54: Rocker's Night

August 23rd marked the day where every day students suddenly sprouted long hair, wore leather and metal and applied mascara. Yes, they have embraced the Rock™ (other pronunciations include Rawk™ and Batu™) .

"Our MC for that night posing with a secret Iron Maiden fan."

Outside of the now transformed L'escoffier, stood a tall, upright wood guitar.

Surely, if there was a god of Rock, this would be his axe (not to be confused with the wood chopping kind). For some imagery, think of him as the blond gods that you might find in Norse mythology.

Anywhoo, I managed to see some guests sign the huge faux guitar. Here is one of them in action.

"A god of rock. Sort of."

So I went around, snapping whatever caught my eye. Admiring the lengths of how far people would go to dress of for this night (including the servers!). At that moment, I was struck with a revelation! Yes, what I wore paled so much in comparison to them. But enough of moping around. This is not Taylor's Next Top Model, this is Rocker's Night. I'm supposed to be indifferent!

"Two rockers, showing their brotherly love."

I quickly slipped in to the restaurant to check out the decor. And I can firmly say, I am amazed.

Walls plastered with posters and biographies of rock stars and rock bands, dark drapes here and there, a complete set of instruments in the middle of the restaurant. I was liking what I saw. It was a start of a rocking night.

A quick peak at the menu showed a 5 course dinner. Hey, rockers gotta keep up their strength too, you know?

Now, before anyone was even allowed to enter the restaurant, we were all led to the side (near B2 Cafe) for a neat little performance to start the night.

Hailing all the way Malaysia, the Soul Skaters (thats what their T-shirts said) grinded into to scene. What followed next, was maybe the part where we all hear about "life flashing before your eyes" and when the adrenaline starts pumping in your veins (for the poor participants at least). Psst, did'ja know? Adrenaline is like the natural stimulatant of your body. Guess I can tick drugs of the list of things now, yeah? (One down, only 2 more to go! Refer to the picture of brotherly love if you still have no clue on what I'm going on about.)

So first... There was this one guy... Spreading his legs in a "V" shape. Then they did it. They just jumped over him.

If that wasn't enough, another guy was thrown in.

"Is that other guy's head... Nevermind. Oh I'm scared for life."

Too easy and not nerve wrecking enough? How about one with them sitting down?

Slowly, more and more people were added to the line of chairs, but the Soul Skaters jumped over them with ease. Like how the cow jumps over the moon.

So... Chairs... Still too easy maybe?

How about a train of humans!

"Who's head is that I spy at the top of the train?"

Once again, like pros, they just did it. The line even went up to 11 people. No sweat for these guys.

Okay, all that danger has gotten me in the mood for some food. The crowd slowly dispersed into the restaurant, handing their tickets over to the hostess by the door (just like a rock concert, maybe?) and getting their very own glow sticks! How cool is that? Besides illuminating the way into the darkened restaurant, it also served another purpose. What is it you ask? I'm not telling. Not yet anyway.

Once we were seated, the music cued in, and the MC's voice boomed throughout the restaurant. Yeah, it was time for the food presentation!

"Look at the cool servers. I also realized that some of the chefs were sporting accessories as well. Neato."

The chefs returned as fast as they came, and the waiters began serving the first of many courses.

I'm not sure if I got it right, but the starter was "amuse bouche. A dainty little short glass filled with mushroom and pesto, with a salmon tart next to it. My guess is that the salmon was smoked, cause I don't think rockers eat sashimi *cue laughter here*. Amuse bouche actually refers to the shot glass there, and literally, it would mean "amuse". I had to agree there. It was pretty amusing to dig out the mushroom, bits of diced tomatoes and pesto with the little tea spoon. Thankfully, the mushrooms were well seasoned, especially with the pesto (God knows how many bad mushrooms I've had lately) while the diced tomatoes provided a nice, solid texture to the amuse bouche. I've had "smoked" salmon in Le Meridian once before, and it tasted quite fishy. I was pretty reluctant to try the salmon this time around during Rocker's Night, but I was surprised it didn't have bad taste and it went down well.

Before the next course, I managed to sneak a peak into the kitchen to catch the chefs in action.

Curious? So was I, but not for long though!

Here we go!

Named the "Dark Phoenix's Garden", this dish is actually a spring chicken roulade stuffed with dried fruits (prunes and apricots), with a side of salad drizzled with a little plum sauce. The prunes and apricots made it a little sour andg sweet, somehow going well with the pepper seasoning of the chicken. The plum sauce also gave a nice tang to the meat. The salad was an interesting bit. What appeared to be 2 bug-like antenna sticking out from the salad were actually fried spaghetti (of the "angel hair" variety) balanced by some deep fried vermicelli noodles (which will puff up when fried). The salad was then drizzled a lemon juice, which also provided another tang to the dish. With a dish with so many sour tastes, I'm sure everyone's stomach was ready for the next course. Clever, no?

Next up was "Armageddon" a cream soup of vegetables and potatoes.

Unlike the 10 year old sci-fi movie of the same name (or maybe, the more rocker aspect about prophecies of apocalyptic nature), Armageddon is actually a rich and creamy soup with a dab of thyme oil on top, served with a slice of rosemary toasted baguette. Now, every time I think of the natural starches of tubers thickening up soups and sauces, I just giggle. I think I need to get my head checked. Anyway, thicken up the soup the potatoes did! Well seasoned with the thyme oil, the soup went down nicely with the baguette, which provided spiciness (from the rosemary) and crunchiness (from the toasting). Awesome.

