Off Menu KL 2023: The complete menu of dishes you will savour at the food festival

At first glance, Mark Tai’s dish immediately catches our eyes with its angular shapes and bright colours. Made with a base of organic Malaysian chicken confit with spices, the dish is complete with a celeriac, ginger, and turmeric sauce finished off with shredded coconut seasoning with paprika and curry leaves. To complete the dish, Tai serves up a sea coconut archaru, which was his partner, Yavhin Siri’s, suggestion. 

“Spices were major trade items on the Silk Road trade route,” says Tai. “As such, curry was one of the first things that came to mind when I decided to use all the wonderful spices like cinnamon, pepper, clove, and ginger, and I chose chicken as my protein as it goes very well with the curry sauce.”

Though appearing simple, this dish is anything but, made with a poached chicken base that is accented with a peanut tofu espuma and shallot vinaigrette. Hide’s Shaun Ng, with the expertise of his partner Marvas Ng of Path, drew inspiration from classic Chinese cooking for his dish, combining the flavours of a traditional smashed cucumber salad with a Malaysian favourite, chicken rice. 

“Chef Marvas also has a Chinese background and we thought of doing dishes that would connect our heritage,” shares Ng. “It was fun to discuss my ideas with him, combining our cooking backgrounds to create dishes dear to our hearts.”

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In tandem with his partner, Shaun Ng’s, mission to champion Chinese cooking, Path’s Marvas Ng is presenting a delicate, collagen-rich fish maw dish, served with a beurre blanc that is enhanced with fermented black beans, garlic, chilli, and ginger. The springy texture of the fish maw is perfectly complemented by the silky beurre blanc that also has a little bit of a kick to it.

“I spent almost a decade working in China and Hong Kong and this dish is inspired by my time there where fish maws are considered a delicacy,” shares Ng. “I’ve come to appreciate the deeper meaning where the fish maw signifies abundance and a bountiful harvest in the coming year.”

Taking a leaf out of Japan’s chicken nanban book, Nicolas Tam of Willow has opted to highlight the potential of lion's mane mushrooms, Za'atar, and Harissa spices in his dish. Partnered with Su Kim Hock of Un Poco Loco, Tam has also chosen to present a meatless dish, using the mushrooms as his meat replacement. In the dish, the lion's mane mushrooms are deep fried, spiced with Middle Eastern flavours, and served atop a white miso labneh. 

“This dish is inspired by the fast food culture of izakayas in Japan, especially chicken nanban,” adds Tam. “Chef Kim Hock and I created our dishes to be enjoyed together, to create such an explosion of flavours such that you wouldn’t even miss the meat. Working with a local legend like him was super fun and inspiring, as he's willing to explore dishes that are outside of his comfort zone and collaborate freely.”

Petrina Loh’s dish is inspired by the Maritime Silk Road and was made in collaboration with Ushi KL’s Satoshi Uehara. “Fish is used, peppered with spices from the Silk Road,” she says. “Dolma mahshi (stuffed grape leaves) were common during the time, but instead we use betel leaf, more popularised in Asia, to add to that aroma.”

The leaves are stuffed with vinegared mackerel, hake, cod, and prawns, and finished with an escabeche and nutmeg-infused cream.

Mango, garam masala, and yoghurt take centre stage in Maxine Ngooi’s dessert, which was developed with some expertise from her partner, Loi Ming Ai of Voilà Patisserie. Inspired by her favourite Indian drink, mango lassi, the dessert captures the richness and tanginess of the mango and yoghurt combination, further elevated with a touch of spice.

“I turn the heat up with some red chilli and introduce umami into the flavour profile with pickled green mangoes,” Ngooi smiles. 

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Inspired by the Silk Road, Loi Ming Ai has crafted a pistachio baklava made with pistachio whipped ganache, pistachio praline, pistachio mousse, and puff pastry. His pastry prowess was matched by that of Tigerlily Patisserie’s Maxine Ngooi, who is his partner for Off Menu KL 2023. 

The dessert consists of 49 perfect textural layers inspired by the Middle Eastern confection traditionally made with filo pastry. The decadent dessert is finished with pistachio halves and chocolate.

Su Kim Hock, who is partnered with Willow’s Nicolas Tam, is presenting a plant-based dish for Off Menu KL 2023—a taco filled with falafels.

“We put a spin on the classic falafel, making it oozy in the middle, pairing it with a ketchup that we ferment out of local jalapeños,” he explains. “The dish also consists of taco bread, sour cream, and pickled cabbage!”

Ozaki beef is the star ingredient in Satoshi Uehara’s dish, layered with chestnut purée, raspberry, and red wine sauce. “The bread is toasted perfectly before being topped with handmade battered chestnut purée and lightly torched Ozaki beef,” explains Uehara, who worked together with Morsels’ Petrina Loh for Off Menu KL 2023. 

The weekend-long festival is held in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board and take place at Sentul Depot in Kuala Lumpur. Free-flow beverages will be pouring all weekend long, courtesy of our beverage partners Hennessy VSOP, Chandon Garden Spritz, Hennessy, and Minuty. 

The session on November 3 is completely sold out, but tickets are available for the remaining sessions on November 4 and 5. 

• Date: November 3-5, 2023
• Time: 2pm-5pm (November 4), 8pm-11pm (November 3, 4, and 5)
• Venue: Sentul Depot, Kuala Lumpur
• Theme: Souk Bazaar
• Price: RM600, RM650 (at the door)

Secure your entry with an advanced ticket purchase and be part of this epicurean gathering. Get your tickets to Off Menu 2023 here and for more information on the event, click here. 

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