GREEK FOOD'S THE WORD AT AEGEAN BLUE

Contemporary Euro-Greek dishes takes the limelight at Aegean Blue within the imposing New Ocean Fine Food City, Petaling Jaya. As we set foot into the Greek restaurant, a projected image of Apollo, the Greek sun god greets us at the entrance. 

Inside the cream and sand enclave stands another life-size statue of Apollo amidst several Grecian columns. Modern, sleek partitions, mellow lighting and gauzy white curtains adorned the interior of this newish Greek restaurant. A tastefully decorated private dining room is also available onsite.

The most notable dish to savour IMHO is Ammos Moussaka (RM55), a befitting choice definitive of this Greek restaurant.

Topped with kefalotyri, a salty Cypriot-Greek white cheese made from sheep or goat’s milk, the baked gooey layers of eggplant with potatoes, minced beef and bechamel sauce looked like lasagna at first glance. We found its hearty richness agreeable and not overly cloying.

Another memorable speciality is Kolokythosoupa (RM20), a velvety pumpkin cream soup. Its smooth, delicate sweetness proved memorable, especially when paired with crusty garlicky toast.

Light and refreshing, the Aegean Blue Salad with Smoked Salmon (RM48) comprising fresh garden greens, smoked salmon, crème fraiche, black olives and balsamico vinaigrette is a well-balanced and wholesome creation to satisfy healthy diners. It was a welcoming precursor to our meal.

On a previous visit, we ate outstanding dishes such as grilled octopus salad, pan-fried duck breast and braised lamb shank. Although they aren't no longer in the menu, be assured plenty of culinary gems worth sampling await at Aegean Blue so a single visit may not suffice.

To lure the white collar crowd, there's an Executive Set Lunch at RM55+ per person inclusive of one drink is available from 1130am-230pm.

You can either start with Soup of the Day (think Vegetable Cream Soup with Shrimp or something similar to it) or salad du jour of Mixed Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Cheese. The mildly savoury vegetable broth was on-point, and superbly delicious when accompanied by crusty slices of buttery-garlicky toasts.

We also enjoyed the substantial Greek salad that included a sizeable piece of grilled chicken breast dusted with paprika. It sat atop fresh lettuce, boiled potato and carrot dices, blanched cauliflower and broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, and boiled egg. TBH, this could be a meal itself for light eaters.

Main course was a toss between Grilled Chicken Leg with Mashed Potato and BBQ Sauce or Pan-fried Seabass Fillet with Dill Sauce, Orzo with Mushroom.

Both dishes were deftly prepared although the slab of seabass held extra appeal for us thanks to the fish’s natural sweetness. Perked up by creamy dill sauce and orzo (semolina pasta shaped like rice grains), we fell hook, line and sinker for it.

Juicy and tender, the slightly smoky chicken earned extra points on the deliciousness scale with a most stellar concoction of butter-honey-barbecue sauce.

Dessert fell somewhat below expectations as the Carrot Cake with Vanilla Chantilly appeared a tad too dry for our liking. Hopefully, this would have improved after our feedback. Aegean Blue has many good things going for it so give this resto a chance where Greek food is the word.

For reservations at Aegean Blue, please call tel: 012 988 2790 and 03-8408 8030. Address: L3-12A, Level 3, New Ocean World Fine Food City, 15 Jalan 19/1, Seksyen 19, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

 

ALIYAA SHOWCASES SRI LANKAN CUISINE

 

Cinnamon, cardamom, chillies and coconut are essential building blocks of Sri Lankan cuisine. Tamarind and curry powder are also favoured in the arsenal of spice mixes for Chef Sivarajah Suppiah of Aliyaa.

Hailing from Nuwara Eliya also known as Little England, the tea growing hills of Sri Lanka famed for its cool climate and colonial era bungalows, Chef Siva started cooking at 18 years old. As the eldest child, he was responsible for preparing family meals when his parents were at work.

