Having just returned from Paris and having tasted her food, I realise that we do have some pretty good French cooking offered in our local restaurants too. And affordable. Yes, very affordable, if compared to what’s paid in Paris. Of course the argument goes that it’s because our ringgit has depreciated tremendously and one should never convert the currency when spending money overseas. Ahhh…easier said than done 🙂
Anyway, coming back to French food on local soil, Topshelf in Taman Tun Dr Ismail serves some really decent stuff and absolutely affordable if compared to other snootier establishments in KL (no, not even comparing with Paris). I was excited to check out some of Topshelf’s new items recently and was pretty bowled over by most of them.
Kicking off the meal with some entrees like their Prawn Bisque (RM16), Apricot & Nuts Salad (RM25), Orange Quail (RM27) and Hand dived Scallop (RM30), I took my hat off to Chef Christopher Yee. The diverse tastes, textures and presentations in those entrees were a delight to the eyes, tongue and stomach, I must say.
The Prawn Bisque had a great depth of briny flavours, a clear indication of the quality ingredients used to simmer the broth. Dipping the toasted bread into the bisque is the perfect way to savour it.
The Hand dived Scallop may seem rather pricey for a single scallop but again, it’s the premium quality that counted. As the name suggested, it’s a scarce resource for sure and hence the higher price tag. Served with some bruised leek and miso eggplant in white wine, that single scallop was to die for.
Orange Quail
A perfectly roasted quail with thin golden skin – that alone won many points. Nestle this on some bacon hash, a nicely-poached egg and some berries and this well-executed entree could have doubled up as a mains for small eaters.
Roasted Rack of Lamb
New mains on the menu included Duck Cassoulet (RM38), Baked Snapper (RM40), Pot au feu (RM43), Iberico Pork Loin (RM56) and Roasted Rack of Lamb (RM55). It’s hard to pick a favourite from this list as I found all of them equally good and well presented.
Duck Cassoulet
Pot au feu
Iberico Pork Loin
Baked Snapper
If you are used to eating boneless fish fillet in a western set-up, you’d be a bit taken aback by the whole-fish presentation of the Baked Snapper here. I found out that French restaurants in France do that too, serve fish as a whole. So do take your time to demolish this snapper, watch out for the bones but it’s a really tasty fish yo!
The meat dishes were all well thought out and executed well. Couldn’t fault anything in their deliciousness and pristine plating.
One of Topshelf’s signature pasta: Pesto Capellini (RM27) with truffle oil
Chocolate freaks will go crazy over the Chocolate & Coffee Cremeux (RM19) a decadent 70% noir dark chocolate cream ensemble with olive oil and sprinkled with maldon sea salt.
I liked the Chocolate Fondant (RM21) with the not-too-sweet Varlhona 70% chocolate with its melt-in-your-mouth texture paired with a scoop of smooth vanilla ice-cream.
All these new items are already available at Topshelf so if you fancy some French dining, head right up there.
Topshelf
61 Lorong Rahim Kajai 13
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7727-7277
Open from 4pm – midnight