Frangipani Restaurant & Bar - The Height of Sophistication

Speaking of fine dining around KL, Frangipani always comes to my mind before any other restaurants. It is perhaps, one of the finest contemporary French cuisine (with an Asian Fusion twist) you can find in Malaysia.

Located in Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang, Frangipani can be easily spotted with its unique and outstanding design amongst the ocean of other restaurants, bars and clubs along the street.

Two years back, I celebrated my 21st Birthday there. It was my very first fine dining experience and in all honesty, the best even up until today.

It was just a day before I have to get back to Australia to continue my study, Ms. Kelly reminded me about Frangipani and you know what? The urge to visit were already flowing like never ending waves, so I made a very last minute call, hoping that one of the Foodies would be free. Miraculously and thankfully, the moment after I talked to Ms. Thoong about it, she went "Ok, what time?" Ain't she awesome? No doubt. On top of that Frangipani wasn't fully booked yet, so we got in!

Frangipani is mainly divided into 3 sections; a high-end restaurant inside, a chilling bar on the outside, and a sophisticated lounge on the top floor. Unfortunately we didn't take any photos of the bar and lounge as it was quite a busy night and our stomachs were already grumbling, so we sat down and ordered immediately:

Sorry for the blurry photos. Being taken by a phone camera, these photos don't do it justice; not even a tenth of the stunning, grand, elegant, sophisticated design of the restaurant is shown through them. 

The 'pool' in the middle and the French oriented pillars; the modern table settings and classic wall design; the drawings on the wall; the classic range of wine glasses and candle lights; the soothing music plays; everything just seems so right in place! 

For such a romantic, quiet, relaxing ambiance, whether it's having a peaceful dinner with your lover, or a few glasses of wines with peers, this is just the place you would love to be.

Without further ado, we'll moved on to the F&B of the night:

Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel Rosé (RM 45-55)

An artistic shot by me - fine it doesn't look THAT artistic but still!

As I mentioned previously in the MediTeca's post, I'm a partial to Rosé, and the W. Angel was terrific as well! Ms. Thoong still prefers a regular red wine though. 

Photographer: Ms. Thoong (self proclaimed awesome shot)

Complimentary Orange Jelly

 Sweet, slightly sour, appetizing; a great start before a meal!

Complimentary Breads with Garlic Butter

Honestly, the breads and the butter were magnificent! These alone makes the visit worth it already. We enjoyed them so much and couldn't help ourselves from raising our expectations for the upcoming dishes; complimentary items being so good, it'd be total nonsense for the rest of the dishes to go wrong, right?!

First Course (RM 35-45): Fried Hokkaido Scallop with Rocket Vichyssoise, Dried Tomatoes, Tomato Oil and Scallop Chips (additional RM 40-50)

If I'm craving for scallop in Malaysia, Frangipani is definitely one of the very few restaurants that can fulfill such a crave. They serve the most gigantic and fresh Hokkaido Scallop on the menu, but the cooking style differs from time to time.

This combination above is a new experience to the both of us. I've never had rocket vichyssoise & tomato oil as a scallop base before, and thought it was diluted wasabi at first glance. The rocket vichyssoise had a distinctive freshness of leeks, with a savory hint of roquette , it worked quite well with the dried tomato too. Not to mention the crispy Scallop Chips were excellent!

Second Course (RM 45-55): Warm Tea Smoked Salmon with Confit Potatoes, Creme Fraiche and Salmon Roe

Personally, the regular smoked salmon was never quite to my liking; the texture was always a wee bit dry and often too salty on its own - I don't mind having it in salads or in breakfasts/brunches, but that's it - except for this lovely. The best part of this divine dish, is that the the salmon was smoked to perfection while retaining the texture of a salmon sashimi. Wonderful.

Having the salmon on its own is luxurious enough, but having it with the creme fraiche is just downright ASTONISHING! You can never imagine how well they go together; the sweet and salty salmon flirts and teases the mildly sour creme fraiche as they danced in the night, how romantic?!

