A Match Made In Heaven
One of Bali’s most lauded fine-dining restaurants, Kayuputi consistently offers patrons a stupendous dining experience. At its exclusive beachfront location, within the luxurious St. Regis Bali in Nusa Dua, Kayuputi is renowned for its premium Asian-influenced haute cuisine matched with stellar wines and is a six-time consecutive winner of Wine Spectator’s “Best Award of Excellence.”
Besides the gastronomic lunch and dinner a la carte menus and Astor Diamond Champagne Brunch, Kayuputi’s signature is its award-winning, eight-course Degustation Menu meticulously paired with wines. This year, however, Kayuputi introduces two new discerning menus: the 2009 Culinary Legacy Menu and Mixology with Food Pairing Degustation Menu, the latter, a bold new culinary concept and unique gastronomic experience, combining mixology pairings—as well as wines—with a lavish degustation dinner menu. Wine-paired degustation menus are a Kayuputi classic, but the cocktails are a surprising addition, or maybe not, given The St. Regis brand’s legacy of classic cocktails.
For the mixology pairings, dishes were created first, with the mixology team researching the cocktails—modern or classic—and wines afterwards to best maximize the refined flavour combinations. Patrons can choose to enjoy the six-course meal without alcohol for IDR1.45 million, or opt for the mixology or wine pairing, or a rebellious mixture of both, for an additional IDR1.15 million. As always in Kayuputi, Chief Sommelier Harald Wiesmann, his two junior sommeliers and mixologist are happy to guide patrons through the pairings; although here, almost breaking with tradition, they invite patrons to chew the food along with the wine or cocktail together in the mouth, so the fullest flavours dance on the palate! The launch of this new menu coincides with the promotion of its main creator, Kayuputi’s Executive Chef Agung Gede, to executive chef of St. Regis Bali and his long-standing protégé, Chef Ketut Gunatika, now helming the Kayuputi kitchens.
Settled into softly cushioned banquettes, the amuse bouche of Oyster Ceviche with lime-cucumber salsa, goes down sensationally with the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve, before the Tartar of Yellowfin Tuna. Similar to one of Kayuputi’s most beloved signature dishes, Tataki of Yellowfin Tuna, this version consists of pineapple carpaccio, petit salad, encapsulated tamarind and fresh coconut foam and pearls—bursting with subtle, tangy flavours. Rather than the Beringer Founders Estate, Napa Valley, USA 2012, Sauvignon Blanc, I opt for the Pina Colada Breeze, which beautifully compliments the dish’s components. A refreshing break from the standard heavy, creamy classic, this cocktail of fresh pineapple juice with vodka, cucumber and coconut pearl and cream, contributes to a superb layered taste and texture unfolding on the taste buds.
The aromatic Panko Fried Deep Sea Scallops, with organic carrots, vanilla foam and fragrant lemongrass milk emulsion, marries well with the Sacred Hill de Bortoli, Bilbul, Australia 2012, Riesling Gewurztraminer—a sweet wine with citrus notes—or Silky Citrus Cocktail, with orange juice, yoghurt, Absolut mandarin vodka and ginger, cutting through the acidity. The Herb Crusted Medallion of Lamb Fillet, with mille feuille of grilled vegetables, smoked lamb shank ravioli and cinnamon-infused red wine meat jus, comes paired with either a Luis Felipe Edwards Reserva, Maulle Valley, Chile 2013, Pinot Noir or, more unusually, a Red Duo Cocktail (red wine and beetroot)—both “reds” perfectly complimenting the insanely tender lamb.
In remarkably clever cocktail pairings, Pan-seared Duck Foie Gras with rosemary-apple compote, is deftly mirrored by an ultra-modern Rosemary-Apple Martini, while Steamed Sea Bream Fillet, with rosella tea-infused fish bouillon, is superbly matched with a Rosella Daiquiri. With its Griotte compote, cherries, caraibe chocolate mousse and bitter-sweet chocolate ice-cream concoction, Kayuputi Sacher Cake evokes a classic Black Forest gateau; so the Choco Griottini Cocktail, with cherry brandy, raspberry syrup and cacao, or Graham’s Fine Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal NV, are wickedly inspired pairings.
All courses come exquisitely presented, light and delicately sized, so no need to decline the pure genius of Blueberry Espresso Cafe (amaretto, vodka, Kahlua, and crème de cassis) a hot, blueberry-garnished cocktail in a demitasse cup, complimenting the hand-crafted mignardises—and rounding-off a sublime taste bud extravaganza.
(www.kayuputirestaurant.com)
