Sage Restaurant, The Gardens (Visit #2)

Having had a great first dining experience here at Sage Restaurant in The Gardens Residences, Hubby decided to treat me AGAIN (I'm such a lucky girl *grin*).. this time for dinner at this restaurant. He made reservations the morning we were due to dine here, and again we managed to secure a table easily.

We were seated at a table with views of the open kitchen again :-) Hubby ordered a glass of Merlot (RM30) to accompany his dinner and for me, still water please. While waiting for our dinner to be served, we were served warm bread with the basil and olive oil concoction. I think the concoction actually tasted nicer today, a bit more salt perhaps?

At dinnertime, an amuse bouche, compliments of the chef, is served - celeriac mousse with potato croutons, which leaves a distinct "potato chip" aftertaste enveloped by a sour cream-like mousse.

For my appetizer, I ordered the Carpaccio of Wagyu with Plum Infused Konbu Sauce. This was my favorite dish of the night, thinly sliced wagyu which was very tasty. (I never knew that carpaccio was invented at Harry's Bar in Venice until I wiki-ed it today.... we had carpaccio when we dined at Cip's, the sister restaurant at Venice some years ago. )

Hubby had the Confit of Duck Leg with Puy Lentil and Olives with a side salad. We were surprised when his appetizer arrived, it was a very huge portion, similar to their main course servings. The duck was succulent.

For main course, I had the Herb Crusted Lamb Rack with Aubergine and Garlic Confit. I think I failed miserably in my choice of main course tonight - I was warned beforehand that ordering the lamb rack medium well could be quite "pink" as this restaurant serves French-inspired cuisine. Well, usually when I cook it at home, the meat is still quite pink but I cook the fat layer so that it is crispy and you can eat it. So, my main course arrived and I couldn't bring myself to eat any of the fats/skin as it is quite rubbery and well, disgusting. A note to self: next time order any lamb dish well done! *grrr*

Hubby had better luck with his main course, Angus Beef with Wild Rocket, Button Mushrooms and Natural Jus. It was so yummy, I'm so jealous! Beef was cooked to perfection and taste so velvety!

Time for dessert. We struggled when it came to choosing the dessert, because the names of the dishes were very French and didn't make much sense to us. Luckily, the waiting staff were very knowledgable and gave us a run-down of their dessert list. I finally settled for the PurCaraibe Marquise with Coffee Jelly and Sarawak Pepper, served with delicious vanilla ice-cream. The Marquise is a very rich chocolate pudding, absolutely delish. I don't really like coffee but the jelly actually tasted nice.

They brought this Almond Blanc Manger with Mango Sorbet and Passion Fruit by mistake to our table. Took a picture before we sent it back. Lol. It actually looked quite nice.

Hubby had the Apple Paris Soire with Calvados Ice Cream.

We had a sneak peek at the degustation menu, looks pretty good! Maybe we'll try this next time.

Great place for special ocassions!

Comfort: Excellent. Still love it here!
Service: Very knowledgable staff. Excellent service.
Price: RM140 nett for Dinner menu.
Food: Still love the food here despite my not-so-good main course.

Location: Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Gardens Residences, Level 6, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur. (Tel:03-22681328)

Opening hours: Lunch:Monday to Friday 12.00pm to 2.00pm; Dinner:Monday to Saturday 6.00pm to 10.30pm. Closed on Sunday.