D’Cuisine The Plaza Jaya 33 Petaling Jaya

Under the same group of restaurants as D’Viennoiserie @ Jaya 33 and D’Italiane Kitchen @ Jaya 33, Sunway Giza Shopping Mall & Paradigm Mall is the very spacious and classy D’Cuisine which offers a myriad of dishes with Asian, Peranakan and Chinese influences. The menu is so wide ranging that first timers will surely spend more than a few minutes poring over the pages.

D’Cuisine The Plaza Jaya 33 Petaling Jaya is situated in the same section as Kampachi and Coliseum and not the Jaya 33 which houses Jaya Grocer. In the evenings especially when it’s weekends, this section can be very quiet as there’s no office crowd. On a very rainy evening last Saturday, I joined my friend Nava K for dinner there. She’d been invited by the management of D’Cuisine for this food review.

The pork-free restaurant has a bar which prepares all the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. A list of the drinks and prices (alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions termed “cocktails” and “mocktails”) are shown on the blackboard there. Other than that, there are many coffees and other hot beverages to choose from as well as ice blended drinks with names like “Blackout” (fresh blackcurrant & yogurt blend), “Blueeze” (blueberry & cream blend), “Childhood Memories” (premium chocolate & cream blend), “Klassi” (raspberry & cream blend), “Salty Indulgence” (espresso, salted caramel & cream blend), to tickle your fancy. All the ice blended drinks are priced at RM13.

At the staff’s recommendation, I tried Blackout which comes in a bigger than average sized glass. The amount is enough to last from the beginning of the meal to the end. It’s sourish since it has blackcurrant, very concentrated and thoroughly enjoyable as it’s so chilly and refreshing.

Nava K has the Sake Ria (non-alcoholic version) @ RM13 which consists of peach puree, fresh orange juice, fresh apple soda and mint leaves. For the alcoholic version, of course sake is added. Their cocktails/mocktails have memorable names like “For Gordon’s Sake”, “Prosperity”, “Spicy Scotch Pears” & “Stubborn & Peachy”. All the cocktails are priced @ RM28 while the mocktails are priced @ RM13. Sake Ria looks like the kind of mocktail I’d order if I was lazing on a lounge chair by the beach or swimming pool. I am sure this is a wonderful thirst quencher.

When the Pomelo Salad @ RM29 arrived, I thought it was Chinese New Year all over again because this looked like a “yee sang” dish. You pour the tangy, sauce and ground peanuts over the pomelo salad and sea fresh prawns. This is an excellent starter as there’s a “zing” to this salad, your palate is prepared for the main courses. I haven’t seen any other restaurants offer pomelo salad and this one combined with the prawns is highly recommended.

Mongolian Smoked Duck @ RM19 is premium smoked breast of duck topped with D’Cuisine’s signature Mongolian sauce with a hint of spice and sweetness. Yes, there is a very slight spiciness to this dish which was my favourite as I love duck and this duck was so tender that I could have had a second serving of Mongolian Smoked Duck.

Taiwan Three Cup Chicken @ RM26 is one of D’Cuisine’s specialties and looks like a very filling set. It consists of marinated chicken cooked with imported Taiwanese soy sauce and lots of mint leaves, shallot, dried chili and garlic in a thick, sweet, savoury and spicy sauce. Not everyone will love this dish because there’s quite a strong herbal taste to the chicken (personally I can’t get enough of herbal as I am so deprived) and accompanying the chicken is a bowl of herbal soup with chicken, red dates, vegetables and wolfberries. I know Nava K loved the soup as she drank most of it 🙂

One 3 spoons are pineapple, cucumber and pickles, 2 slices of Mongolian Smoked Duck and a rice roll (all of which taste amazing!). I think that this dish is beautifully presented and tempts the palate even before the 1st bite.

D’Cuisine Peranakan @ RM26 is one of the two Peranakan Platter Specials, the other being D’Cuisine Peranakan Special which has seafood stuffed squid sambal. D’Cuisine Peranakan consists of deep fried whole leg chicken served with prawn sambal and coconut rice. Firstly, the rice is exquisitely fluffy (it makes one want more) and the chicken is tender without being in the least oily. Next the prawn sambal has just the right amount of spicy sourness and you’d want to pour all of it to mix with the rice. This is a “WOW” platter which left me impressed.

The dessert list may not be very long or should I put it another way, not as long as their main courses but they have desserts you probably won’t find anywhere else. All their ice creams are home made. One of them is the Coconut Ice Cream & Sticky Rice Filo @ RM16 which is premium coconut ice cream from pure coconut milk (indeed you can taste just how much coconut is in this ice cream) served with sticky glutinous rice wrapped in filo pastry and baked. The slightly crunchy exterior of the filo pastry contrasted nicely and perfectly with the soft contents which is the sticky glutinous rice. If you love coconut, this is a MUST-HAVE dessert.

Now this is a very interesting dessert. Kind of reminds me of crème caramel with a twist. Salted Egg Pudding with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream @ RM19 takes 25 minutes to prepare so if you are planning on ordering this, you should order this when you are half-way through your main course. The best things come to those who wait, right? This is a volcanic creamy salted egg pudding served with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream. I was already very stuffed by the time I tucked into this dessert. The taste is very unique and unusual as it’s a combination of sweet and salty, not for everyone for sure but it’s a rich dessert worth trying if only to see whether your taste buds will like it or not.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience at D’Cuisine. Prices are slightly on the steep side but they provide excellent quality food and beverages with prompt service. I can tell that a lot of care has been taken into selecting the food and drinks offered in the menu. They have successfully managed to execute a combination of Asian, Peranakan and Chinese cuisine for discerning customers seeking the best.

All prices shown are subject to the relevant taxes.

D’Cuisine is located at Unit PG-D & PG-E, Level Podium Ground Floor, Jaya 33 No 1, Jalan Semangat, Petaling Jaya.
Facebook page: D’Cuisine
Web site: dgrouprestaurants