Nimbus
Where? Nimbus (Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) Map Menu
When? Tuesday December 20, 2022
Who? My Parents
Food Style? Asian Fusion
After frustratingly navigating through Kuala Lumpur’s rush hour, we’ve finally made it to the restaurant. Normally this journey would take us 10 minutes, but today, it took us 40 minutes because we also made a wrong turn, in addition to the multitude of vehicles on the road.
Anyway. In my final week in Malaysia, we’ve decided on Nimbus, a fusion restaurant with an interesting mix of French and Asian cuisines. The interior is playing Christmas pop and there’s two other tables on this quiet Wednesday evening. They offer a seven course degustation, a four course meal for two and a la carte, but since there’s three of us, they’re letting us do the four course for three pax.
Mocktail
Shark Attack
The shark comes with berry juice that you squirt into the cocktail, making it look like bloody murder in a green pool. I love it, great theatrics. The drink is nice and refreshing, especially after the chaos of KL traffic. There's a prominent lime and mint flavour.
Appetiser
Wheat: truffle butter
The home-made brioche is served warm and is very inviting. There's a strong truffle taste in the butter and it's really good.
Entree
Salmon and bottarga: smoked capsicum sorbet, prawn paste, fungus
There's an interesting combination of flavours on the plate. The sorbet is cold and adds a strange sensation; it’s smoky and sweet at the same time. The salmon is pretty tasty. Hoisin sauce ties everything together. The fungus is pretty nondescript but adds some crunch. I didn’t detect any of the bottarga - that's salted and cured fish roe pouch, usually from the grey mullet or bluefin tuna - even though it was clearly visible.
Pre Mains
Oyster Royale: herring roe, truffle jus
This is steamed egg custard with oysters and herring roe, topped with a dried oyster oil, very much like an elevated chawanmushi. It's smooth and delicious, intensely aromatic with a strong sea flavour and some hidden oysters that have sunk to the bottom. It's beautifully presented.
Mains #1
Tamarind baked barramundi: confit potato, green pepper coulis
My choice is the barramundi, a name from the Australian Aboriginal language meaning "large-scaled river fish". It's beautifully cooked, glistening in the middle, smooth and juicy. I can taste those typical Asian flavours of green onion, kai lan and tamarind mixed with French influences of potato and roe. It's not bad, but I'm filled with food envy after seeing how good my parents' food looks...
Mains #2
Prawn bisque noodle: grilled river prawn with gochujang, bunga kantan, ikura
The bisque is absolutely delicious. It’s got that strong prawn taste with a hint of char from the intense heat on the shell. The prawn is cooked perfectly, and is smooth and succulent. The pasta is okay - it’s home made squid ink noodles - but really just a means of soaking up that delicious bisque. There’s a hint of chili and kafir lime, it’s aromatic and sumptuous. Definitely the better option tonight. The prawn is large and meaty, almost like eating a lobster. Khim is done with her meal so I take over and abandon all sense of decorum as I suck the prawn head of all its juices, using my hands to break open the shells. The bisque doesn’t escape me either, I’ve completely consumed it all. Yum!
Dessert
Hazelnut and chocolate: duche de leche, matcha, coffee tuile
The presentation is elegant and refined, like what I would expect from a French patisserie. It's rich and nutty, with a slight saltiness on the hazelnuts to balance the sweetness. The matcha is subtle but adds yet another dimension to the dessert by providing bitterness to the other elements. There's lots of crunch from the biscuit and nuts, and it's an excellent end to the night.
It’s an expensive meal (even after conversion!) but pretty enjoyable. Not something I’d go for multiple times but definitely a great showcasing of Asian flavours.
Posted by Jeremy at 5:15am on Sunday January 29, 2023 :: 0 comments :: 