PETALING JAYA, July 8 -- Our table was practically groaning under the weight of all the dishes we had ordered at Kinfolk Restaurant, a two-month-old establishment opened by Ken Goh, 35 and his wife, Carmen Tham, 31.
We just couldn't help ourselves, as almost everything on their smallish menu lured us to feast the night away.
Our impressive platter of House-made Charcuterie (RM45 for one to two people, RM88 for three to four people) arrives: pink cured meats fan out like a flower, looking like it belongs in a restaurant in Italy.
The surprise is that it's in Sea Park, where you have midnight black Hokkien mee from Lao Ping down the road and right across, there's Hai Kah Lang's fortifying bowls of seafood noodles and Brunei-import 1More Pizza.
As we nibbled on the cold cuts – salami, speck, porchetta di testa – everyone at the table nodded in approval, confirming this was on par with what one can source from Italy.
This is serious skill, demonstrating Goh's determination to produce cured meats on our shores— a rarity here, where only sausages and air-dried Chinese waxed sausages (lap cheong) are commonly found.
The triumph is the Porchetta di Testa, slow cooked rolled whole pig's head, cured from a whole pig's head with the head cheese, which transforms into a thin layer of marbled fat and meat dotted with gelatinous pockets of fat;
Dry-Aged Pork Chop (RM32 per 100 grams) is a prime example of how time – in this case 28 days – transforms the boned-in chop into a deeper, intense flavour.
All it needs is a good sear on the grill for a tender, juicy meat with a dab of the zingy, house-made calamansi kosho, which is fashioned from preserved limes.
Chrysanthemum Leaf Salad (RM26) sounded exotic until our “aha moment” revealed it’s tong ho, greens we usually find stir-fried or used in hotpots.
Goh picked this particular green because it's an oddball compared to the commonly known cabbage or Romaine lettuce.
But wait, doesn't that usually have a slight bitter edge? We puzzled over the salad blanketed with a snow drift of finely grated Parmesan cheese, a la Caesar Salad.
Turns out the toothed leafs, when left untouched, have a mild, slightly sweet taste, which works well with their creamy dressing that combines just a touch of anchovies and cheese, making it a refreshing salad that will convert anyone who dislikes raw greens.
Crispy Pork Knuckle (RM168) is a showstopper arriving on the table in its golden glory.
The outer skin has a wonderful crunchy texture with juicy fall-off-the-bone meat to enjoy with a refreshing salad and their homemade hot sauce.
Smoked Char Siew Pork Ribs (RM46) arrives sliced, revealing layers of fat and meat. The fat looks glass-like with a concentrated flavour that makes each piece rich and decadent, best offset with house-made pickles.
The menu isn't entirely porcine with choices like the crispy golden skin Half Roasted Ma Cao Chicken (RM98), Perak Oysters (3 pieces for RM58) or Mussels Salai Masak Lemak (RM38). Efforts are underway to perhaps add more seafood items.
One word of advice: do not overlook their House-Made Fries (RM18) served with their own-made ketchup, it's the kind of dish you'll wish wasn't a sharing plate so you could have the entire plate to yourself.
Fries perfectly done with crispy edges happily accompany their lacto-fermented jackfruit, which kicks up a tangy flavour and sweetness that almost pips the typical tomato ketchup.
Goh explained this was a surprise product, resulting from when they were given overripe jackfruit which he tried to save through fermentation.
Some dishes like their Pork Ragu Bucatini (RM42) with al dente strands tossed with their four hours slow-cooked ragu, Mapo Tofu (RM30) and Pork Burger (RM45) make a quick solo midday meal.
Sweets are a toss-up between a very unconventional Smokey Porky Cake (RM24) reminiscent of a fruit cake studded with dried fruits and nuts or everyone's favourite Soft Serve (RM12) served in trendy stainless steel coupe cups.
Kinfolk is the culmination of a year's work for Goh and his wife who both connected at A Little Farm on the Hill.
Goh's domain is the kitchen, while Tham manages the dining space which feels like an elegant home with a welcoming vibe.
Goh grew up in Muar. As a child aged five, he fried eggs and by 13, he could cook a full meal to feed his family.
His mother played an important role in his life in Muar, cooking multiple cuisines for the family, from local kuih to pizza and even dishes from his Hokkien roots.
Applying his expertise as a chef – having trained at KDU Culinary School under Darren Teoh of Dewakan fame and Enzo Neo who runs Red Kettle – Goh is passionate about all things preserved and cured like charcuterie, using a nose-to-tail approach to ensure no part of the pig is wasted.
Goh said, “The most important ingredient is time as time gives it more depth.”
In culinary school, he only picked up basic butchery skills, including making sausages, bacon and pastrami, but he taught himself dry-curing using books and videos.
Tinkering in the kitchen like a modern MacGyver, he self-built a curing cabinet by watching videos and reading books.
Using a stand chiller, typically found in a kopitiam to store drinks, he added a dehumidifier, a humidifier, and a control gauge, to mimic the all-important controlled environment with a specific temperature, humidity and airflow to cure his first experiment of using half of a pig.
It's not expensive commercial equipment but ordinary items you use at home. In fact, the humidifier he uses is the same one I have at home.
Nowadays, he cures the meat in specialised chambers to remove moisture from carefully selected meats to get the best out of the produce to make his own charcuterie.
With more items up his sleeves, Goh is constantly upgrading the menu with new offerings, such as switching to the more superior Berkshire black pig, sought after for its marbling and exceptional flavour.
Kinfolk Restaurant
37, Jalan 21/12,
Sea Park, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 12pm to 3pm (Thursday to Tuesday), 6pm to 9.30pm (Friday to Tuesday). Closed on Wednesdays.
Tel:03-78652094
Reservations can be made via Umai
Instagram: @restaurantkinfolk
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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