Weekend Tapas Brunch @ DISH, Dua Annexe

On a culinary holiday to San Sebastian, Spain, Chef Steve Allen was totally enamoured by the dining concept there … where eating tapas is akin to a national culture. Much like the Chinese invented and enjoyed Dim Sum, the Spanish consider tapas not only as a foodform, but also a social means for interaction and communication as the serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation. The small plates of appetizers and snacks are served either hot or cold or in between, and when accompanied by wines and alcohol, the eating of tapas can be a rather long, but thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Poached Egg with Tomato on Wholegrain Bread

Chef Steve Allen, E&O Group Creative Chef, before he came to Malaysia, re-enacted the tapas concept in the UK where it became pretty popular. Believing that this trend will ignite the interest of Malaysian diners, Chef Allen has recently introduced the Weekend Tapas Brunch at DISH.

Egg Benedict

The menu has more than 35 dishes from 10 categories and Chef Allen updates it now and then whenever there are new seasonal ingredients available. Chef Allen is excited about this new trend as he explains it “It’s really fun for diners because they can get a taste a bit of almost everything and the more people you have in a group, the more dishes you can sample”.

Smoked Salmon & Scrambled Egg

And that’s exactly what we did one Saturday in DISH @ Annexe Dua not too long ago. Brace yourselves for a photo-heavy post as we tried 29 dishes from the menu!

Fried Egg with Smoked Pastrami

The 1st category reads “Organic Eggs” and for the record, I like 3 out of the 4 egg dishes we had. I am an egg fan, that’s why. But it’s also because the eggs were all done so beautifully that it’s impossible not to enjoy eating them! The Egg Benedict, Smoked Salmon Scrambled Egg and Poached Egg with Tomato on Wholegrain Bread are prime examples of how eggs should be served – cooked to just the right doneness. The Fried Egg with Smoked Pastrami was not so impressive simply because the other 3 outshone it.

Croquettes Trio

Croquettes are not my favourite – but if you are, do order all three to try!  They are the Turkey Ham & Mozzarella, Mushrooms & Rosemary and Chicken & Red Pepper.

I like the Pumpkin Soup with truffle, wild mushrooms and parmesan – I mean, who wouldn’t? The flavours blend beautifully resulting in a smooth aromatic soup that I can easily drink at least 2 bowls of! Remember this is tapas, so the bowls are not very big, really. The French Onion with Gruyere is also good… that piece of gruyere cheese is divine.  I can’t remember much of the Fennel Soup with Watercress though.

We tried 4 Salads from the list of 5: Dish Caesar, Avocado and Crab, Tomato and Mozzarella and Citrus Cured Salmon. I like the first 2.

For more Carbs, the Pasta and Risotto will please many. We had the Carbonara with Beef Bacon, Tortellini of Braised Duck and Pumpkin and Tomato Risotto with Black Olive Tapenade and my favourite is the tortellini.

Lamb Kofta

Under the “Meat” category, the Black Angus Beef Burger … mini sized, is the star. It is possibly the cutest little burger in town… just look at it! This turned out to be our favourite item in the brunch and we made the good chef churn out 4 for us! The little piece of Black Angus is grilled to perfection – charred on the outside yet pink and juicy on the inside and all it needed were some lettuce, a slice of tomato and a small piece of pickle to bring out the full flavours.

Striploin with sauce Charon

The Striploin with sauce Charon is also a winner – tender and juicy piece which was a joy to munch on. The Lamb Kofta was just so-so in my book but DL liked it well enough.

Black Angus Beef Burger

I felt all the 3 fish dishes were executed well. The fish were all fresh and Chef Allen used the simplest methods of cooking them and even the seasoning was not complicated, just so that the natural sweetness of the fish can shine. Roasted Red Snapper with Lemongrass Sauce, Pan-fried Fillet of Salmon and Salt-baked Cod with Red Pepper Sauce are all must-orders.

The Sweet Corn and Chilli Padi Humitas is 1 of the 2 vegetarian dishes listed (the other is Mac n Cheese).

Sweet Corn & Chilli Padi Humitas

For “Shellfish”, we only got to try one, ie the Grilled Tiger Prawns with herb and chilli salsa. Chef Allen did not serve the Thai Calamari or Mussels with Apple Cider Sauce simply because no fresh stocks of these were available that day. We’ll just have to go back another time to sample those.

Grilled Tiger Prawns with Herb & Chilli Salsa

There were 4 items under “Desserts” and we tried all of them! The Caramel Chocolate Delice with Lime Icecream, the Strawberry Mouse, Granite & Jelly, the Green Guava Crumbles with Caramel Icecream and the Chocolate Mousse with Jackfruit were all pretty good. My favourite is the Green Guava Crumbles and that Caramel Icecream is to-die-for.

The Weekend Tapas Brunch is priced at RM179++ with free-flow of Tiger Beer, red, white, sparkling wines and juices; RM99++ without alcoholic beverages and children (6-12 years) are charged at RM49++ with juices. The brunch is available every Saturday and Sunday from 12noon till 2.30pm.

For reservations, please call 03-2164-1286.

Read about my earlier post on DISH here.

DISH
Lot 1-1 Ground Floor
Dua Annexe
211 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday & Public Holidays
12.00pm – 2.30pm (Lunch);  6.00pm – 11.00pm (Dinner)

Website: www.dishfinedining.com