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| Mansion Appeal |
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Published:
Star - Nightlines |
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Date:
April 26, 2008 |
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Nightspots in the city don’t usually last long, as partygoers are a fickle lot, patronising a place until the novelty wears off. But Asian Heritage Row continues to thrive, attracting sophisticated and hip people to its restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs.
Encouraged by the success of Asian Heritage Row, founder William Ng decided to expand its appeal by converting Jalan Kamunting, a street parallel to Asian Heritage Row, into another trendy stretch called Heritage Avenue. He began a long and tedious process of locating the property tycoons who own the neglected pre-war houses on Jalan Kamunting, before finally acquiring enough buildings to realise his vision.
Comprising five colonial-style houses refurbished into one grand mansion, Heritage Mansion is now the place to be seen at. The outlet is only open to a select group of people. Membership is determined by the management.
As you enter the mansion, you will be greeted by a green courtyard where overhanging birdcages line the driveway adding a rustic feel to things. Tables and chairs strewn around the courtyard and a rattan swing suspended between two mango trees allow guests to relax with their drinks under the starlit night.
Enter, and you will find yourself in a gleaming Gold Lounge where people unwind and chat. Further in is the Fashion Bar, the heartbeat of Heritage Mansion, where sexy people jive to the beats of Latin music, funky house and electro.
Tuesdays are dedicated to acoustic music while Wednesdays are Models Nite where models get special F&B privileges with their Fashion Express membership. Thursdays are Discolicious Nite, where classic disco hits are mixed with the disco house beats. Local and international Guest DJs will take turns to shake the Mansion floor every Friday and Saturday nights.
An open kitchen where chefs prepare food in full view of the customers is adjacent to the Fashion Bar. The kitchen originally served snacks and light food but due to demands from the party crowd, the management decided to open an Asian tapas cafe to cater to evening diners as well.
You can sit beside the bar or at the comfortable cafe lounge and observe the chefs in action as aquatic creatures watch you from inside an aquarium. The dining area is outside and you can ask the staff to close the sliding doors if you want to block out the loud music from inside. Ceiling fans add to the breeze of an already cool night.
The chefs are more than willing to enlighten you on what they are doing, and Chef Ariffadillah – or Chef Eddie as he likes to be known – was no exception as he explained what went into his dishes. We were one of the first few to try the food at Asian Tapas Cafe as they just started serving dinner a week ago.
We started off with the Marinated Chilli Prawns with Mussel au-gratin with Mizuno Herb Dressing and Potato Galette, which is butterfly-cut prawns and mussels baked au-gratin (browning the top of the dish under a salamander). The prawns were not that fresh but the mussels were tasty enough.
Tomato Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine and Jus Reduction was next. But the 180g beef was disappointing as it was quite tough. It was served with spinach and mash potatoes sprinkled with beef bacon and glazed garden vegetables.
Dessert was Raspberry Cheesecake with Glazed Mixed Fruit, which I enjoyed. The cheesecake was topped with fine chocolate biscuit and raspberries. Diced mango and dragon fruit in strawberry sauce were scattered around the cake, which was crowned by a stick of mint chocolate. Dining is from 6pm to 11.30pm.
Chef Eddie said the food quality would improve once everything was running smoothly.
Although the food needed some improvement, the party atmosphere was awesome.
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