My fondest memory of Chalet has always been the aroma of raclette melting under the salamander as I entered this Swiss restaurant in the Equatorial Hotel then (now EQ Hotel Kuala Lumpur). Raclette Valaisanne, the lovely gooey melted Swiss cheese served tableside with baby potatoes, onion pickles and cornichons, will be part of the Chalet experience reimagined at EQ from tomorrow till August 30.
Raclette Valaisanne
So will the fondues — cheese fondue served with truffle for two, and the beef fondue. Both tasted amazing, especially the super tender cubes of Angus beef fillet cooked in hot oil and served with horseradish cream, salsa verde and mustard sauce.
Cheese fondue with truffle
Beef fondue
We have had a preview of its dinner menu at Sabayon, where memories of Chalet came back to life, complete with the fondues, savouring wild mushroom soup out of a bread bowl, dancing with sabayon, flambeeing crepes suzette and cherry jubilee. All that, with the impeccable service that Chalet was so well known for.
Panfried duck liver with port wine, apple, brioche and endive salad
A plump panfried duck liver oozing richness at the bite, a divine port wine sauce, and apple and endive salad on a thin brioche sat finely with us at the start.
Wild mushroom soup in a giant bread roll
We went on to Chalet’s signature creamy wild mushroom soup served in a giant bread roll. Nobody does it like Chalet any more, served in a scooped-out bread bowl. You could tear off bits of the “bowl” if you like, and dip them in the delicious, aromatic soup.
Herb-crusted-30-day-grain-fed-Tasmanian lamb-and-jus-de-Provencal-with-potatoes-asparagus-and-carrots.
My main course was the herbed-crusted 30-day grain-fed Tasmanian lamb rack with just de Provencal, potatoes, asparagus and carrots. The lamb was pink and juicy, and excellent with the sauce.
Dessert for us was a lively show, first with Amerjit Singh, 61, who used to be head waiter at Chalet till he retired, showing how Crepe Suzette is made, dousing the thin crepes in the orange sauce with Grand Marnier, setting them aflame in the pan. He also did Cherry Jubilee, in a flaming finish.
Crepe Suzette
Flambeeing the Cherry Jubilee
Then it was the sabayon show, with former Chalet manager Azlan Alias, 63. Sabayon is a mix of eggs, sugar and sweet wine, whisked into a foam. It was amazing how Azlan whisked the sabayon in the large bowl while dancing with it, bending his legs almost horizontal to the floor.
Azlan with his sabayon dance moves
Dessert Trolley
The finale is the dessert trolley, laden with sweet favourites of Chalet’s glorious past.
Both Azlan and Amerjit were well known for their impeccable service at Chalet at Equatorial Hotel which opened in1973 and closed in 2011. They will be present at this Chalet pop-up at the Conservatory, Level 3, EQ. It’s for dinner only.
Contact dineateqkl@kul.equatorial.com, call +60 3 2789 7839 or WhatsApp +60 12 583 5319