Hey. We’re back to this blogging thing. And we mark our return with a trip to Topshelf TTDI, tucked away in the near-corner of a very quiet row, reviewed in a short and simple post constructed from notes written down on the phone in Simplenote. Topshelf itself was packed, bustling and bubbly when we reached. Always a good sign.
No bread to start proceedings, unfortunately. From what the Gazer gathered, that either comes with the chicken pate or under the ‘Extra Bread‘ option. Oh well. Foie gras au Torchon (RM 42) instead, then.
Good? Good. Very good. The foie gras itself, at least. Rich – almost opulent – and luscious. Loved it. Just wish there was more, but that’s besides the point. Brioche itself was aite (nothing great). Buttery and crispy, it was a decent enough base. The poached berry (compote?) was nice and tart without being overly sweet. Added just the right amount of tangy saccharine to lift the liver. And the pepper arugula ties everything together. The baby/pearl onion though? Bit pointless.
Look at this obscene bastard. It’s on the specials board. Didn’t work out as well as the foie gras, unfortunately. Half of the white asparagus (RM I forgot) was cold and bland. The tip of the other half was warm and well-seasoned. Problem with the seasoning perhaps. The entire dish could have done with a bit more seasoning throughout. Pesto was very nice though, probably the best element on the plate. Apart from the plate itself, which was very pretty. We asked where it was from but our question was repeatedly misunderstood so we gave up, resumed eating quietly and occasionally smelled in the wafts from the kitchen and/or the wine on the next table that smelled very peculiarly like fresh fecal matter.
Pan-seared duck breast (RM 56) was our first main of choice. The breast itself was…sadly a bit too cold. Sous vide throughout methinks, looking at the gradiation of the doneness. Good skin. Crispy. Salted and peppered (?) well. Nice fat content. Generally rather tender.
The vegetable, though, added nothing.
I just wish the breast was warmer when it was served.
The half of a king mushroom was slimy, rubbery and quite meh. Could be replaced with quite a lot of other shrooms. The pickled beetroot was really good though. Complemented the duck surprisingly well.
Oh, and the sauce was nice. Pumpkin with…curry? Turmeric? Nice rounded aftertaste. Pumpkin’s always been a good base for spices.
Now for the not-so-nice. We liked the portion size for the chicken roulade (RM 38) but not much else. The mash…pretty sure it’s some instant package thang? Tasted grainy towards the end. Very strangely grainy and powdery.
The risotto was quite pleasant. Never been a fan of barley but this was good.
But to the roulade itself: hmm. Very, very salty by itself. Like French-level salty. Like Kenji from Food Lab would be pleased salty. It was borderline overpowering and overwhelming. Shame, really. Everything else was done quite well (could do with a bit more butter perhaps?).
So! Overall impressions: generally good technique and good produce, couple of dishes miss the mark, would/could/might return. Value for money? Kinda. We paid RM90 per pax which is the starting price of a tasting menu at Sitka sooooooooooooooooooooooo