KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Since Kenny Hills Bistro opened in July, business has been good for the eatery with the tagline “Good Food, Good Friends” in this small enclave in KL.
The place was set up by film-maker Au Tai Hon who also owns Kenny Hills Bakers, a few doors away. The bakery and bistro is testament to all things loved by Au such as good food and coffee.
When word got out that he was setting up the bistro, everyone pitched in with their ideas for the menu, making it a crowdsourced one. “It’s designed by the people and for the people. It’s a no brainer and no unique selling point, as it’s just what people want,” explained Au.
Some even shared recipes, like the Angus beef rendang which is from the cookbook Nik’s Kitchen. Written by Puan Sri Nik Esah, the recipe was passed down to her from her grandmother.
Other dishes were a nod to Au’s wife’s Nyonya heritage like the yam cake and pie tee that feature in the appetisers section. The recipe for the yam cake was her grandmother’s and it’s one that uses pure yam with just a little flour to bind it. Even Au’s Hainanese roots are showcased in the menu with the inclusion of the Hainanese Wenchang chicken rice.
The menu has an all-day section featuring appetisers, salads, pastas, and mains like the burgers, chicken and mushroom pie, fish and chips and their spiced lamb shank biryani rice.
Specially for lunch, you have nasi lemak given a twist with Basmati rice, Hong Kong roast duck rice, roast chicken rice and the Wenchang Hainanese chicken rice given an organic makeover.
For dinner, the specialties served include their Angus beef brisket rendang with organic red rice lemang and a comforting sup buntut that uses a 24-hour bone broth.
It’s still a work in progress menu, as Au has yet to unveil his prime beef pho made with organic brown rice beehoon due to the lack of space. The bistro also has their own small selection of daily desserts. If you prefer, you can also order the desserts from Kenny Hills Bakers.
The bistro’s success is phenomenal, as during their lunch and dinner sessions, it is always packed. Au admits that the success is credited to his unique management style, where he believes that one should have different chefs with their own individual talents under one roof.
So you have Hong Kong-born Chef Chan, their master roaster, who specialises in their roast duck and chicken, another chef doing the Malay food and a group of Western chefs making the pasta dishes and burgers.
Another key to their success is their vow to recapture those good old days where food is prepared using the freshest, most natural ingredients free from preservatives and additives.
“We want to focus on quality and try our best to give you a good product,” said Au. He works closely with suppliers to ensure that they give him the best, whether it’s the freshest seafood or their 60-70 days old raised organic chicken sourced directly from the farm.
When you dine at Kenny Hills Bistro, the must-eat is the superb roast duck which is prepared by Chef Chan who has been in the F&B industry for 30 years. He cut his teeth in a Hong Kong restaurant known as Man Hoi.
About 25 years ago, he relocated to Kuala Lumpur where he joined Kam Lun Tai, one of the iconic Chinese restaurants. When the Four Seasons restaurant from Bayswater, London opened their first outlet in Malaysia, Chef Chan joined them. Famous for their roast duck that has won many Londoners’ tummies, this was the perfect opportunity for him to perfect his roast duck skills.
Bite into their roast duck and you will find that the meat is tender and juicy topped with a not overly crispy skin. Most importantly, the taste of the duck is not gamey and the meat has a finer texture, making each bite truly wonderful.
Chef Chan shares with us that the secret is using grade A quality ducks that weigh around 2.4 kilograms. Its preparation also requires a long time, as the duck has to be marinated with a special blend of spices and herbs for 12 hours. Then it’s hung out to dry for more than 10 hours before it’s roasted in an Apollo oven.
There are two ways to enjoy the roast duck; a healthier salad paired with greens or with the traditional rice and soup. On the side you will be served three sauces; duck broth, soy sauce and the addictive chilli sauce.
Made by Chef Chan using his secret recipe, you won’t be able to stop eating that aromatic mixture of dried shrimp, red chillies, shallots and oil. It bears a striking similarity to the chilli sauce usually served with Hong Kong styled chee cheong fun. Some customers have even asked for bottles of this chilli sauce to take away!
The bistro can roughly fit about 30 to 40 people with its indoor and outdoor seating areas. You can also book up the entire space for private events with a minimum cost of RM6,000 to RM8,000. In the future, Au also hopes to host special guest chefs for one night only theme dinners.
A few doors away, Kenny Hills Bakers has also been transformed as the space has expanded. When Au opened it last March, he had envisioned the bakery to be more of a take-away place.
As business grew and more customers clamoured for indoor air-conditioned space to dine in, he decided to take over the next lot that used to be a convenience store. With the expanded space, you can now linger a little longer over your sandwich, pastries and their superb sourdough pizzas.
Introduced about four months ago, the pizzas were originally reserved for weekends only. Due to popular demand, they have now extended it to Fridays as well. They don’t rule out the possibility of making it available on a daily basis, but maybe later in the year.
Choices include the classic Margherita, The Sicilian, Al Funghi, Beef Pepperoni and Hawaiian. “If you are looking for real pizza, this is the place,” said Johnny Kyaw who makes the sourdough pizzas.
Take a bite of the pizza and you will discover it’s crispy on the inside but still soft. I tend to ignore the crusts since they are too doughy but it’s a different case when I try this sourdough pizza as it’s incredibly tasty.
You will be surprised to hear that pizza master Johnny Kyaw learnt how to make pizza originally from an Italian man in KL. It’s now been tweaked to a sourdough base, after he picked up the skills to make sourdough bread at Craft Bakers, before he joined Kenny Hills Bakers.
Here, the sourdough pizza crust is made from unbleached organic flour and a sourdough starter that needs 42 hours to ferment! As it’s made from natural enzymes, it’s easy to digest so even gluten intolerant eaters can indulge in this pizza and not feel bloated.
Johnny said that they use a higher temperature to bake the pizza to give it a crispy exterior. Another important factor is they painstakingly hand stretch the dough. Most places tend to use a roller that presses out the carbon dioxide that has developed during fermentation. This results in a harder, denser texture for your pizza. As Johnny gently hand stretches the dough, he creates air pockets within that will expand during the baking process to create a light airy crust.
Don’t forget your sweets too at Kenny Hills Bakers, as there is a tempting array of desserts that beckon from the counter or the stand chiller. Choose from items like Pavlova, key lime pie, lemon meringue tart, peach and banana crumble, apple tart.
New additions include a refreshing coconut pudding — a light refreshing combination of light fluffy sponge layered with coconut jelly and covered with frosting smothered with Hawaiian coconut flakes.
For something more decadent, there is the salted caramel apple cheesecake with a nice layer of cooked apples that goes perfectly with the creamy cheesecake. It’s incredibly delicious when paired with a cup of their coffee.
Kenny Hills Bistro
Lot H-1, Taman Tunku,
Bukit Tunku, KL
Tel: 03-6201 8111
Open from 11.30 am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm. They are closed on Mondays.
Kenny Hills Bakers
Lot 1-1B, Taman Tunku,
Bukit Tunku, KL
Tel: 03-6206 4111
Open daily: 8am to 7pm.
