An evian® Experience: DC Restaurant x Maison Dunand
Words: Jacob Weber
Photos: Monica Tindall
It’s not often we have the privilege of being fed by a chef helming a Michelin-starred restaurant.
It’s even rarer to enjoy an exceptional menu created by two chefs leading two Michelin-starred restaurants in different countries, with one-of-a-kind fusion dishes featuring local ingredients and classic fine dining techniques.
“Global Cuisine, French Flair, Malaysian Soul” (RM788++ p/p / RM1338++ p/p for food and wine pairing) was an inspired collaboration between Darren Chin (who needs no introduction) and Arnaud Dunand Sauthier, Owner & Head Chef at Bangkok’s renowned Maison Dunand.
The exclusive event was sponsored by evian® (Chef Arnaud is an evian® Ambassador). It provided its iconic natural and sparkling mineral waters to add an extra touch of class and complement the cuisine with their fresh, delicate, and crisp profiles.
After all, you can’t accompany snow crab, dry-aged duck and caviar with any old table water, can you?
We’re even luckier to get a seat in the ‘DC 3.0 Moonbar’, an elegant, intimate upstairs dining area with a massive, sparkling mural of a gleaming moon against a starry backdrop.
For the inspiration behind this menu, Chef Arnaud returned to his Savoie Region roots in the heart of the French Alps. He supplied the sophistication, and Chef Darren supplied the soul, bringing Malaysian flavours and a touch of the exotic to traditional French fine dining.
As soon as the bread arrives at the table, we know we’re in for a treat. There’s a lavash cracker topped with buttercream cheese mixed with egg yolk, chives and kombu. The cracker is lighter than air, and the curious savoury topping brings us back to earth with a pleasant bump. The bread basket is bursting with croissants, sourdough, and bread twist varieties that are baked with cheese and tomato. As you’d expect from Monsieur Darren, this bread is outstanding. Rich, flaky and crispy, and made all the more nourishing by the luxurious butter, which has been mixed with a touch of caviar.
The amuse-bouche is a creative medley of different tastes and textures. We start with a cumin-seed cracker topped with lentil and hazelnut sauce for a delicate, sweet finish; the artichoke beignet with cream cheese and ponzu jelly offers up a creamy, crispy, tangy mouthful; and the rice cracker crowned with kingfish, pickled shallots, fermented tea leaf and chickpea puree delivers a zesty kick with a pleasant lingering heat.
This course is paired with a Larmandier-Bernier “Latitude” Vertus NV Champagne, a lovely crisp vintage made entirely with Chardonnay grapes from fifteen biodynamically farmed hectares in the Côte des Blancs. It’s equally elegant and intense, with notes of pear and green apple and a long finish.
The Snow Crab, served with egg custard, homemade lime caviar, fava beans, prawn consommé, and ikura, is a masterclass in contrast. (And neither the first nor the last of the evening). The fresh, sweet crab and the silky, savoury custard complement each other very well indeed, and although a light and delicate dish, it’s still a generous and satisfying portion.
This course comes with a Ken Forrester “The FMC” Chenin Blanc 2022 from South Africa, a beautifully balanced white wine with just a little acidity to get your teeth into. Honeyed oak, peach, and tree fruit notes are unmistakable, with a lingering citrus aftertaste, and there’s a hint of vanilla that tells us it’s been barrel-aged. (OK, it tells Monica — I would never have picked up on that. Luckily, it’s on the label on the back of the bottle, too, so I can nod and confirm.)
The Banana Blossom boasts more brilliant interplay between textures; the sweet, crispy caramelised banana blossom just bounces off the plump, juicy gambero rosso (giant red shrimp), with a roasted coconut and apple beurre blanc providing the stage for them to play on. The Chenin Blanc washes this down very nicely as well.
Chef Arnaud’s signature dish, Caviar, is another highlight of the evening. Briny sea urchin, fresh and full of umami, is topped with a velvety smooth potato espuma and finished with caviar and a dash of Champagne-based sauce. It’s as elegant and luxurious as I hope I’ve made it sound. Creamy, earthy, nourishing, with a salty hit from the caviar, this really is a signature dish of a Michelin-starred chef.
The Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Alsace Clos Windsbuhl 2021 has been picked especially to bring out the sea urchin; another beautifully balanced wine on the acidic side, with lots of earthy mineral notes alongside plenty of peach, citrus, and apricot.
The East-West fusion food concept really comes to the fore in the Songkla River Prawn. This succulent, meaty South Thailand prawn is basking in a delicious yellow curry sauce topped with ginger foam and an onion cream sauce, resting on a bed of brown rice from the artisanal supplier Langit Collective.
It’s paired with a Loimer Ried Käferberg Grüner Veltliner 1.ÖTW DAC 2021, a lively, herbaceous white wine with apricot and orange on the nose and lighter fruits on the palate. It’s a little acidic, a little spicy, and very enjoyable all around.
Talking of contrasts, the Irish Duck brings us firmly to the other side of the flavour spectrum to the delicate seafood dishes we’ve been indulging in. The dry-aged duck breast is rich and gamey, elevated by the goat’s cheese base, with a zucchini and basil puree for an earthy balance.
Unsurprisingly, there’s red wine to go with this course. The Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-Saint-Georges “La Charmotte” 2016 is a delightful medium-bodied red with intense dark fruit notes and just a hint of white pepper.
Our first dessert is the Violet, which wins the presentation award for the evening. The base is a fromage (no, not simply ‘cheese’) spread, crispy rice cooked with honey and brown butter, and a hair-thin layer of roselle konjac jelly paper. The main ingredient is smokey sweet potato cubes and sweet potato ice cream, topped with sea salt, gula Melaka, more roselle paper, and a dash of roselle foam. It might look like something out of the Barbie movie, but there’s a deceptive and delicious depth to this dessert. (To be fair, the Barbie movie had a deeper meaning than one would expect as well.)
For an indulgent finish, the “Extraordinary Chocolate with Patrick Roger” is a decadent, creamy dish featuring light chocolate siphon mousse, a shiitake mushroom chocolate ganache, and black sesame streusel. It’s rich but not overpowering, with a wonderful nutty, earthy aftertaste from the shiitake — and I’m not a fan of mushrooms at the best of times, so this is praise indeed.
We’re counting our lucky stars to have been invited to an event as rare and refined as this — and not just because we’re in the Moonbar. One more cheeky glass of red, which works very well with the chocolate dessert, and it’s time to head home.
An evian® Experience: DC Restaurant x Maison Dunand @ DC Restaurant
44, Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Link to DC Restaurant on Google Maps
+6037 731 0502
@dc_restaurant
DC Restaurant Opening Hours
Tuesday-Sunday 6–11:30 pm
Closed Monday
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