Right before Chinese New Year, I was invited to sample delights from Signature @ The Roof. The restaurant with a view offers plenty, and I come out impressed with the samplings from the main menu. Read on.
The Roof at First Avenue, Bandar Utama is Petaling Jaya’s latest new dining and entertainment hub which houses five outlets of different concepts in one location. Brought to you by the same people behind The Hill, the main restaurant is Signature, a premium gastro-lounge serving enticing Asian and international fusion cuisine.
Signature’s signature contemporary setting (pardon the pun) with an outstanding city view will appeal to socialites who want to be seen as well as ones who are looking to enjoy an intimate meal with a view.
Salut!
Mr Belvedere decided to visit us first. We’re talking about Vodka of course. The Special Cocktails are available in “Double Happiness” or “Triple Prosperity” sets, each shot a cocktail of vodka and different fruit bases – mandarin orange, pineapple and peach. I have to admit first hand that I’m not a vodka drinker but these were refreshingly good.
A beautiful mess
Ah, and what’s Chinese New Year without the epic lou sang? The Signature’s yee sang dish was a platter of colourful goodness, topped with a generous serving of melt-in-your-mouth salmon. There’s something about yee sang that’s so undeniably appetising. Is it the crunchy crackers? The sweetness, sourness or tanginess? Perhaps it’s the beautifully balanced “everything” that makes it so delicious – the perfect appetiser. Mind the mess, though. I had seconds and thirds, by the way.
Tantalising Teasers
I initially ordered the Salmon and Maguro Tartare for starters, which came highly recommended, but unfortunately they were out. So I settled for Summer Duck – an intriguing concoction of succulent smoked duck breast served with melon, longan, rocket and feta cheese drizzled with peach dressing.
If this was taste of what to expect, then I was in for a treat I thought. I loved every bit of the starter, I thought it was splendidly balanced and did its work to tease before the mains.
Main stage
While tempted to order the RM200 The Ultimate Gourmet Burger, I eventually decided for a lighter, less meaty option for my main course. The Scallop Black Aglio Maki is a popular dish at Signature – squid ink spaghetti sautéed with olive oil, garlic, chilli accompanied with grilled scallops wrapped with seaweed and topped with Tobiko caviar. Served on a hot plate, this exquisite East-West fusion tasted as good as it looked. I’ve never had caviar with pasta before so my palate found this alien, but good. Something I’d definitely order again.
Thanks to the presence of several other food bloggers, it meant that we could order a variety of dishes and have a wider sampling of the menu.
One of my favourites of the night was the Black Cod, pan-seared to perfection and served with braised leek and fennel, topped with tomato jam.
For meat lovers, you’d probably be grinning from ear to ear with the Giant Meatball “Bomb” Linguine. Packing quite some goodness, the explosive dish consists of a monstrous braised beef meatball, the size of a tennis ball, stuffed with egg and served on a bed of linguine sautéed in tomato sauce. Topped with shaved parmesan for good measure. The bomb!
Another fish-based dish was the Grilled Salmon. A slightly different rendition from conventional grilled salmon. Finished by baking in a special house batter, the Grilled Salmon is almost reminiscent of tempura, served with a vegetable stack, Romesco and side salad.
More mains on next page >
