The result is non-patronising modern Malaysia cuisine, presented in a contemporary way that is personal to Executive Chef Tyson Gee, the intimacy of which is heightened when he comes round to each table and asks if diners have enjoyed themselves. The ambience is that of a casual menu made to share, which indeed is the crux of Malaysian dining what with all its lauk-lauk (side dishes).
For mains, my date had the cornfed chicken with peas, garlic, sambal, and petai (a Southeast Asian bean with a unique pungent flavour). The chicken dish was well prepared; tender and juicy with distinct local notes which elevated an otherwise simple meat. But the chicken dish was far outshown by the 2nd dish that came highly recommended to me: the 7+Wagyu sirloin with sambal assam, kai lan (a local vegetable), and sour leaves. If you had told me that such a coveted cut of meat would be served with such a powerful paste – sambal assam is sambal with the addition of tamarind concentrate – I would have called the culinary cops, but the combination worked. It certainly helped that the sambal assam was limited to a dash of just the right amount, allowing the meat to have its moment. And such meat. Prepared using the restaurant’s charcoal oven, the dish captured the flavour of grilling without destroying the wagyu’s glorious marbled texture, tenderness, and juiciness of the meat. The result is a wonderful marriage of texture and layered flavours: tangy, spicy, and savoury.
We ended our meal with another Western dish infused with a local flavour: Pandan creme caramel with coconut sorbet (below). The pandan (screwpine, aromatic leaves with a unique creamy and botanical flavour), paired with coconut sorbet on a bed of crunchy nuts and dusted with basil shavings was a sweet note to end on with local provenance.
