PETALING JAYA, April 28 — Earlier this week, I wrote about the pork noodles at a kopitiam close to the wet market in Section 17, PJ.
This kopitiam, and the block of shops surrounding said market, finds itself at an interesting point in time.
Like in many other neighbourhoods in PJ, the arrival of a shopping mall meant a notable shift in the kind of dining options that followed.
In the years since Seventeen Mall opened, new cafés and specialty coffee places like Pohutukawa Coffee have emerged, standing amidst familiar neighbourhood favourites like Wong Kee Chicken Rice, with the dichotomy between old and new symbolic of the change in the area.
In December last year, Mellow Wine entered the fray, courtesy of the team behind Superfine.
The kitchen, which Mellow shares with Superfine, is headed by Larry Lam, who has also been at the helm of the latter since 2021.
Though ostensibly a wine bar, the food points to ambitions beyond predictable charcuterie and cheese, with dishes such as pani puri with abalone ceviche, braised ox tongue and Iberico collar with pesto Diavolo.
It matches a burgeoning trend in KL’s wine bars, where the food is no longer just fodder for more glasses of stiff and snooty Bordeaux.
Step under the warm, yellow "Mellow” sign and you’ll find a relatively small, cosy room where wine lines the walls — and main window.
There’s no wine list; you’re encouraged to pore over the selection in the fridge and on the shelves. More on the wine later.
Milkfish (RM38) was the first to arrive, a vibrant and colourful plate of wakame-cured sashimi milkfish and pickled grapes dressed with coconut milk, drops of basil oil and a sprig or two of dill.
The result was a delicate and bright mouthful, with the mild fish complemented by bursts of tangy, sweet pickled grape juice, and verdant herbaceous notes from both the basil oil and dill. It was one of the best raw presentations I've had in a while.
Fresh flatbread with zaatar (RM20) and artisanal sausage (RM34) materialised together.
The flatbread comprised fluffy, puffed-up strips of 48-hour-fermented Neapolitan dough.
Superfine specialises in canotto pizza, characterised by its very puffy, airy dough, making it a perfect canvas for the savoury and complex za'atar seasoning.
The dish was further enhanced by the pungent yet light and creamy toum, or garlic sauce.
Both sausages, one pork and the other, lamb, were simple, juicy bangers — though the pork was a girthier, snappier affair.
Served with a dollop of mustard, tart and crunchy cornichons and confit garlic, this was a reminder of typical wine bar fare executed really well.
We were informed that the steak frites (RM288/200g) was a new item, replacing the existing rib-eye on the menu.
In front of us was an Australian Wagyu MB4 sirloin, sliced and slathered in buttery Café de Paris sauce with a heap of fries on the side. Crispy — but not salty enough — fries aside, the steak had a noticeably brilliant char, was seasoned with assurance and was practically good to eat on its own.
We washed it down with glasses of a smooth and easy Catalonian red by Can Sumoi, made from a blend of Sumoll and Garnatxa (otherwise known as Grenache) grapes.
The wine is organic, though not free of sulfites, and tasted strongly like fresh, juicy raspberries with silky smooth tannins.
It’s not quite a Château Angelus like Fabrice Sommier, President of the French Sommellerie Union suggests for steak frites, but at RM216 a bottle, it’ll do just fine.
Mellow Wine & Dining Room
L1-06A, Seventeen Mall, Jalan 17/38, Seksyen 17, 46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Open daily, 3-11pm
Tel: 016-260 1701
Instagram: @mellow.kl
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
*Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
