THE Truffle Mushroom Soup delivered pure pleasure with the full-bodied, complex flavours of brown mushroom juice and shiitake puree, heightened with a drizzle of truffle oil. For us, it was love at first slurp of this delicious, creamy soup at Marco Creative Cuisine, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya.

The Antipasti Salad of fresh greens, jamon crisps, chorizo and salchichon slices, lychees and roasted almond chips channelled a good balance of sweet and salty, all brought together with the Gribiche sauce, a French mayo-style egg sauce.

What’s not to like about this salad, which had the sweetness of lychees, saltiness of cured meats and crunch of almonds?

One of our main courses for dinner was the Squid Ink Rice made with Japanese short-grain rice, sautéed with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with anchovies and tossed in Japanese squid ink. Prawns, squid rings and hotate, as well as bonito flakes, topped the rice. A soft Japanese omelette completed the serving.

We delighted in the black, almost sticky rice, punctuated with sweet, crunchy prawns, tender squid and scallops.

The Duck Confit at Marco had the duck thigh cooked using the sous vide method for 18 hours, resulting in tender meat holding in deep flavours, then seared in its fat. It tasted less rich and salty than other duck confit I’ve had.

The blackberry gastrique – a reduction of blackberries and roasted pearl onions – was the perfect complement to the duck. And, the truffle fries were so addictive.

Wednesday is a bonus day when it comes to desserts at Marco, with sweet treats going for 50% off.

The Cheese Soufflé had me over the moon, rising gloriously from the dish and presented on a platter dotted with raspberry coulis, accompanied by vanilla ice cream.

It was sublime, the sweet soufflé tempered with lightly salty gruyere and parmesan. We lifted up threads of the cheese with each spoonful of the creamy soufflé, loving its aroma and texture.

Our other dessert was the Bruleed Cheesecake, with the signature sugar crackling on top of the cake. It was prettily presented with lemon curd drops and meringue kisses. It was a lemony cheesecake, and the lemon curd drops tasted wonderful with it.

Marco has a wide range of desserts on its menu. Of particular note are the lush Creme Brulee served with a savoury ice cream, Matcha Latte Cheesecake, Sticky Date Pudding, Famous French Toast with Whipped Cream and Buttered Banana Fritters with Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream.

On another occasion, we dropped by for a late lunch, and had the Lamb Burger and Fluffy Thick Pancake.

The patty was super juicy, with the lamb shoulder meat and pork fat ground in-house. Melted gruyere cheese over the patty, as well as the fry sauce, added to its flavour. The burger came with truffle fries.

The Fluffy Thick Pancake delighted us with its light, creamy texture. Chef/owner Daren Leong said he Iearnt the technique of making it from the Japanese.

“Traditional pancakes are made with just a flour-egg-milk base batter, producing a ‘flat’ pancake. For the Fluffy Thick Pancake, we add in meringue to ‘fluff’ it up, lightening it and giving it height.”

Among the other specialties at Marco are the Pork Rib Steak, apple-brined and cooked via sous vide, with a good fat-to-meat ratio, Lobster Bisque Pasta, with the bisque made using blue lobster head and Sauvignon Blanc, and Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast, featuring a centre of feta cheese.

The Truffle Mushroom Soup was RM15, Antipasti Salad (RM25), Squid Ink Rice (RM33), Duck Confit (RM35), Lamb Burger (RM36), Cheese Soufflé (RM25) and Bruleed Cheesecake (RM15).

Marco Creative Cuisine is located at Lot G146, ground floor (old wing), 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Petaling Jaya. It can be reached at 03-7731-8923. – June 29, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.