Luxe Lunching @ Sage, The Gardens Residence, Kuala Lumpur

flower power

I often get asked by strangers and even friends, where's the best place for fine dining or a special dinner for someone? My reply is always Sage - my all-time favourite dining spot in town. Reserved for special occasions, it's where I love to indulge in for some pampering of the soul.

the gorgeous foie gras

Lunch has been on the agenda for quite some time. I even plotted to have days off just to squeeze in some lunchtime here but inevitably something always cropped up on those days. Finally, I got to do a little lunch (more of a work lunch though but I wasn't complaining since I didn't have to pay) recently and was blown away as usual. It felt so different to dine during the day (of course the pixs of the food turned out gorgeous!) and it was relatively quieter than dinnertime.


kick the meal off with the addictive basil puree with Sage's bread. One dip and you never stop asking for more. Virgin mojitos cool you down and Sage's smoked salmon appetizer.

Priced at RM100 nett, the fixed prixe lunch is great value for the excellent food you get in return. You get two choices for the appetiser, main meal and dessert. What I had this time won't be what you will having this week, or next week since the food choices changes every week. We absolutely love the slightly warm bread and the basil puree served with it. They also served us a refreshing virgin mojito.

rich and satisfying wagyu beef cheek and chocolate tartlet to round off an excellent meal.

Since they had foie gras on the menu, that was a must as Sage does it so well (another place is Cuisine Studio). The trick of cooking foie gras, which I learned at a class with Chris Salans before - cut a thick slab about an inch, sprinkle flour, put in the fridge for a while and then remove to pan fry. This will yield a nice crust and tender soft middle. Most of the time, restaurants always make the mistake of cutting foie gras too thinly hence you lose the tender oozing middle part. The foie gras topped 3 pieces of chicken on a puff pastry with mushroom duxelles. Yummy and rich, this was my favourite. The other selection for an appetizer, was the much lighter smoked salmon with fennel and vegetables.

Portions were generous that I was so stuffed (loved my stewed wagyu beef cheek, so tender and rich). You have a choice of cheese and dessert at the end. Having had more than enough cheese in Italy, I choose the chocolate tartlet. It's not very chocolatey though and resembled more like a mocha tart with a coffee mixed within. Nevertheless it was still delicious especially with Sage's creamy smooth ice cream churned from their own kitchen.

Take my advice, give yourself a day off and do lunch here. You'll find that it will perk up your whole day! Lunch may lose a little of the night romance but the impeccable service (since it is less busy during the day) and the generous portions totally make up for this. For more on the dinner experience, see my previous blog post.

Sage Restaurant
The Gardens Residences
6th Floor, The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03- 2268 1188

(Pork free. Open for lunch, Monday to Friday. Open for dinner for Monday to Saturday. Closed on Sundays. Reservations are recommended for dinnertime, as it can get packed. Remember, take the lift from Isetan side at the Gardens to the 6th floor.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Sage + Gardens Residences