Cadoret oysters, Wagyu beef, lobster, foie gras, octopus, Hokkaido scallops. It seems like everything that goes with champagne is in the Beats & Brunch at Lafite. The French restaurant at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur lets down its hair on the first Sunday of every month to have this brunch with live DJ music that gets everyone peppy and jolly.
All the Verve Cliquot you can drink at Beats and Brunch in Lafite
First the bottles of Verve Cliquot at the entrance draw attention, then that luxurious heap of Cadoret oysters, cheeses, and desserts on the buffet table right in the heart of Lafite.
The amuse bouche of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon is just a small beginning. The champagne is poured, and constantly topped up.
Amuse bouche of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and of course a glass of champagne
Then come …. the appetisers! Gratinated Lobster Thermidor, foie gras with apple, tomato gazpacho, green pea veloute, cold cherry tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella, a spoonful of oscietra caviar, brioche that looks like marble cake.
Appetiser — Gratinated Lobste Thermidor, foie gras with apple, tomato gazpacho, brioche, green pea veloute, cold cherry tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella, oscietra caviar
I love how the lobster is slightly underdone, its sweetness accented; the herb crumbed crust complements it. The apple offers a lightly sweet, fruity edge to rich foie gras. I enjoyed the tomato gazpacho, the buffalo mozzarella with cherry tomatoes, the chocolatey brioche.
Cadoret oysters in an eye-catching centrepiece
I wish I could have gone for more Cadoret oysters, and some of the cheeses but the appetisers had started to fill me up and there are main courses to follow.
A “record” is perched on a stand at our table. Flip it over, and it’s the menu for the main courses, cooked a la minute by Executive Chef Olivier Pistre. You can have as many main courses as you like. I had the Smoked Cohiba Grilled Wagyu Beef with cauliflower puree, lemon gel, oyster & seaweed emulsion. It was a great choice; the wagyu and all its accompaniments were delicious.
Smoked Cohiba Grilled Wagyu Beef
Another superb main course was the Grilled Octopus with corn cream, Japanese black garlic, Provencal Sauce Vierge. The octopus was tender and so flavourful. We were still longing for another portion after we had dessert. So it was one for the road and not only the champagne!
Grilled Octopus, corn cream, Japanese black garlic, Provencal sauce vierge
I tasted a bit of the Hokkaido Scallop, and Eggs Parfait Cooked at 63C. What’s not to like. Our glasses kept being refilled. If champagne is not your thing, there is a white wine and a red wine — the Terrazas Reserva Chardonnay and Terrazas Reserva Malbec. The Belvedere Spritz Collection – a variety of cocktails – should keep those with a penchant for cocktails happy.
Eggs Parfait cooked at 63 C, asparagus, ragout, veloute, parmesan
At dessert time, the sublime French Rum Baba with orange, rum, pistachio sponge, raspberry gel was served, as well as the Chocolate Surprise with vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce, chocolate syphon and sable Breton rumble. It’s a round chocolate “bomb” that falls in a heap as hot chocolate sauce is poured on it. We didn’t touch the different choux pastries and cheeses on the buffet simply because we were replete.
French Rum Baba
I don’t know how many glasses of Verve Cliquot I drank but I was still clear-headed at the end of it (having fortified myself with liver herbs and supplements). The food and drinks had been marvellous, the company too.
Executive Chef Olivier Pistre and the Beats & Brunch spread
The next Beats and Brunch at Lafite from 12pm to 3pm will be on these Sundays — 3 September, 1 October, 5 November and 3 December. It’s at RM499 nett. Call to book at 03 2074 3900, restaurantreservatons.slkl@shangri-la.com.
It was a well-executed brunch, directed by Executive Chef Olivier Pistre who’s worked at renowned hotels in France, Monaco and Istanbul, in Michelin-starred restaurants, and who has won several awards.