western Cuisine 2018 at the Malaysia International Gastronomy Festival. The restaurant exudes opulence in all marble and floor-to-ceiling windows that invite in plenty of sunshine by day, and twinkling lights by night. As far as ambiance goes, you’re golden. Just don’t forget about the strict dress code. Read: no swimming and gym attire, slippers, sandals, singlets and shorts.
The 6-course dinner set is priced at MYR438 nett per person. It starts with small portions of appetisers and you can already see the innovation and thought behind each ingredient, and how they come together beautifully in each dish. First comes the Grilled Australian Avocado; tiny, but different with the sugary sweetness of Yuzu granita and the crunch of caramelised walnut and organic kale. Then there’s the Seared Hokkaido Scallop’s unusual pairing of compressed green pear, dun pea oil and noisette sesame. Each course gives you a few options and here, you can opt instead for the Double Boiled Curry Bean Consommé.
The third course is a choice between Cured Moulard Duck and Pan-Fried Foie Gras. We went for the latter and it was delicious with portobello and porcini duxelle, cranberry brioche and fungi velouté. The foie gras was, as foie gras should be, buttery and melts in your mouth. The entree options are made up of the 1/2 Maine Lobster, Black Angus Fillet, ‘300 Days Grain Fed’ Wagyu Cheek, ‘Hill Side’ Lamb Loin, and King Grouper. At an additional charge of MYR100, the lobster was our choice. It comes served on a bed of saffron risotto with crustacean lime cream. Rich and substantial, it was a dish devoured almost effortlessly.
You’ll want to take it easy with the following course of a cheese platter (raisin on vine, house-baked ‘croute’. toasted wild nut and New Zealand honey comb) because next, comes dessert. Diners have two to select from, Chocolate Luxe with tangerine jello, ‘opals’ semifreddo, and ‘cuvee Bali’ torte; or De Pavlova with rhubarb ganache, granola seed and jackfruit soy gelato. We went with the second and were surprised at how the jackfruit soy gelato was just the right amount of sweet and smooth, but then again you can never go wrong with chocolate either.