Soleil – Section 17, PJ – modern European. Good desserts!

Becky’s 1 Minute Summary:
What: Semi fine dining of contemporary European cuisine with Asian influences. A good place for wines too with selection by chef sommelier Yuhei Teraoka.
What to order here: For this visit, I vouch for the desserts over the mains. What we had that day were more misses than hits.
Overall experience: There were many positive reviews before this and since the items on the menu changes every few months, it could be that the items we ordered that day wasn’t to our liking. Anyhow, full review below.
Price:
Weekday set lunches – RM48/pax or RM125.
Desserts: RM26++
Mains: RM60++ = RM100++

For the long story, read on.

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The thing about having a rotating menu is the danger of not seeing your favourites on the menu anymore (for diners) and for the chef, a good way of showcasing his culinary prowess as well as to keep things interesting.

The previous dishes that a few friends of mine recommended were missing during this visit, and between the 3 of us, we shared the set lunch while I opted for only a fish dish.
I had wanted to save tummy space for desserts; and that turned out to be a wise decision.

Orange Sable Tart with Vanilla Jelly and Lemongrass Ice Cream (RM26).

This was with compliments from Soleil; a thoughtful gesture on their part after our feedback to the manager about some of the dishes we had. We didn’t expect this of course and had already ordered 2 desserts of our own. Well, there can’t be too much desserts in a meal right? 🙂

Buttery sable, delicately scented lemongrass sorbet, bright zesty oranges and a cute jelly dome made for a pleasant enough dessert.

But it was the Pistachio Moelleux with Fig Cremeux, Almond Tuille & Fig Ice Cream. (RM26) that I favoured most. The dense soft nutty cake, the creamy fig cremeux, the crispy almond tuille and the unique yet mild fig ice cream was a platter of happiness to me.
I liked every component and would certainly re-order this should there ever be a 2nd visit to Soleil.

Pandan Crepe with Banana & ‘Gula Melaka’, Coconut Sorbet (RM26) was a pandan crepe bag of caramelised bananas. At its side sat a refreshing coconut sorbet.
This scored points for its visually pleasing presentation and creative use of our local ingredients. Frankly it fell short on taste.
We suspected it was the bananas, which were a bit overripe.

From what I could recall, Chef Evert Onderbeke forte was seafood so I took Hooi Khaw’s advice and selected the herbs and tempeh crusted barramundi for my main.
On auto-mode I’m would have selected red meat but I had wanted to experience Chef’s Evert skills in incorporating western and Asian influences in a dish and the idea of tempeh with fish, “done Euporean style” piqued my curiosity.

Herbs and Tempeh Crusted Barramundi with Sauteed Leeks and Seaweed Emulsion (RM65).

The saltish, nutty tempeh combined with herbs successfully elevated this dish from your usual grilled barramundi to one that warrants compliments. The complexity of its crust added much flavour dimensions and texture to the fish. I’m not overly fond of the heavy sauce nor the sauteed leeks that was the fish sat on. Both were too rich for me.
Anyhow, I focused on the fish and managed to enjoy my main.

Pan Fried Hokkaido scallops with Sauteed Belgian Endives and Mustard Mousseline.
Likewise it was too salty and the overpowering rich sauce didn’t help. A shame really. Scallops are lovely unadorned.

PA’s flounder floundered miserably with its dry texture and heavy sauce.

The Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks with some mushrooms passed muster.

Don’t let our dismal experience turn you off though. Like I mentioned before, many had rated Soleil highly so it could be that the 3 of us were just fusspots.

At the very least, I trust desserts would help to sweeten the disappointment (should there be any) just like how it did for me. Kudos to Pastry Chef Clara.
Oh, there’s the marvellous bread, butter and Hawaiian black seasalt too.

Soleil – Section 17, PJ 
22A, Jalan 17/54
46400 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Tues – Sunday : 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
+60379325989