Hit & Mrs @ Lorong Kurau, Bangsar

What should one make of a restaurant named, Hit & Mrs ?

There’s much interest these days in something gourmands and chefs alike call experimental cooking or experimental cuisine. A relatively new approach to food that invents new dishes, and explores new ways to make traditional dishes, with the help of the tools and ideas of science. If you look around KL at the newer and trendier restaurants, you will notice a sudden blossoming of this sort of cooking style.

Enter Hit & Mrs – undeniably different and immensely interesting, the restaurant showcases the kind of experimental cooking – eccentric, provocative flavor combinations.. with unusual textures like foams, powders, “soils” — that’s characteristic of famous establishments such as Noma in Copenhagen.. er, minus the food poisoning of course😛

I have to say though, that while the food is experimental, I was relieved that it wasn’t the sort of experimental-gastronomy bait-and-switch where if you ordered for example, pasta vongole you would end up with a hideous food sculpture that looked like tendrils of an alien being, shooting out a volcano of shellfish powder. Yes at Hit & Mrs, the food still looks like food – it’s just more carefully thought out and prepared, with at least one unique, stand-out item that will pop out at you, on the plate. That’s what they mean, by experimental cuisine at Hit & Mrs.

The coolest part about Hits & Mrs is its upstairs lounge area. The lounge is reminisce of some bar you might walk into in old Malacca. It has a P. Ramlee vintage corner, and against the far wall, there’s a black and white movie of the same actor, playing in the background. Or sometimes, Saloma’s sweet voice would be heard over the air-waves. The furniture is miss-matched and rather vintage. Some of it is really old, and left fraying at the seams on purpose. It all adds to the charm of the lounge area.

Blueberry Julep with Mint & Citrus

We start off with cocktails upstairs, then move downstairs for dinner.

some interesting textures add character to the walls downstairs, which houses the main dining area, in a mainly contemporary theme

Amuse Bouche – Purple Carrot Mousse with Freeze Yoghurt and Malt Soil

A lovely, tart tasting amuse bouche – loved the contrast of the sweetened yoghurt bits (white), against the tart mousse. The “soil” (dark brown) was the “experimental” component in the meal, I imagine. I had the texture of sand but the flavour of toasted bread and nuts. Clever – apparently inspired by the dirt made from nut meal and malt flour, at Noma.

Appetizer – Quail with Butternut Squash Puree and Pecan Nuts stir fried with Garlic

The highlight of dinner came early for me. This was the best dish for the night. Loved the delicate quail and the exquisite flavours in its meat. Loved the crunchy pecan nut garlic bits that almost reminded me of deep fried pork lard (chee-yau-char).

Mains of either the Lamb of Rack with Salsify Puree and Kipfler Potatoes Sauteed in Goose Fat or the Atlantic Cod Poached in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with Salsa and Mash

The lamb that was done a brilliant medium rare, tasted fantastic.

the atlantic cod

Unfortunately the fish fell flat for me. It was bland and tasted like it had been in the freezer for ages – regardless of whether they bring it in fresh. Definitely not up to par.

Dessert – Frangipane Chocolate with Marzipan Ice Cream, Chocolate & Hazelnut Toffee with Strawberry Champagne

Dinner ended on a high note with a delectable frangipane chocolate tart like cake, served with a creamy Marzipan Ice Cream.

Petit Four Peanut Butter Crumble with Madeline topped with White Chocolate Mousse

Our courses were paired rather well with the Red – Luis Felipe Edwards 2011 Chile Wine; and a White – Alamos Torrontes 2010 Argentina Wine. For dessert, we had the Voga Moscato Italy which got on famously with the desserts.

scrambled egg, home cured salmon, squid ink focaccia

Returning on a different day to check out the Hit & Mrs brunch, I must say that we had a delightful experience digging into the huge and hearty breakfast platters that they placed before us.

If you’re wondering if that’s black pudding (like I did – oh, be still my beating heart!) no, it wasn’t. But it was a rather nice version of the Squid Ink Focaccia bread, that went stupendously well with truffle butter and eggs. Hmm.. why am I having a hankering for black pudding now? 😛

Looks pretty huh?

sunny side up eggs, on sourdough toast, slow roasted tomatoes, buttered mushrooms & beef bacon

coffee that’s so tasty, someone tried to steal mine!!

Pana French Toast, Pisang Emas and Chantilly

Trying to eat from the super decadent super-sized dessert in a lady-like manner.. hah!

Failed to be lady-like but Success for the dessert! 🙂

All in all, a great dining experience. Hit & Mrs comes highly recommended.

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