Delicious Cafes – Brand New Dishes!

From 70 -> 45 -> 25.

Now, if you are wondering what those numbers are all about, well, let me explain.  Remember Chef Steve Allen?  (just to recall, read about him here).  Steve Allen, who is the E&O Group Creative Chef, together with Chef Kasdi Dahari, the E&O Group Executive Chef went through months of culinary R&D and many hot hours in the Delicious kitchens to come up with acceptable dishes for the new menu.  Both chefs spent a lot of time developing the new offerings, bouncing ideas off each other, using their collective years of experience and influences from their travels around the world.

From conceptualization, the chefs worked through 70 dishes initially, tested them and shortlisted 45… and tweaked and trimmed those to a final line-up of 25 brand new dishes for Delicious Cafes.  These are the 25 dishes that are deemed to “most likely please” Delicious’ diners.

This latest line-up of new dishes were created based on customers’ feedback and requests.  They include additions to the Soup, Salad, Quiche & Sandwich, Mains and Desserts categories of the menu.

Crab & Avocado Salad

Some of my personal favourites are the Cream of Pumpkin Soup with Parmesan & Truffle Oil (RM13.90), the Crab & Avocado Salad with Gazpacho & Cos Lettuce (RM26.50), the Pumpkin Risotto (RM25.90) and the Pan-fried Red Snapper (RM32.90).  The Pumpkin Soup is so thick and creamy, it can actually be a meal by itself, for small eaters.  Shavings of parmesan and the truffle oil really enriched the aroma… I could already smell it before the bowl touched our table!  For salad lovers. the Crab & Avocado Salad is a must-try… the creamy crabmeat gives this salad a rich twist.

Meat lovers will do well with the Roast Loin of Lamb & Braised Rump of Lamb RM40.90).  You get 2 types of lamb cuts and 2 styles of cooking in one plate.  I find both cuts to be equally delicious, although the meat texture is quite different from each other.

Roast Loin of Lamb & Braised Rump of Lamb

If you love pasta, this new menu will definitely please you.  In Delicious, all their pasta are made from scratch.  So, knock yourselves out with their Lemon & Black Pepper Parpadelle (RM22.90), Red Pesto Gnocchi with Tomato & Arugula Salad (where the gnochi have been lightly boiled and then grilled!) (RM22.90) and Mama’s Beef Bolognese Spaghettini with Meatballs & Parmesan (RM22.90).  For someone who’s not a big fan of risotto, I must say their Pumpkin Risotto is really good.  Flavoured with mashed pumpkin, the golden-yellow risotto is topped with char-grilled bouncy squids and shrimps.  The dish may look a bit “soggy” when served, but as you eat, the gravy soaks into the rice grains and adds to the pleasure of eating the risotto.

Lemon & Black Pepper Parpadelle

Pumpkin Risotto

Tomato, Leek & Zucchini Quiche with Black Olive Tapenade

Red Pesto Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Arugula Salad

My top favourite is the Pan-fried Red Snapper.  The big chunk of red snapper fillet is really fresh and it’s cooked just right.  The fish remains succulent, juicy and with enough of bounce in it to indicate the perfect level of done-ness.

Pan-fried Red Snapper

I couldn’t help noticing that some of the new items spell “cosmopolitan” in their appearance and intepretation, like the Middle Eastern-inspired Harrisa Parmigiano Baked Eggplant (RM22.90) and Italian-influenced Red Pesto Gnocchi.  I like the smooth tender eggplants flavoured by the harrisa (a Tunisian hot chilli peppers sauce) and parmigiano cheese – it’s kinda like the Greek moussaka.

Harissa Parmigiano Baked Eggplant with Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil

For something light to munch on, try the Crispy Tiger Prawns in Coriander Butter (RM22.90).  The tiger prawns are of decent size and fresh – you can’t go wrong with deep-fried battered fresh prawns!  This is part of the “Grazing menu” with a few other snack-like items in the list.

Desserts are Delicious’ forte and all you lovers of sweet stuff will be very happy with the new creations:  Apple, hazelnut & Cranberry Crumble Slice, Chilled Pineapple Cheesecake, Cold Chocolate Fondant, Raspberry & Mango Tart and Warm Melted Chocolicious Pudding – all at RM14.90 per serving.  Look at some of the photos here and decide which one looks more yummy… or what the heck, try all!

Chilled Pineapple Cheesecake

Cold Chocolate Fondant

Raspberry & Mango Tart

 According to Chef Kasdi “The inspiration behind the dishes was to look at using the freshest ingredients, more vegetables, creating healthier dishes as the world’s eating habits are progressing towards consumption of nutritious  food and the use of more sustainable products”.

All these new items are already available in all Delicious Cafes in Malaysia.