Morsels of Délice: Café Quenino - Incredibly Lovely Dining Experience

Friday, March 29, 2024

Café Quenino - Incredibly Lovely Dining Experience

After one of the best dining experiences at Quenino by Victor Liong, I am all eager to visit the sister restaurant: Café Quenino. And yes, this restaurant totally exceeds my expectations with distinctive, awesome food and amazingly beautiful setting of heritage and botanical theme. In fact, this is one of the best cafés.

One thing i love about Café Quenino is that it is very different from most cafés in hotels that usually feature safe choices for tourists, such as local fare (which I rather order from neighbourhood hawker centres instead) or English Breakfast style of food (which I can cook for myself). The dishes here are local fare imbued with deluxe and also intricacy of European cuisine. They are so unique, complex in taste and absolutely delight the palates. And the coconut basmati rice here, which I think is the best nasi lemak, is a must-try.

Incredibly high ceilings lined with wooden beams, tall columns of flowers and ferns, transparent pillars filled with fairy lights, florid murals populating the walls above the giant window arches, rattan chairs and lush greenery surrounding the exterior of the restaurant, this place feels like a garden resort of Peranakan royalty. I am so in awe of the place when I first step inside.

The service here is wonderful too, being friendly and prompt to response, making good recommendations. I feel so pampered dining here.

Crab and Caviar is local Kew Pie Tee reinvented into luxurious version, where unbelievably crispy pastry cup is packed with fresh, silky, briny sweet crab and Kaluga Queen Caviar. At the bottom of the cup is a lovely surprise of white pepper curry. There are so many harmonious flavours at work here with the essence of the ocean of the crab and caviar being always the focus. I love this so much.

Assam Prawn soaked in spicy taramind sauce and served with coconut basmatic rice wows me over too with the a myriad of robust, hearty flavours. The huge fresh prawns are so succulent and meaty. I like it that the sweet, delicate taste of the prawns still takes the centerstage amid the strong flavours of the sauce and herbs.

The coconut basmatic rice is another star here. These fluffy grains are so fragrant and carries an extra lovely warm aroma that makes it taste oh-so-good. Definitely the best.

Grilled Hervey Bay Scallop with Herb Butter and Lemon is one fine treat where the pungency of herb, the richness of butter and the zest of lemon make the light briny sweetness of scallop all the more exciting.

At the staff's recommendation, I got Masala Chai Choux Puff. The Choux au Craquelin has this nice crispy biscuit top that complements so well with the smooth Masala Chai cream within. The nuanced flavours of herbs in the masala chai make the taste exotic and still very pleasing to the palates. This is one excellent choux.

The good ole panna cotta is given a refreshing makeover with Southeast influences in Coconut Panna Cotta and Red Fruits here. Instead of milk, coconut milk is used to make the smooth, bouncy, silky pudding full of milky and nutty goodness, balanced by the tang of Strawberry and Raspberry Granita. Rose and Malaysian flower, the Hibiscus, are added for the extra soothing aroma, pretty natural red colour and the extra Southeast Asian touch. I love this too.