At Cezanne, Malaysian flavours meet Western techniques in inside an art gallery

The Star

5 days ago

As far as restaurants go, Cezanne is as anomalous as they come. To begin with, there is no actual sign to indicate that you've arrived at the restaurant, which is secreted within Qing Arts Club – an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur boasting a motley assortment of art pieces from both Asian as well as international artists.
But walk straight on from the main door and you'll discover another door that leads to a small dining space and a wine cellar. This is not Cezanne either.
You'll have to walk through this space before finding yourself in an impossibly tiny little restaurant which consists of 12 seats dotted around an open kitchen.
This is where head chef Brendon Chen and sous chef Llewelyn John reign supreme. Both are graduates of the prestigious culinary arts school Le Cordon Bleu Malaysia. The two ended up working at numerous restaurants together, including at Playte in Damansara Heights, KL, which Chen co-founded with a few friends.
Cezanne is a 12-seater restaurant with an open kitchen. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Chen recalls how just as Playte was closing – he was approached by art collector and Qing Gallery founder Patrick On – to open Cezanne, which is named after famed French post-Impressionist artist Paul Cezanne.
'When Playte was closing, one of the regulars at the restaurant brought Patrick along. So at that time he told me that he wanted to start up a restaurant together with the gallery. So that's how it began.
'I thought the idea was special. I mean, like, a fine-dining restaurant living within the walls of an arts club. It's not something that you can commonly find in Malaysia. I think there are only a few of these types of restaurants in New York and Singapore,' says Chen.
Chen (left) and John are the creative forces behind the restaurant's East-West refined fare.
In putting together the menu, Chen was inspired by the rich, varied tapestry of art on display – the creative genius of both Asian as well as Western artists.
'With the gallery, the artworks are a bit of East-meets-West as well. That's what the cuisine that I'm doing right now represents. So it's mostly French or European techniques but predominantly Asian flavours so I think it fits quite well with the whole concept,' says Chen.
Cezanne only serves tasting menus, which are priced at RM348++ for five courses or RM548++ for seven courses. There is also the option to tack on wine pairing options as well as non-alcoholic pairings – at an additional cost.
The five-course menu offers the perfect opportunity to sample some of Chen and John's best work without too much overindulgence.
The shisho and avocado puree in a pie tee shell makes for a memorable one-bite wonder.
Highlights from the menu include the opener which features a shisho and avocado puree slotted into a pie tee shell.
The shell is delightful – thin but not too wobbly with a brittle, crispy structure that falls gently into submission upon being bitten into.
The filling is creamy and yet not overly rich, which gives you the opportunity to really savour the flavours.
The French bean tart is lively and very energising.
Then there is a French bean-centric tart with tofu cream that is a lively, riotous one-bite wonder with a natural effervescence and freshness.
The meal then opens with the first of the five courses – a Striped Jack (shima aji) that is lightly cured and served alongside tomato water and fig vinegar in what proves to be an invigorating, lip-puckering offering designed to perk you up instantly.
The fish itself is velvety soft and supple and this is juxtaposed against the rusticity and tanginess of the tomato water and the astringency of the fig vinegar in a coupling that blossoms into pure bliss.
Silken, velvety slices of fish and tangy tomato water are the highlight of the striped jack.
Up next, you'll get the Soy Milk Custard with pickled daikon and a caramelised onion soup.
'The soy milk custard is a take on chawanmushi but just doing chawanmushi would have been boring so we replaced it with soy milk and duck egg and added a French onion soup as the base,' says Chen.
The Soy Milk Custard with pickled daikon and a caramelised onion soup.
The custard is enhanced with engawa (flounder fin) and almonds and is silken smooth and understated, a subtle nod to Japanese finesse and the power of restraint.
It may not be as memorable as the other dishes on the menu, but its quiet elegance carries through.
Part of the meal also encompasses a serving of homemade sourdough bread and seaweed butter drizzled with salt.
The restaurant also serves homemade sourdough bread with seaweed butter, which is pretty phenomenal. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Honest-to-God, this is the stuff of dreams! The bread has a crusty outer edge that gives way to fluffy doughy goodness with just a hint of tang permeating its musculature.
This is complemented by the rich umami flavour of the butter, which is perfectly salted and so good that you'll want to eat it by the tubful.
The main course is a choice of either Aged Duck or A4 wagyu (RM150 top-up). The duck is served two ways – the first part is a fried duck confit with hoisin sauce, pickled cucumbers and black garlic heaped atop a buckwheat crepe.
A riff on Peking duck, this is a meal that is meant to be eaten like a taco so that all the flavours collude to provide an explosive flavour bomb.
The first part of the main course is meant to be eaten like a taco.
The breakout star here is the duck confit which is rich and intensely satisfying.
Chen then brings out the big guns with his 14-day aged duck, which is cooked so perfectly, he should conduct masterclasses on the subject.
The skin of the duck is burnished and golden, crispy and crackly to the touch and yet the meat embedded under this armour is insanely succulent and oh-so tender. It's spectacular cooking really.
The 14-day aged duck is incredibly good and boasts crispy skin and tender, succulent meat.
The yuba tartlet served on the side features yellow wine marinated foie gras parfait topped with caramelised pineapple and preserved lemon. It's a punchy, poignant offering that sluices through the richness of the duck with layered citrusy, tropical notes.
This is followed by Local Ulam, a refreshing, cleansing offering made up of kedondong, guava and different types of ulam. The dish is herbaceous with clean, astringent fruity notes.
The Local Ulam dish is a kedondong and guava treat that really refreshes the palate.
End your meal with dessert in the form of Roti Bakar, an interpretation of kaya toast.
Modern riffs of this classic breakfast dish have been making their rounds in fine-dining eateries throughout the city with varying levels of success.
Cezanne's permutation though is particularly well-executed.
Here, caramelised French toast lays at the bottom of the plate and this is topped with pandan mousse, Earl Grey ice-cream and brown butter powder.
Cezanne's version of the kaya toast, Roti Bakar, is particularly well-executed.
The French toast is eggy and chewy while the pandan mousse adds South-East Asian nuances.
The ice-cream serves as the tea element here while the brown butter powder adds nuggets of oily energy to the plate.
It's a clever infusion that turns something known and familiar into something entirely new – and very good.
Moving forward, Chen says the plan is to localise the menu even more.
'We're looking at including more Malaysian elements and creating more familiar flavours,' says Chen. Address: Block C-G-01, Plaza Arkadia, 3 Jalan Intisari, Desa Parkcity, 52200 Kuala Lumpur Open Tuesday to Saturday: 6pm to 11pm