"The last of the soups going out before the next course."

Out of no where; like the green goop flying out during Green Day's music video, there was a mid-meal mocktail. The very refreshing Champagne Fizz! Wait, did I just relate green goop to a drink? Ew.

Anywhoo, the presentation was pretty good, with a titanic grape (not in the huge sense, but in the sinking sense) with a piece of bitter lemon rind. The mocktail is actually made up of apple juice, soda and ginger ale. I could taste the hot ginger aftertaste, and the mocktail actually clears the palate. This drink has got spunk, for sure.

Once again, I make my way into the kitchen to check up on the chefs busy at work, plating the main course.

And then it was served; the "Lost Parade's Sheep": a slow braised lamb shank in oil flavoured with spices, garnished with chives, served with a cheese risotto and sauteed vegetables. I think I get it. A lamb got lost during some parade in the country farm, and ended up being cooked by some hungry people. Hence, the "Lost Parade's Sheep." I guess.

Anyway, the main course... How should I put it? Was pretty mediocre, honestly, and I am truly sorry. Although slowly braised in oil, the outer layer wasn't oily but was "fall off the bone" kind of tender, which was a nice thing. But sadly the lamb was pretty dry. And I mean dry. And I guess some people know that lamb has a strong smell unless seasoned well.. Again, sadly, this strong smell was present in mine plate of lamb, and was really a turn off. I have no gripes about the cheese risotto, and the cherry tomatoes was pretty good with the Parmesan on top. Hidden under that lamb is actually sauteed mushrooms too, which were nice. To show that I am not a complete arse, I ate it all, okay? Underneath this evil critique-person, I still eat like a normal human being. But guys, don't be disappointed, alright?

During the main course, a live band took the stage. Calling themselves "Head It In Her Silhouette" the band, consisting of 1 bassist, 1 drummer, 1 guitarist cum vocalist and 1 keyboardist rocked the house out to songs like "All The Small Things" by Blink182, "You Come Around" by April Sixth, and "Burn Baby Burn" by Ash (I think... Honestly, the reverb and the mic volume was drowned out by the instruments.)

Anyway, they were one of the better bands out there. Not screaming or playing badly. I've seen a lot of bands like these before, with the cheek to play in public areas. Thankfully, Head It In Her Silhouette was a breath of fresh ear to me (even though my ear drums were a bit sore that night. Yes, I listen to my mp3's with a volume of 2/10. So what?) and I do hope they do well in the future!

Yes, the band also provided the "Rock & Roll" element of the night. Only one thing left to do to meet the criteria of ultimate rock and roll.

Finally, there was dessert (Honestly, dessert should be eaten at the start, not at the end.)

Going by the name of "The Dark Parade" (What? Was there a power failure?), the dessert is a delicious walnut brownie with chocolate truffles, served with a side of (melted) chocolate ice-cream (it was my fault actually, I totally forgot to take the picture and was chatting away). Once again, the dessert was very rich. With the chocolate ice-cream, smooth and creamy bitter sweet chocolate truffles and the decadent walnut brownie, this dish was set to impress. Of course, the raspberry coolie on the left and orange coolie on the right managed to balance out the dish with the right amount of sourness.

And before it was finally over, another mocktail was served.

This one had an ultra-cool name, Raspberry Freeze! Geddit? Cool? Ahaha. *Ahem* Did I just get lamer or what?

Lame jokes aside (again), the mocktail is made from raspberry and cranberry juice and ice-cream soda, topped up with rose extract and with a cap of ice blended longan. Of course I loved it. It was sour and cool. And I like sour stuff. Also, note the cherry poked through the end of the straw to serve as a garnish. Cool.

When the food settled down in everyone's bellies, the next major "show" started. A "Best Dressed" contest. Guests with the coolest and outrageous outfits were selected prior to their entry and then called out at this very moment. Each then had a turn to strut the cat-walk... Rocker Style! Amusing, really. But some of them were very shy. Come on guys, where's the rocker spirit?!

Of course, the winner of the night was decided by vote, and the ballots were cast by the glow sticks provided during the start of the night. Pretty innovative, eh? So I guess since its a contest on beauty (of the rocker kind), this would be the "sex" (I mean it in a non-offending way) part.

So if the mantra of rock was "Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll", this night would be the epitome of it (in a toned down way, thank goodness).

The winner of this would receive the grand prize, a brand, spanking-new watch worth RM1,000!

Can you guess who won?

C'mon.

Try it.

"The winner, in all his rocker glory. Note the flash from all the paparazzi's cameras."

Yeah, so it was a rockin' night alright. With people screaming and shouting, supporting their favourite rocker up there on the cat-walk.

Finally, Head It In Her Silhouette ended the night with a rock version "Umbrella" with fretboards blazing. They even got the crowd singing along. They were that good.

Secretly, after most of the crowd went, there was a little glow stick war happening. Glow sticking being thrown around like a war zone. Haha. Anyway, the night was a pretty great one, and I return home only to find myself normal again. Chains discarded, ear rings taken off and shirts buttoned up once again. It was like I was snapped back to reality. Kudos guys and girls of DH26. You really rocked out that night.

Oh, let me end the post with a haiku.

Glow sticks flying in the air.
Some got caught in my hair.