A while back, I had a conversation with an acquaintance, and we got to the topic of food—as one does when in Malaysia. My acquaintance lamented that they didn’t enjoy fine dining very much because it always felt rigid, as though they were compelled to act a certain way while eating and not allowed to show any emotions. I didn’t thoroughly disagree with them, having my own share of formal dining experiences in upscale restaurants. Was it possible to have a white tablecloth experience that feels fun? My question was soon answered when Chef-Owner Ng Yi Shaun of Hide KL invited me over to sample their latest menu.
Hide KL is, to me, a hidden gem in the vast fine dining landscape we have here in KL. They are unfortunately shadowed by other Michelin establishments that are either larger—affording the luxury of being event venues—or trendier in cuisine offerings. For a while, Hide KL seemed to me unable to land a strong footing for their menu and focus. This isn’t to say everything they’ve done was bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. Chef Ng and his team were too talented, but talent goes nowhere when unsharpened. With this new menu, however, I’m convinced that they’ve found their niche: fun dining.
Finally, I thought after my meal—a fine dining experience that felt fun yet refined.
Things were off to a good start with their welcome snack: a T. rex-shaped cracker made from budu—a delicious little morsel to whet the appetite. Shapes continued to play a big part in the meal throughout the courses, as did bold flavours. Take the flat-bottomed, egg-shaped Scallop & Dashi, for example, whose dashi was contained inside a crispy meringue, topped with scallop and caviar for a creamy, oceanic bite. Then, there’s Not A Bread: a tongue-in-cheek dish that looks like a sandwich but is actually…not bread. The bread part of the “sandwich” is actually a sort of meringue made out of green apple juice that, interestingly, has no egg nor sugar—a sorcery that the team had been R&Ding for over three years to create the perfect textural experience. Sandwiched in between the “bread” is a dense, moussey cream with a slice of shaved truffle.
Intensity of flavour was another thing that Hide KL ping-ponged between in this menu. The Horse Mackerel Gunkan, for instance, was strongly-flavoured: crispy nori filled with flavoured rice, topped with a charcoal-grilled horse mackerel. Two dishes later the Rasam arrived: light, tangy, and slightly spicy. It was beautiful to look at, too: the dish came with a small flower of radish, fish, and tomato at the base. Clarified tomato rasam broth is then poured into the dish. The broth is chilled, yet there are pockets of spice from what tastes like dollops of spicy tomato chutney.
My personal favourites of the evening had to be the Melinjo Curry Noodles and Chicken & Foie. I wasn’t expecting something along the lines of the former to enter the course, yet it became a quick favourite of mine (and many others, I was told). Despite being coiled to perfection, I was encouraged to mix it up before eating—every strand was promptly coated in the sauce. The Melinjo curry, while rich, was also fresh with the green crisps and bits of fish.
The Chicken & Foie was another unexpected dish on the menu—and a great showcase of how fine dining doesn’t have to be stuffy. This stuffed chicken wing can only be eaten one way: with your hands. And it was glorious. It was stuffed with rice, foie gras, and the crispy-juicy skin brushed with a sweet tamarind sauce. Every bite had a sliver of creamy foie gras nestled within, and the tang of the skin cut through what would have been a cloying dish.
Between the fun and delicious were also moments of nostalgia. We see Ulam Rice, inspired by the nostalgia of Ng’s childhood, when his grandmother would make him ulam rice for meals. This version at Hide KL, however, is a lot more elevated with black cod and served with a crab bisque sauce. Have it three ways: the rice on its own (light, zesty), with the bisque (rich, flavourful), and finally, mixed together with a squeeze of lime.
Speaking of nostalgia, the dessert was what really tied it all together: Solero Shots flavoured ice cream, shaped into bowls with cream and fruits at the base. It’s a flavour most Malaysians will recognise and love, providing a zesty end to a fun meal.
While the menu may have been fun for the diner, it’s been no less of a journey to bring this creation to life for the rest of the kitchen crew. Chef de Cuisine Eason Ho, who presented the majority of the dishes to me shared that the entire team at Hide KL is extremely young and share the same fiery passion for cooking. It’s no wonder that they pay no mind to working long days just to perfect the texture to the right level of crisp, or the flavours to its most balanced state. The kitchen is their lab, their playground—and us diners, enjoyers of the fruits of their labour.
Address: Concourse, Ritz-Carlton Residences, 105, Jln Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.
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