Turning 40 In Cilantro

And I mean the restaurant, not the herb.

Both other half and I have been very err.."blessed", coz both of us had sponsors kind enough to buy us dinner at Cilantro, probably my favourite restaurant in town, the force feeding of Evian at RM20 per bottle notwithstanding.

The area surrounding Micasa seems to be one huge construction site. The old building that used to house Barn Thai, where many a flaming lamborghini were consumed by my friends, is now a dilapidated derelict shell. But, step into Micasa and you're in a different world. Tapas Bistro, (ah, such happy memories of a carefree bachelorhood now long gone), has undergone massive renovation and looks good, especially the "green house" portion that overlooks the pool. I noted that their famous margaritas are RM19++ per glass, or RM75 ++ per jug. Margaritas in Cilantro on the other hand, less than 50m away, are RM25++.

Anyway, Bro In Law ordered a bottle of very good red, (don't ask me which, I am a pleb when it comes to wine), which complemented the meal perfectly.

For starters, there was a complimentary caviar with carrot mousse in a shot glass.
The bread and truffle butter is a meal by itself, and theoretically, you could get very full for less than RM50 in a place like this. Just get the bread, and soup. Or salad.

This positively sinful butter would be the cause of many a cardiac arrest. Probably unsalted, but the hint of truffle oil and presumably truffle bits, are absolutely divine.



Wife had this gorgeous scallop salad for starters. The portions of scallop were actually quite generous.


Bro in law had the pan seared foie gras with some special grape from Japan. This dish was REALLY something. Almost better than err...... a three letter word beginning with S.


Sis In Law had this gloriously red slab of salmon, which is HUGE for a starter portion. It could easily pass of as a main. Garnished with a few sprigs of aragula, and with a herb crust, it looked rather attractive for a fish.

I had the something something soup, (seafood I think), which was very good. Oh dear, age is really catching up, because I suddenly have no recollection of its contents. All I remember is, it was good. The gratinated topping made it a tad rich, but the tomatoey contents complemented the wealth afforded by the cheese, and cream.



Surprisingly, there was no fancy sorbet in between starters and mains to wash de palate. Anyway, wife had this prawn ravioli thingie which resembled a giant wantan. I have never quite gotten the hang of large pasta sheets trying to pass of as gourmet. I remember a friend oohing and aahing in a restaurant in melbourne over the pasta sheets, and I unappreciatively said "taste like thick wantan skin".


Sister in law's lamb shank, which was again, a gargantuan portion. Considering she's as anorexic as Teri Hatcher, it must have quite a feat tucking in the salmon AND this lamb. Too much red in the picture, don't know how to adjust.


Bro In Law had the lamb cutlet, which was very good, although the waiter did warn him that RARE would be very bloody still. It wasn't too bad, and very tender.


The dissected giant wantan.


Oh, my oh my, my main was absolutely orgasmic. Ox tongue in some reduction sauce, topped with an extra serving of pan seared foie gras. Salivate. Ox tongue is absolutely one of my favourites, and I watched in hopeless despair as the salted tongue in Mr Ho's went from RM69.99 per kilo to RM129.99 per kilo. I guess there's only so much tongue in a cow. Meanwhile, I had the most hilarious sms exchange with dear IPOD. (International Prince of Divas).

Me: Omigod, the ox tongue is sooo good, better than wagyu beef cheek, its soooo tender.
Ipod: Hmmm, I must try new things next time. I never had tongue before.

"I NEVER HAD TONGUE BEFORE".

Guffaw. Couldn't help chuckling to myself, and thinking woe betide me if that sms fell into the wrong hands.

Anyway, to the tongue virgins, I would highly recommend the ox tongue. If you are squirmish about eating non conventional parts of an animal, well, just picture it as a supremely tender cut of beef.


With an elevated uric acid and cholesterol count, we then proceeded with the difficult task of choosing a dessert. Brilliantly, Cilantro has a dessert platter, priced at RM90 something, for a choice of 4 desserts. Considering the desserts are all priced above RM30, it's a smart choice to opt for the platter, which we did.

Clockwise from left top, was the mango sorbet, a lovely concoction of freezing sorbet with a baked exterior. Or at least caramelised by some mechanism. The nougat something something was divine, with crunchy pieces of whatever that taste like very good biscuits (oh my goodness, I realise now how plebian I am sounding when describing gourmet food), sandwiching a lovely nougatish cream, complemented with more mango sorbet and an orange sauce. All I know is, coupled together, it was like when Remy was teaching Emile how combinations of different taste can really tantalise the palate. Partially hidden, but full view below, is the Souffle, but I can't for my life recall what flavour it is. Then there was the vanilla panna cotta with coffee jelly and sorbet. Also divine.


To end it all, there were these little truffle ball (what do you call small balls? Ballettes?) and also a little piece of toffee with a large pinch of coarse sea salt, giving that sweet salty feeling all at the same time. Coupled with water, I felt positively salty wet. (Translate to Cantonese)


Fabulous dinner at Cilantro as usual. Thanks for the gastronomic treat, BIL.