The Journey of Flavours
Malaysia’s
culinary scene has been a hype of deliciousness. Latest kid on the Petaling
Jaya block is Marco Creative Cuisine.
It’s certainly been a while since our culinary scene has be graced by fine food
at affordable value.
Having
made his mark from Miam Miam and Franco as well as other F&B scenes in
Singapore, Chef Daren Leong is set to jazz up our very own Malaysian shore with
his latest restaurant, Marco Creative
Cuisine. Named after his son, Marco is all about serving affordable fine
food. Located in One Utama Shopping Mall, Marco serves modern cuisine set in an
elegant and beautiful ambiance.
One
would definitely not miss Marco
while you’re at the mall because you would certainly gravitate towards the
magical illuminous display of jellyfish tank at the front of the restaurant.
The enchanting jelly fish had almost everyone catch a few glances with its
mystical like shape floating under the illuminous lights.
As
soon as one steps into Marco, diners will be greet by the pastel serenity of
the theme of whites, copper gold and Tiffany blues flanked by soft glow of the
lights throughout the restaurant. The space is cleverly sectioned into various
space to offer more privacy. There is a glimpse of the kitchen through the
small long window at one side of the restaurant should one wish to catch some
kitchen action.
Marco Creative Cuisine aims to take diners on The Journey of Flavour with their
7-Course meal, showcasing the very best of Malaysia’s own local produce as
possible. The best part of this is the affordability of the 7-course, priced
only at RM78 (GST inclusive but not service charge) per person. Never had fine
food been so affordable to everyone in our culinary scene.
No
prior reservation needed for the 7-course, one can simply walk-in for the
journey of flavour or order from their a la carte menu if 7-course is too much
for your liking. Of course to secure your dining experience, you should make a
reservation. Marco’s menu is set to change every 6 months and is pork free.
The
7-course menu starts off with an unsual Velvety
Matcha-Lime Shooter. Served cappuccino style, the frothy green speck
shooter has zesty and tart citrusy note with hints of green tea. It’s a vibrant
flavour to awaken the palate for the next few courses to come.
Second
course revolves around a pretty Savory
Éclair. Instead of bread and butter, Chef Daren tries to offer diners a
Gruyere flavoured pâte à choux served with aubergine caviar, green chili pesto
and tomato confit. Crusty with buttery notes, the choux pastry makes a tasty
option with the creamy and delicious caviar.
For
the third course, there are three options for diners to choose from in this
soup course.
Chef
Daren recommends the pretty Strawberry
Gazpacho. Malaysians are not custom to cold soups but diners should at
least try this because the gazpacho is refreshing and utterly delicious. Pretty
in pink, the cold soup has such wonderful freshness of strawberries among other
vegetables like capsicum, cucumber, onion and more. The slight savory, sweet
and tangy notes blend really well and tasted beautifully refreshing on the
palate, which is so great for our hot weather.
The
French Onion Soup offer diners rich
and robust chicken broth with deep earthy notes of caramelized sweet onions.
Served with French toast, the soup is also topped with gratinated cheese, added
more depth of flavors and richness as well.
The
third option was a classic Truffled
Mushroom Soup. Though I didn’t try this but I was told by my friend who had
this that it was superb. Velvety smooth with beautiful truffle and mushroom
notes, the soup was one of the best mushroom soups he has had for a while.
For
the salad cum appetizer course, there are two salad options as well as an
appetizer to choose from.
I
opted for the Chicken Liver Parfait.
It’s luscious, nutty, creamy with a sweet note of the brulee top. Served with
toasted bread and hydrated crisp apple chip, the chicken liver parfait is yummy
and velvety smooth.
Chef
Daren played his creative twist again on a salad and served his with a savory
ice cream. The Savory Ice Cream Salad
had assorted baby greens, heirloom tomatoes, and seasonal microgreens with
violet flowers for a touch of prettiness. The lightly savory ice cream was
invitingly cold and lovely when savored with the salad.
