Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining Menu Post Covid-19

Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining

Monica Tindall

Coming even more to the forefront over the solitude of the pandemic is the fact that food does so much more than satisfy hunger alone. It serves as a connection, a reason to come together. Food nourishes the body while family and friends nurture relationships. Reflecting on the value of time spent together over a shared meal, the team at Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining have emerged with a return to simplicity.

Streamlining their offering into three set menus, less time is exhausted in decision-making freeing up moments to reestablish bonds catching up. Doing away with a la carte, guests can choose four (RM250++), six (RM350++) or eight (RM420++) course menus with several alternatives for mains and vegetarian options also available upon request. Today we try six courses.

Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining Set Menu

To pair with the set menus, Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining has an excellent wine list with a reputable inclusion of natural and organic wines. To expand your palate, I suggest giving the Le Clot de l’Origine “Le Trouble Fait,’ Maury, Roussillon (RM260) a try. This cloudy wine has playful notes of citrus and peel on the nose and balanced fruit and acidity in the mouth. Read more on the story behind the label and winemaker here.

Amuse Bouche

I’m very fond of this menu’s amuse bouche at Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining. So much so, I’d order it as a course in itself if possible. Mackerel mousse is aerated with lime jelly and dried onion weaved through. It makes an irresistibly tangy spoon of lightness, and then there’s the surprise of cocoa bean puree on the bottom. A side of chewy ox tongue with beetroot juice, carrot juice, pickled cauliflower and carrot, and fromage blanc is both pretty and tasty. Still, I want additional scoops of that foam.

Tomato, Burrata and Black Olive Focaccia

Small on the plate but big in the mouth, the first course of tomato, burrata and black olive focaccia caught me off guard. Tomato is nowhere to be seen in the white rectangular prism, yet it fills the palate with fruit and tang. The key to the mouth-enveloping flavour is a soaking of the focaccia in tomato water. Instead of a toasted dry mouthfeel, the caramelised tomato-encrusted loaf is a soft, doughy texture with a bruleed top. Salty, house-marinated black olives slice the starter in both colour and taste.

Sardines, Cherries and Almonds

Celebrating wonderfully fresh produce, the kitchen team allows the sardines to be the protagonists in the second course, Sardines, Cherries and Almonds. I’m not sure whether I’m in the south of Spain eating espeto on the beach or in Lima, Peru forking up ceviche. Flash-fried on one side and deglazed with sherry vinegar and a sprinkling of sugar on the other, I could be at either end of the Latin globe with the dual cooking technique.

Spring Salad of Egg and Confit Tuna

Rarely do you see tuna confit but that is precisely the method used at Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining to achieve a creamy texture in the Spring Salad of Egg and Confit Tuna. It’s layered on a chewy crouton along with milk curd, soy sherry vinaigrette and bright, cured egg yolk. Scattered with crisp vegetables, it’s a salad that truly celebrates the season.

Fish

The ocean course offers a choice of prawns or fish. I choose the latter with Lightly Curried Halibut with Butter and Farm Vegetables. The splash of sauce it sits in is a warm hue thanks to the turmeric in the Madras curry powder in which the fish has been gently poached. Torched until golden, the fish is well-matched with a beurre monté (melted butter sauce) and glazed vegetables. I love the row of baby carrots and verdant peas painting the side with contrasting orange and green.

Meat

Again, there are two alternatives in the land course Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining; lamb sausage or beef tenderloin. I find the Roast Black Angus Tenderloin with Black Olive Powder an excellent pick. The pan-seared meat is glazed with a lemon thyme gel and rested just long enough for the companions of fava beans to be warmed in a veal glaze. Both are plated along with potato pave, a recipe made famous by legendary chef Thomas Keller. It’s basically an upscaling of scalloped potatoes built into a rectangular prism – resembling paved stones. A dusting of olive powder, and Tom’s your uncle.

Switching to red wine for the meat, the Domaine Elian Da Ros, Chante Coucou (RM290) is an excellent mate. This blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and a splash of Syrah was produced using biodynamic techniques. It’s fresh, lively and offers plenty of structure. It would also do well with lamb or duck.

Dessert

More choice is found in a yin and yang of desserts with white or dark chocolate. Roasted Persimmon with White Chocolate Truffle sounds as though I can count these calories as a fruit course. I’m in. What it turns out to be, is something close to a fairground toffee apple in terms of sweetness with repeated bastings in caramel. It’s then roasted until soft and delivered in crisp phyllo pastry with green tea ice cream. An artistic flurry of white chocolate truffle snows the crown. Creamy, buttery, caramelly, yum.

Cantaloupe at Troika Sky Dining Review

It’s refreshing to see fine dining establishments taking the opportunity to reset and refocus. I like this new direction of simplicity in choice at Cantaloupe. The menu is delicious, the views are superb, and it feels great to reconnect with friends over a meal once again.

Reasons to visit Cantaloupe Troika Sky Dining: excellent set menus offering four, six and eight courses; stunning setting; good wine list with several natural and organic options.

Cantaloupe at Troika Sky Dining
Level 23A Tower B
The Troika, 19 Persiaran KLCC
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+603 2162 0886
www.facebook.com/cantaloupe

Cantaloupe at Troika Sky Dining Opening Hours
Daily: 6.00 pm until 11 pm,  (last call at 10.30 pm)

 

Check out some of the other restaurants in Troika Sky Dining here:
Fuego
Coppersmith
Strato
Brasserie Fritz Pop-up