Champagne Cocktails & New Ala Carte Menu @ Thirty8, Grand Hyatt KL

Back to Thirty8…

Grand Hyatt’s restaurant, famed most definitely for its amazing view of the Petronas Twin Towers and brooding KL Skyline, as well as its Western, Chinese and Japanese cuisine, served from their live kitchens.

This time, we revisit for their revamped A la carte menu, which incidentally starts this month.

We met Stefan Beck, Grand Hyatt’s newly hired German Executive Sous Chef, who just landed in KL after working for several years at Park Hyatt Sydney. Also the new pastry Chef, Ashutosh Kumar who came over from Hyatt Regency Gurgaon in New Delhi, India. They both recommend some signature dishes and soon, we are tucking into lunch.

Black Angus beef carpaccio – this one was a bit of a shocker. Having been accustomed to paper thin carpaccio, especially when it’s raw beef, being presented with a thick, chunky sheet of red glistening meat had me taking a step back to appraise what I had forked, before gingerly taking a bite. Thank God it was delicious! Thick and juicy and 100% raw (gulp) I could almost envision taking a bite out of a live cow.

Without a trace of gaminess, the beef was made all the more palatable thanks to rich quail eggs, fragrant mushrooms, briny discs of parmesan and the highlight for me, unctuous croutons. Not one to usually rave about bread, these tanned cubes, deep fried in oil till super crispy, tasted like the vegetarian version of chee yau char (pork lard). Of course Thirty8 does not serve pork whatsoever, so I’m just saying, they were so good, it was hard to believe there was no animal fat involved.

Peach Bellini and the Strawberry Royale.. both made with Taittinger champagne, and this would probably be a good time to mention that Thirty8 is having their Champagne cocktail promotion right now, for at least another month or so.

More food brought to the table by Chef Beck.

Tuna Tartare, mango, passionfruit, and crunchy vegetables. Again, probably the largest cubes of raw tuna in any carpaccio, we have had all year. It’s a good thing we’re so into the raw movement. Taste wise – exquisite. Loved the intoxicating perfume of passionfruit and citrus mango, giving the bland tuna, an infusion of life. Each mouthful tingled and danced on the tongue with gusto.

So, the Caesar salad served at Thrity8 contains no raw egg. (What??! Travesty, you cry.. ) Well, yes, but taste wise it was acceptable.

The Cheddar cheese was the saving grace of the eggless Caesar.

Quote … “A bath and some good short ribs. Those are the high points in a Man’s life” 

From the western stove, we had the beef short ribs. Drenched in sauce that was overpowering to the point of distraction, it was hard to appreciate the natural flavours of the ribs. (Take the bath, lose the ribs..)

From the Chinese Kitchen, we had the black Cod. This was perfectly cooked in Sichuan style. Unanimous grunts of pleasure from around the table as we devoured this one.

This dish brings to mind another quote… “Democracy is four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch..”

Aussie lamb chops stole the show – less is indeed best, and these perfectly grilled, lightly flavoured chops sizzled and screamed to be eaten with the fingers, to whose voice we readily succumbed and complied.

Carpaccio was truly the theme for this lunch and here we see smiley pasty Chef, Ashutosh Kumar, serving his pièce de résistance, carpaccio strawberries.

Glazed pistachio nuts and carpaccio strawberries – great stuff. Can we have more please…

Oo-la-la.. I am a sucker for compressed carbon and all things shrouded in dry ice.. (remind me to tell the story one day, of how I found my engagement ring) .. oh and this cake was good. Hot toffee, crumbly cake, juxtaposed against cold sorbet, totally sealed the deal. Yes yes.. I am such a sucker for showmanship and all that, so if it smokes, it smokes.

All in all, a fine lunch and a great ala carte menu teaser. If this is just the tip of the iceberg, we don’t mind sampling the rest. Visit Thirty8 for stunning views and an equally pleasurable dining experience.

Add:
THIRTY8 Restaurant, Bar & Lounge  
Grand Hyatt, 12, Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:+60 3-2182 1234