Chef Nicolas Isnard’s French Flair at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

Gallic grace

Chicken breast as a main course on a Michelin-starred chef’s menu may sound pedestrian, but in the gifted hands of chef Nicolas Isnard it becomes ambrosial. Isnard earned his stripes, or rather star, at L’Auberge de la Charme in Prenois soon after its opening in 2009. The accolades that swiftly followed included an award of four toques by Gault et Millau, one of the most influential French restaurant guides and the title of Maitre Cuisinier de France (Master Chef of France) in 2012.

Isnard was recently at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur’s Mandarin Grill to present five days of culinary excellence, continuing the restaurant’s impeccable track record of working with superb chefs.

Kicking off with a luxurious amuse bouche composed of beetroot, Comte cheese and truffle, Isnard set the scene for enchantment with light-as-air mousse hued an appetisingly deep red. His clever reinvention took an international turn with a duo of raw seafood dishes featuring Thai-style prawn tartare and red snapper ceviche respectively. The acidity of the tartare was bracing but the avocado in it gave it lushness, while toasted pine nuts and almonds lent the ceviche an appealing earthiness. On to more seafood with perfectly cooked scallops a la plancha, injected with a satisfying shot of acid courtesy of salsify and apple.

The gates of heaven opened with the main course of Le Poulet Gaston Gerard. This traditional Burgundian dish was revitalised with Comte cheese foam, a trio of shiitake, duxelle and shimeji mushrooms and accompanied with a sublime chicken thigh in white sauce. Prenois in Burgundy was, after all, where Isnard earned his Michelin star and judging from this unforgettable dish, rightly so. Dessert was rich chocolate ganache completed with orange cremeux and fleur de sel biscuits, a classic balanced adieu that summarised Isnard’s deft melange of the traditional and modern.

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur