Restaurant DC By Darren Chin at TTDI: Restaurant Review

Three more days until DC Restaurant – one of 2014’s most confident new outlets – is formally unveiled on Oct. 21; many thanks to chef-founder Darren Chin, his right-hand man Kim, Scots stalwart Sam & the rest of DC’s hard-working team for this preview dinner of what their restaurant hopes to convey to customers.
Earlier introduction to DC Restaurant: October 13.

Reservations Required

Housekeeping notes first: DC Restaurant will initially operate only its first floor beginning next week, with dinner commencing from 7:30pm (except Mondays). Prix fixe menus might cost RM280 per person; advance reservations of at least 48 hours are required to ensure DC manages to secure everything that’s needed to ensure an enjoyable experience from start to finish.

Minimalist Interior

The hall has a minimalist feel – it’s warm, welcoming & woodsy, intimate enough that hardly twenty-plus guests can be seated each evening. At least one burning mystery can be resolved now: The restaurant’s unofficial logo – reflected in the shape of the ceiling’s lighting structures within & signboard emblems outside – refers to Darren’s passe in the kitchen.

Bread And Butter

DC’s food is infused with character & personality. When even the bread & butter prove so satisfying, you know you’re likely in safe hands for the remainder of the night. DC Restaurant’s baker Jo does a sterling job with the caraway-tinged ciabatta, foccacia & sourdough with five cereals, paired with million-calorie dollops of unctuous, unpasteurised Pamplie French butter.

Amuse Bouche

It takes a long time to type out ‘charcoal rice crisp with eggplant caviar, anchovy cream, fraises des bois (wild strawberry) confiture & baby coriander,’ but only a second to pop this amuse bouche into your mouth & another second or two to recognise & relish its varied, crunchy-creamy textures & nuanced, sweet-savoury flavours.

Yam Puff

A similar theme is reassuringly woven throughout DC’s menu – the emphasis on technique & balance, both mastered & tamed in this yam puff laced with guinea fowl confit, accompanied by kitchen-made hollandaise sauce & Korean chilli pepper for a tinge of heat. There’s a surprising complexity of flavours when you bite into the puff – the ideal illustration of how a small morsel can supply massive pleasure.

Thai-Influenced Beef Tartare

Darren is French-trained, & while his menu incorporates the foundation of his learning & experience, this isn’t a French restaurant – it might be better described as experimental or progressive, with many Southeast Asian elements. Darren’s wife is Thai, & her inspiration shines in her husband’s interpretation of beef tartare, prepared through the prism of Thailand’s northeastern Isaan heritage with coriander oil, garlic & Thai basil, topped with a bitter sorbet.

Cold Soba Noodles

Dinner at DC might take a little longer than usual, since there are so many courses in the seemingly never-ending set menu, but the time flies by effortlessly, thanks to temptations like these cold soba noodles with Boston lobster claws, lobster shell, baby oyster leaves & salicorne, plus a side salad of iced daikon strips with tonka bean vinaigrette.

Seafood Medley

DC’s focus on fresh produce – best exemplified through the bounty of the ocean & the harvest of the land – seizes the spotlight in this ‘seafood medley,’ with Pulau Ketam pomfret a la meuniere from MySeafoodMart, slipper lobster from Mersing in Johor & clams with watercress puree & zucchini.

Ever-Evolving Menu

Note that DC’s menu is expected to be an ever-evolving one; what’s available this week might not necessarily be spotted the following week. Guests so far have had the chance to feast on slow-roasted guinea fowl with pomme puree & glazed carrots.

But customers later this month might find, say, veal sweetbreads or aboriginal-reared chicken on their plates.

Cheese Variety

Choice of cheese: Fans will have a field day here, though the key to select one wisely.

Our recommendation: Ask Sam what’s the stinkiest. With great pungency comes great fulfilment. The cheese is served with Turkish figs braised in red wine & mesclun salad.

Dessert Trio

Good things come in threes, as proven by DC’s trio of sweets to cap this meal – from a ravishing pistachio creme brulee with soy milk, black jelly, hazelnut tuille & green tea.

To chocolate fondant that’s the height of comfort food, capable of healing a broken heart.

To soft, smooth kachai ginger ice cream – pure in taste, delicate in texture – with baby coriander, again underscoring DC’s pivot toward ingredients from our region.

Tisane

We start our evening with cold hibiscus tea; we end our night with hot tea infused with herbs from the restaurant’s own garden.

Variety Of Beers

A compact range of better beers is available, including Belgian, British & Spanish varieties.

In vino veritas – In DC Restaurant we trust. And that’s probably the truth.

But what about DC Restaurant’s street-level section? It’ll open soon too, supplying an action-packed setting where the mysteries of cooking are laid bare, where the chef might fillet a fish & strip the meat off a whole lamb right in front of you.