For food gluttons alike, indulging in delicious food brings us joy in ways that only a true blue gourmand will understand. Splurging on food that are delicious is a need and much less of a want. So, it’s no surprise that we are willing to spend much for food. For me, I always believe in finding the best value for money, in relation to the price paid and the satisfaction obtained from devouring the meal.
In my quest to hunt for the right balance in that equation, I found Champignons at Oasis, located in Oasis Square of Ara Damansara, a restaurant helmed by Gary Chang. With over 20 years of experience in serving contemporary European cuisine, he aims to to showcase what the European cuisine is truly about, but at reasonable pricing where you will get the value for what you paid for.
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// B-G-02, Oasis Square, Ara Damansara, 47301, Petaling Jaya, Selangor //
// 03-7832 2629 //
Open from 10AM to 11PM (Friday – Sunday)
For the rest of the days, there are two sessions 10AM to 3PM and resumed at 6PM to 11PM
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To start the dinner, we were served with the Amuse Bouche of Croque Monsieur, which is a classic boiled ham and cheese sandwich, but with a truffled bechamel sauce used. This combination was absolutely delicious despite how simple this dish actually is. This dish was on the house and it varies depending on the chef’s daily specials.
Homemade Smoked Salmon with Citrus | RM26
Next, we had the Homemade Smoked Salmon with Citrus which in my honest opinion, is hands down one of the prettiest dish I have ever laid my eyes on. The combination of the different ingredients which are rich in colours appears striking against one another and it makes the dish stand out even further.
Homemade Smoked Salmon with Citrus | RM26
Essentially, it is actually a beetroot and apple salad with smoked salmon. But within this dish you’ll find various treasures like crispy flat bread dough and dollops of avocado puree. There are generous servings of smoked salmon and the best part is that it’s homemade by the chefs themselves!
Wild Mushroom Soup | RM26
This Wild Mushroom Soup is a classic favourites and was executed perfectly well by the chefs. For this soup, there were two types of mushrooms use which is the button and oyster mushrooms. These two are used as they are more balanced in terms of flavour and it goes very well together. Chef Gary’s preference lies in giving the soup its texture hence, you’ll find chunks of suateed mushrooms and the soup is topped with tempura oyster mushroom. The soup is accompanied by a mushroom bruschetta topped with parmesan cheese.
Grilled US Pork Ribs with Plum Glaze Sake | RM26
Grilled US Pork Ribs with Plum Glaze Sake | RM26
The pork ribs are infused with plum sake to give the ribs that tangy taste, rather than just the typical flavor of grilled ribs. The meat was cooked to perfection where it’s tender and the flesh falls out from the bone. The highlight of the dish has to be the topping of crunchy pork rinds. Those are so sinfully delicious!
Australian Lamb Short Loin with Homemade Lamb Sausage | RM48
Lamb loin is the chef’s preference of meat, where a simple marination of salt and pepper is used. This is to allow the natural taste of the lamb to shine and hence, the sauces takes the accompanying spotlight. For the sauce, coarse mustards seeds were grinded and cooked to make the sauce.
Australian Lamb Short Loin with Homemade Lamb Sausage | RM48
To add colour to the dish, you’ll also fine carrot puree with cumin as the side. There is also a salt-baked cumin on the side, along with the tiny dots which actually is puree-d caramelised onions. Besides the loin, homemade lamb sausages are also served. These sausages were extremely flavourful and a joy to savour them with each bite.
Black Truffle Chicken Breast | RM35
Hands down, the Black Truffle Chicken Breast is my absolute favourite dish. I’ve always been slightly biased towards dishes that has truffle in it, but this one is really delicious! It’s chicken breast marinated with truffle oil, then cooked using the sous vide method of cooking to maintain its juicy-ness. After that, the chicken is seared and pan-fried so that the skin is crispy.
Black Truffle Chicken Breast | RM35
Most have the impression that breat meat is rough, but you’ll be surprised with this dish. I was tender and bursting with flavours too! According to Chef Gary, the flavour and essence of chicken is actually more intense in the breast meat compared to the thigh or drumsticks. The sauce served with the chicken is also a yummy sauce made from chanterelle wild mushrooms. This dish is served with rosti potato, a recipe that chef learned from Switzerland.
Champignons Chocolate Delights | RM18
Champignons Chocolate Delights | RM18
What is a dinner without desserts and so, we ended the night with a serving of the restaurant’s signature dessert known as the Champignons Chocolate Delights. The dessert was presented gorgeously with a white chocolate dome which is designed to resemble the mushrooms in the Mario game. There are also bits of chocolate sponge which supposed to look like moss and the ground.
Champignons Chocolate Delights | RM18
You’ll find bits of marshmallows and raspberries jelly too. The idea is for it to be a magical adventure with various textures to awaken the senses within. There is also some bits of sparkly popping candy and only the lucky ones, will get to taste that (if you’re lucky enough to get a scoop with that candy in it!). Warm raspberries sauce is poured over the Mario chocolate dome and it’ll reveal a delicious raspberries lychee sorbet.
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Champignons at Oasis is a rare gem, where the restaurant excels in serving delicious, high-quality dishes with most of the ingredients made from stratch. That is the level of commitment that Chef Gary has in ensuring that his customers savours only the best that he can offer. It really shows in the dishes that we tried today, because you can tell how much thought and preparation went into it.
On top it, the prices here are very reasonable in proportion to the value you get. It’s a semi fine-dining concept with a more attractive and affordable price point. I’m counting on them to maintain their standards and set the bar higher for restaurants alike. 🙂
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