Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Gardens Residences, Kuala Lumpur

My makan kaki is back in town. To celebrate his arrival home, I took him to Sage for a meal. The menu last week looked and sounded very good on paper, and in reality, the food was absolutely fabulous!

Chef Daniel working his magic in the kitchen

The first batch of bread served to us was really good. I have no idea what it's called but it had a crunchy crust, and was quite hollow in the centre. I thought last week's bread was good, but this one definitely topped them all.

We both had the Cold Buckwheat Noodles with Smoked Salmon and Flying Fish Roe (Tobiko). It has been a while since we have been served such a visually attractive and colourful dish at Sage, not to mention the flavours were fantastic too. The tobiko provided a wonderful crunchy texture. I was surprised to find an oyster topped on the smoked salmon too. A heavenly start to the meal.

We finished our first plate of bread just before the starter arrived and was looking forward to our next plate. However, it seems that they have ran out of the first type and we were served some pizza bread. An odd choice for a fine dining restaurant, seeing that it was quite a heavy and filling bread to be consumed with our rather dainty lunch.

I was excited about the mains since I have never had duck as a main course during lunch here. The Two Way Preparations of Duck with Foie Gras and Daikon was a substantial dish. The duck confit was tender and juicy, but the star of the dish is the roast duck breast which has been sliced thinly and was extremely flavoursome. It makes a nice change from the usual beef mains that we have had.

For his main course, The Unc had the Pan Fried Japanese Red Snapper with Cuttlefish Tempura, Red Cabbage and Tarabagani sauce. The fish was fresh and sweet, with a nice crisp skin. I offered some of my duck to him and we both conceded that the duck was a far superior choice.

The Green Tea Bavarois with Azuki Beans and Milk Ice-Cream was arguably one of the best desserts we've had in Sage. The bavarois was smooth and delicate and the milk ice-cream was simply delicious. What a superb dessert to end the meal with.

After our meal, we wandered around The Gardens and spotted the AidsAware exhibition at the Concourse area (still being set-up at that time). The exhibition is held from February 24 to March 13, 2011 and features 42 personalities and thousands of others who support the cause. Here's one of 3 Absolut Vodka themed shots unveiled to the public on 24 February.

Absolut Protection AIDSAware

Lunch was absolutely amazing, and having peeked at next week's menu, I daresay we might be popping in again very soon.

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

Service: Good.

Price: RM100 nett. 10% off with The Gardens Club card.

Location: Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Gardens Residences, Level 6, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2268 1328

Website: http://www.sagekl.com/