The
Garden Platter had fresh mixed
greens, heirloom tomatoes as wel las edible flowers on edible soil and Gribiche
sauce. The Gribiche sauce is actually a French tartar sauce. It’s tasty and
light, a simple course in anticipation of the main courses to come.
There
are six main course to choose from and choosing is definitely a difficult
choice because they all sounds so wonderful in the menu.
The
Squid Ink Japonica Rice was my
chosen dish and I was pretty satisfied with the dish. Japanese short grain rice
cooked with squid ink with prawns, baby squid and omelette served with garlic
mayo summarized the dish. Cooked al dente, the rice is moreish and moist. The
seafood is cooked just right, beautifully succulent, tender and sweet while the
fluffy and creamy egg omelette made the dish even better.
I
also tried the Salmon with Jet Black
Hollandaise. Gorgeous looking crispy skin salmon with tender flesh, the
fish is excellent with the unctuous
black hollandaise sauce tainted with squid ink. The pickled beetroot added a
nice tang and texture to the dish together with the green chili pesto. A must
if you are a fish lover…
The
Duck Breast with Orange Puree and
Roasted Beetroot looked gorgeous at sight! It was like a piece of modern
art and a delicious one indeed. Using local Pekin duck breast, Chef Daren sous
vide it first before finishing it on a pan to achieve that crispy duck skin.
The duck was cooked beautifully and remained succulent and tender. Served with smooth
orange puree and roasted beetroot, the duck was further elevated with a
masterful swirl of valrhona dark chocolate sauce. One word sums this dish…
Divine!
The
next best dish on the list has to be the Chicken
Roulade with Brussels Sprout. The dish took us by surprise and we loved it
so much that the few of us vowed to return to Marco for this dish. Chef Daren
was inspired by his grandfather’s Hainanese Chicken when created this dish. Roulade
of chicken made so perfect with hours of sous vide and finished in the oven.
The chook was tender and goes so yummy with the chicken jus. Even the brussels
sprouts was well-chargrilled with a wonderful smokey and buttery note with
sweet corn kernel.
There
were two other main dishes of pasta for those who enjoy heavier mains. The Pomodoro Cream Seafood Pasta is served
with baby squid, clam and mussel while the Vegetarian
Arrabbiata is penne in pomodoro sauce with aubergine, zucchini, shimeji and
hot sauce with parmesan cheese.
Dessert
time and there are also three choices to choose from. The Deconstructed Lemon Meringue Pie won raved reviews from my friend
who really enjoyed this dessert a lot. It has elements of lemon curd, passion
fruit gel, italian meringue and white chocolate sherbet.
My
Raspberry Decadence was a luscious
raspberry cheese cake with raspberry gel, passion fruit gel, white chocolate
sherbet and finished with lemon meringue shards. The raspberry cheese cake is
tangy and creamy. The white chocolate sherbet is refreshing and creamy too,
pairing well with the cheese cake and all the other components.
The
third choice of dessert is the Crème
Brulee with White Chocolate Sherbet. The baked egg custard finished with a
crunchy brulee top is served with white chocolate sherbet and meringue kisses.
The
7-course menu finished with French Press Coffee or Tea or Sparkling Iced Berry.
Truly
an unforgettable journey of flavours, Marco
Creative Cuisine has really brought dining on to a whole new level. Never
has finely presented modern cuisine been so reasonably priced and every course
keeps getting better. If you’re a small eater, a la carte menu of all the
dishes are also available. It’s one of those dining experience that you just
can’t wait to go back to try again!
7-Course
Menu
RM78 nett per person
Ala
Carte order
Soup, Entrée – RM18 per
serving
Main – RM35 per serving
(+RM10 for Duck Breast)
Dessert – RM20 per
serving
MARCO
CREATIVE CUISINE
Lot G146, Ground Floor
(Old Wing),
1 Utama Shopping Centre
1, Lebuh Bandar Utama,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: +603-7731 8293
Business Hours:
Lunch: 12pm to 3pm
Afternoon Tea: 3pm to 6pm
Dinner: 6pm to 10pm