Chef Siva was recruited to join Aliyaa in 2008 and worked hard to eventually spearhead the Aliyaa team in 2012. He was instrumental in promoting the diverse flavours of Sri Lanka to the restaurant’s local clientele. “From our famous crab sambal to soul-warming kothu, Aliyaa strives to showcase Sri Lanka’s vibrant food scape through the intricate use of spices and techniques passed down through generations.”

The homespun Kothu (RM30-RM45) is a compelling must try offering. An ingenious way of using leftover string hoppers, roti or puttu (steamed cylindrical-shape ground rice cakes layered with grated coconut), it’s cooked with chicken, mutton, seafood or vegetables in addition to egg, onions, and chillies. Stir-fried in a heated stone pot, the comforting kothu’s enticing charred smokiness and mouth-watering medley of flavours and textures are similar to that of char kway teow.

Earlier we had devoured some golf ball-sized Fish Cutlets (RM24), crisp yet tender orbs of flaked mackerel fish and aromatic spices dipped into luscious onion sauce. No prizes for guessing why this dish remains a favourite among Aliyaa customers.

Another classic hit is Crab Meat Curry (RM185) in which chunks of sweet crab meat comes served in slightly creamy, robustly flavoured curry. Such bliss to enjoy sumptuous bites of crab meat minus the hassle of cracking shells and extracting bits of crab meat. The curry’s stealthy heat also left us hot under the collar.

Named after Sri Lanka’s beach resort with its time-honoured seafood and ancient fishing traditions, the speciality of Tiger Prawns Negombo (RM38 per 100g) proudly stood up to scrutiny. Huge, succulent tiger prawns in thick, aromatic curry reeled us in; capturing our hearts and tummies with a symphony of winsome flavours and texture.

We then relished scraping out the soft pulp from long, slender Moringa pods in a notable Drumstick Curry (RM22). Dousing the turmeric-accented gravy over rice, we were gratified to know drumsticks are good for digestion, high in fibre and rich in calcium and iron.

A gastronomic journey to Sri Lanka can be sampled via the Aliyaa Experience set menu (RM128 per person, minimum 2 persons per table). Crab Samosa and Atukkal Rasam served as the opening salvo.

The isle’s vibrant food heritage will be revealed to you as you work your way through the small portions of Fish Sothi, Prawn Varuval, Devilled Chicken, Mutton Curry, Cashewnut Paal (brinjal) Curry, Brinjal Moju (pickle), Nethili (dried anchovies) Sambol, Vallarai (medicinal herb also known as daun pegaga) and Carrot Sambol, Papadam and Chilli, along with Nei Soru (ghee rice) and string hoppers.

Completing the sensorial tasting party are warm, fluffy soft Sweet Appam sprinkled with palm sugar.

To cap off our Sri Lankan culinary adventure, we indulged in Wattalappam (RM15), a classic steamed custard pudding of coconut milk, eggs and spices delicately sweetened with jaggery.

For reservations at Aliyaa, call tel: 017-883 3738. Address: 48 G&M, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

 

PRINCELY SET LUNCH AT JOON DINING

Lamb, lobster, dry-aged chicken. These are some of the tempting choices you'd find Joon Dining's Set Lunch...minus the princely sum. The restaurant’s 3 course Set Lunch at RM48++ per person and 4 course for RM60++ per person is a good deal these days.

The culinary force here is 43-year old Tyrell Joon whose fine-dining credentials include stints at the much-lauded Les Amis and Iggy’s in Singapore. Opened last year, Joon Dining is part of the Rare Food Company; the modern, minimalist restaurant is located at B.Land in Petaling Jaya where several other hipster joints are also onsite.

 

Chef Joon said “the set lunch is a pared-down version of our degustation menu. Our aim is to entice more local diners to try Joon Dining’s specialities; enabling them to learn about my modern European cooking infused with Asian influences. We hope they will understand and appreciate the new ingredients we use, and our innovative food preparation techniques such as meat ageing and sous vide. We also want to educate more people on food and wine pairings.”