In my humble opinion, the Confit Potatoes and Salmon Roe were just bonuses added to the dish. Serving them along with the Salmon didn't really seem "chemical" to me, but they're perfectly fine on their own.

Third Course (RM 88): Pan Roasted Grain Fed Tenderloin, wrapped with Duck Prosciutto, topped with Pan Seared Foie Gras and served with Fried Fiddlehead Ferns and Truffle Glaze (additional RM 45)

A mouthwatering fine piece of meat

Apart from Maria's Cafe, Frangipani is probably one of the very few places that I can enjoy a steak of such caliber! Besides the exquisite presentation, the tenderloin is being grilled to a pleasing doneness between medium rare and medium. The flavors and juices are all sealed in, along with a distinctive balance of marblings and tenderness within; kept us thinking that the beef went exactly to the right hands! 

In addition, the foie gras is pretty well handled that it remained an utterly soft, creamy texture and literally melts on the palette! Not to mention that the duck prosciutto provided an extra savory and a twist if crispiness to the dish whilst the ferns and truffle glaze further elevated the flavor of the entire meal! This is really a heavenly combination that any beef and/or Foie Gras lover should NEVER. EVER. MISS!

Apart from the first course, the other delicacies we ordered above are of same quality as my first visit. Yet, we were utterly satisfied with the quality of the food and to me, in fact, it's even better than before! Maybe it's because I didn't know how to appreciate good food back then as much as I am right now? I don't know, but everything we had thus far was perfect!

And of course, being in Frangipani there's no way we could miss the dessert:

Dessert (RM 35): Seven Heavenly Sins (additional RM 70)

Initially, we were partial to the Creme Brulee and the Dark Valrhona Chocolate Ganache, but the server tempted us with their dessert platter - the "Seven Heavenly Sins" which includes all 7 desserts! Ms. Thoong and I totally gave in to the vile temptress and awaited our sins with great anticipation.

Unfortunately, moments later another server came to us and told us that one of the dessert is not available on that day. Instead, they will serve us with 6, and we get to choose an extra portion out of the 6 as compensation. Well, when life give you lemons...

Luckily this unfortunate ordeal were thrown to the back of our minds when our desserts came and we DEVOURED them. Every single dessert was a delicacy, they were well thought, artistic and the ingredients either compliments and/or contrasts each other brilliantly! It was the perfect sweet ending for the meal! Interested to know what they are and how they tasted like? It is for me to know and for you to find out! You will thank me for this, trust me. *grins*

As it was Ms. Thoong's virgin experience of fine dining, I asked for her comment and this is her short, simple and humorous reply: "None of the food we had is bad, none!" & "Fine dining is not meant to be filling isn't it?" Hopefully she wouldn't strangle me for this. *giggles*

A fantastic, luxurious dinner all in all. Frangipani is worth every single penny with their professional service, topnotch quality, creative dishes and splendid ambiance. Tired of working all day, what with the traffic, killer weather, and dealing with a bore of a boss and annoying customers? Spoil yourself numb with a trip to Frangipani and all your troubles would wither away as they satisfy all your every (culinary) desire. Frangipani, your taste buds, heck, your soul, would thank you for a visit there.

Overall Ratings:
Food:                9/10
Creativity:          9/10
Ambiance:         9/10
Service:             8/10
Value:               8/10

I would really love to rate it a 10/10 for their food as every single dish they serve is fascinating and scrumptious but there is always a room for improvement, I'll give you that.

Here's their Facebook page and their website for those who're interested!

Kuala Lumpur
Address: 25, Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact: +603-2144 3001
Operating Hours:
                              - Restaurant: Tues- Sun; 7.30pm - late (10.30pm for last order)
                              - Bar:              Tues, Weds, Thurs; 6pm - midnight
                                                      Friday, Sat; 6pm - 3am
                              - Closed on Monday

Credits:
Author: Ang Joonkie
Companion of the day: Thoong Kit Yee
Editor: Harrison Tan
Photo Editor: Thoong Kit Yee

Photos of the day:

Ms. Thoong -  thanks for entertaining my last minute dinner call! Awesome you!