Bath and beyond
The Library of The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur is becoming one of the hottest dining rooms within the city for its exciting guest chef dinner series. A recent tie-up with The Gainsborough Bath Spa – a sister property under YTL Hotels’ ownership – offered KL-ites the chance to appreciate the mastery of chef Dan Moon.
Moon, who earned three AA Rosettes, the Caterer’s Acorn Awards and the first-ever Von Essen Chef of the Year accolades, is a West Country-born culinary force who previously cooked in the kitchens of UK establishments such as Hunstrete House, the Homewood Park Hotel and Ston Easton Park. His current tenure at The Gainsborough Bath Spa sees him crafting dishes for guests who expect ‘an experience’ when dining at a quintessentially British ambience.
That British experience was what Moon sought to transmit during a four-day extravaganza in Kuala Lumpur, through a six-course dinner paired with wines (RM500 nett). The key, as he contends, is in the preparation; with two full days dedicated to mise en place before the festivities. A plum sauce, to accompany the roasted duck breast, needed careful attentions across four hours spent in chopping, pureeing and stirring. “The stirring is crucial to maintain the tart and sugar in the sauce, and it’s most important to drop the levels really, really slowly like a jam. Do it too fast and it catches and burns because of the sugars,” Moon recounts.
For this particular dinner, a chicken liver parfait opened proceedings, resplendent with orange sorbet, chicory and almond granola accents. Next came a caramelised onion veloute with quail egg, wild mushrooms, truffle and hazelnuts. “Most of these dishes I actually do back home,” Moon says. However, Kuala Lumpur’s geographical proximity to regional ingredients offered him a chance to indulge his proclivity for Asian flavours. Yuzu caviar on a smoked salmon ballotine and sesame seeds on the aforementioned roasted duck breast were but two instances of Moon’s ingenious use of eclectic, savoury touches. “Back home, I heighten the umami with lots of kelp and seaweed,” Moon says. His classically British theme was then rounded off with a goat’s curd, garnished with toasted walnuts and a pickled apple.
For Moon, his idea of British food is one which also segues into modern techniques and, naturally, amazing ingredients. “The fruit here is just great,” he says of Malaysia, pointing out at his dark chocolate ganache dessert, adroitly plated with banana ice cream, peanut butter mousse and salted caramel popcorn.