The Set Lunch first course comprised warm, house-made Ciabatta Roll with Garlic Lemon Butter – a nice starter to whet the appetite whilst we perused through the list of five starters, five main courses and two desserts.

My personal favourite starter is the truffle oil-scented Mushroom Cappuccino with Sourdough Melba Toast. Foamy at first sip, we took to the lush and creamy soup instantly; relishing every delicious spoonful in-between bites of the crisp wafer-thin toast.

Tossed with shredded lettuce, purple cabbage and chunks of pomelo sacs, the refreshingly tangy Baby Octopus al ajillo style (it means cooked in garlic) came flecked with crisp garlic and chilli flakes. This on-point salad also got the thumbs up.

Chef Joon’s Sautéed Wild Mushroom with slightly chewy Duck Gizzard and Balsamic Crème proved winsome too. We enjoyed the varied range of textural interplay from the custardy soft onsen egg, chewy gizzard and tender fungi. The lightly toasted pieces of bread were great for mopping up the sauce.

Another locally inspired appetiser is Pani Puri. The fried semolina-wheat dough, sized like ping-pong balls, came with an appetising filling of diced salmon, compressed apple and ginger ponzu dressing. So fun and delightful to eat.

Vegetarians and health-conscious diners may opt for Roasted Cauliflower with Salted Egg Gribiche, Pumpkin Seeds, and Sultanas. Joon tweaked the gribiche (French cold egg sauce) with salted egg yolks, emulsifying it with oil and mustard then adding chopped chervil to finish. Sultanas and pumpkin seeds lent mild sweetness and crunch to the dish.

Zingy Sichuan peppercorns’ tongue-tingling heat dialled up the appeal of Mala Mongolian Lamb Ragout. Served with mini fried mantou buns, we had a field day chomping on the juicy chunks of lamb amidst soft radish pieces and deep-fried lotus root crisps.

Chef Joon’s meat-ageing showcase is exemplified by his Free Range Dry Aged Chicken Confit with Tajin Lyonnaise Potatoes and Sweet Corn Velouté. Complemented by sweet, creamy smooth velouté, caramelised onion and fried baby potatoes, the tender chicken and spiced potatoes hit the spot for us. He told us the ageing process tenderises the meat and intensifies its flavour.

For a supplementary charge of RM18, you can savour the chef’s show-stealing Lobster Pasta. The natural sweetness of the wild-caught spiny lobster meat was accentuated by mellow spicy-sour kimchi sauce, making it a superb pairing with his fresh, handmade pasta.

Tuak along with chilli and garlic was Joon’s choice to flavour his famed Vongole Pasta (RM48). Suffused by the heady rice wine and aromatics, the Bornean clams’ sea-sweetness was thoroughly soaked up by the house-made pasta.

The Super Seafood Paella (supplementary charge of RM28) was laden with clams, prawns and half a lobster (mixed seafood may change dependent on catch of the day). Rendered with tomato cream and sweet basil aioli, this hearty rice dish left no room for complaints.

From the a la carte line-up, we fished for Broiled Izumidai with Ulam Raja Parmesan Espuma and Choy Poh Popcorn (RM58). TBH, we found the tiny bits of preserved radish ‘popcorn’ barely made a difference to the sweet white Nile tilapia, somewhat eclipsed by the more distinct nuances of parmesan and local herb.

Dessert was a tad underwhelming as only Lemon Cheese Curd Tart was available during our visit. Even though the tart had canned peach slices and honey tuile as adornments, the lemon curd didn’t leave any impression.

Dry-ageing eel and chicken in the special cabinet at Joon Dining

For reservations at Joon Dining, call tel: 016-848 4257. Address: Lot 1, b. Land, 2, Jalan 51a/225, Seksyen 51a, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Business hours: Mon-Sat 12 noon – 2 pm; 6 pm – 9 pm