Cover Lobster with coconut sauce and mustard oil, served with Kerala prata (Photo: Flour)
Lobster with coconut sauce and mustard oil, served with Kerala prata (Photo: Flour)
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Leave your preconceptions about Indian fare at the door and be ready to embrace the unexpected with Chef Yogi Upadhyay's 11-course Heart of the Sea degustation menu
An exploration of flavours and textures unique to India’s coastline, Flour’s Heart of the Sea tasting menu doesn’t just aspire to feed, it also tells a story.
With each course and wine pairing, diners are invited to learn the origins and backstories of the ingredients presented to them and the cooking techniques that bring out region-specific flavours rarely found elsewhere. From the start, diners are requested to keep an open mind and an open heart. While you may find yourself longing for the comfort of the familiar in this 11-course menu, you will still be intrigued at the prospect of discovering a new favourite.
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The Circle savoury sponge cake, puffed potato crisp and taco
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The first course is The Circle comprising a savoury sponge cake, puffed potato crisps and a bite-sized taco. These appetisers set the tone for the unusual dishes that follow.
The treasures of the sea next arrive in the form of Earth & Sea, a regal presentation of sea urchin with caramelised onions and caviar from Iran served on coconut espuma. Savouring the perfect combination of saltiness, creaminess and crunchiness is enhanced further with input from Flour's executive chef and owner Yogi Upadhyay who explains the 'why’ and ‘where’ of each item.
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Above The guacamole in the 'Mexico Meets India' course is assembled just before it is plated
The guacamole in the 'Mexico Meets India' course is assembled just before it is plated
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The Mexico Meets India portion of the meal treats us to some live action tempering, a South Asian technique of frying whole spices or herbs in hot oil or ghee to draw out their flavours. An Asian-inspired guacamole is assembled right before our eyes in a hot pan with mustard seeds, served on a crisp ghewar (Yogi’s Indian alternative to tuille) and accompanied by white wild prawns from Sabah.
You will be tempted to ask for a second serving but with eight more courses to go, it'd be wise to practise restraint.
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In India, Shorba refers to a flavourful tomato soup
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Following a hearty Shorba or tomato soup with scallop pearls, we're served fresh Australian abalone marinated in mustard oil, accompanied by radish leaf sauce along with mustard and turmeric cream, a union of flavours unique to east and west India.
The Kerala course is inspired by Yogi’s favourite state in India. Here, coconut, cinnamon and crustaceans—all of which Kerala is known for—come together wonderfully, served with delicate prata rounds.
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The East & West Coast course introduces us to Arctic Cod, selected for its flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It is served with a creamy shallot sauce, rosematta rice from Kerala, and snap peas from Kenya, embellished generously with shaved truffle.
Throughout, Flour’s servers move with clockwork precision, appearing unobtrusively to garnish a dish, present the next wine or clear away table crumbs before Yogi approaches to explain the next course.
'Now We Are Free', an imaginative dessert
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A deconstructed dessert called Now We Are Free reimagines what should be a rum-filled fruit cake into a collection of distinct flavours put forth by sultanas, strawberries, chocolate and walnut infused with Hennessy X.O instead of rum.
“For me, this cake has achieved freedom from being itself," says Yogi. "To understand it, you will have to connect with your plate. You will have to meditate. The objective is not to find the form and appearance of the cake but to feel its flavours.”
To facilitate this meditative experience, diners are given a pair of headphones with Hans Zimmer’s track Now We Are Free from the film Gladiator on auto-play. Cut off from the ambient noise, you’re left to linger over the dish's sweet and tart notes in an immersive ritual that's truly unforgettable.
This same sense of adventure translates across the semifreddo and cream, orange and vanilla souffle with an apricot cream anglaise, and the final step in the meal, a digestive of Malaysian single origin chocolate from Chocolate Concierge served with a glass of Hennessy X.O, black coffee or masala tea.
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Above Chef Yogi Upadhyay
Above Indian-French fine dining at Flour KL
Chef Yogi Upadhyay
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Designed to celebrate a diversity of flavours without overloading the taste buds, the Heart of the Sea menu demonstrates the different ways to appreciate foods and the cultures they represent. Keeping an open mind isn’t always easy but with this degustation experience we are reminded that the benefits are enormous for those willing to try.
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Credits
Photography: Flour
Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
