KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Since Botanical, the meat-free restaurant in Bangsar Village II, closed its doors, the first floor space it occupied was left vacant for some time.
Late February, Feast quietly opened in that space. The eatery is run by the same duo who also own Nutmeg and Dash of Nutmeg — William Chong and Gordon Yip — in the same shopping centre.
The restaurant is divided into two parts: a spacious dining area in the middle of the first floor shopping mall space and a smaller one within a shop lot. The shop lot also displays items for sale like pretty foldable batik bags, multi-coloured enamel tiffin carriers and other locally-made handicraft. You can also pick up seed boxes from Eats, Shoots & Roots to grow your own plants at home.
Currently, not all items on the menu are available i.e. their breakfast items and main dishes. The dessert choices are also limited.
The pork-free menu features mainly local favourites like char kuey teow, nasi lemak, lontong and even asam pedas tenggiri. There's a nod towards William's Singapore background with Hainanese chicken rice and Singapore meehoon. According to William, some of the dishes were recreated based on his memories of favourite hawker places in Singapore, like the char kuey teow.
You will also find some classic Hong Kong dishes like fried beef kuey teow (dry variant) and dessert of milk curd ginger, since Gordon is from Hong Kong.
For instance, their bubur green bean dessert uses a fragrant herb known as rue (the Chinese call it stink grass!) and seaweed, just like how it's prepared in Hong Kong. William explained that the herb is said to be good for digestion.
A small selection of Western items like chicken chop (two choices, fried and grilled) and fish and chips are also served. Some Western items are given an Asian touch like their curry eggplant spaghetti, or spaghetti sambal aglio olio.
There's a small selection of starters that includes three salads like the unusual Mamee Noodle Salad (RM15). The childhood snack of Mamee noodles adds a nice crunch and flavour to the purple cabbage coleslaw filled with edamame beans, avocado, mango, toasted almond flakes in an Asian honey vinaigrette.
Under their shared plates section, we sampled the Grilled Sting Ray (RM24) and Ayam Masak Lemak Tempoyak (RM22). Both items were served with white rice, vegetables, fish crackers and salted egg.
The grilled sting ray is a take on our ikan bakar with a tangy and addictive tamarind based sauce that goes extremely well with the white rice mixed with the salted egg. We also loved the thick gravy served with the Ayam Masak Lemak Tempoyak that had a hint of tamarind to undercut the richness of the gravy made with fermented durian. The tempoyak taste is not overly pungent, making it a dish you can order for lunch and not frighten off your colleagues with stinky breath.
High up on our must-eat list is Feast Nasi Lemak (RM18). We thoroughly enjoyed the light but flavourful rice naturally tinged green from pandan leaves, which was paired with their special sambal made with salmon flakes, a whole hard-boiled egg, crunchy peanuts and deseeded cucumber.
I liked how they served tiny anchovies (ngan yu chai), more commonly found as a garnish in Chinese dishes versus the harder-to-crunch and larger ikan bilis. You get a choice of chicken rendang, chicken percik or BBQ squid with your nasi lemak. The chicken rendang is a good choice with its flavourful sauce and tender meat.
For a lighter taste, there is the Egg and Beef Rice in a Pot (RM18). You get a choice of raw egg or fried egg paired with the claypot cooked rice. It is served with a bowl of sauce for seasoning. Unfortunately, this failed to hit the mark with us as the beef patty was a bit overcooked.
Currently, their dessert choices are limited to only four items, mainly tong sui or sweet bubur. There is also a small selection of classic cakes like chiffon and butter cake at the counter.
We sampled their Sago Gula Melaka (RM8) paired with fresh mango cubes. I loved how the sago pearls were perfectly cooked with a slight bite and the gula Melaka syrup was fragrant.
My only gripe is the mangoes were incredibly sour. If you want a larger variety of cakes, make a beeline for Nutmeg downstairs like we did to enjoy their fluffy Pistachio Layers, a moist yet light flourless pistachio cake that bowled us over.
We reckon Feast will become a big favourite with many who are seeking Asian food prepared well in the vicinity of Bangsar. It's already got me hooked with its delicious nasi lemak and I'm planning a return visit to sample their Hainanese chicken rice, which had run out during dinnertime.
Feast, 1/F-28, Bangsar Village II, 2, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel:03-2742 1820
