Dewakan

In case you haven't heard, Dewakan is the first Malaysian restaurant to make it to Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list this year. They've also moved to a spanking new location – find them on level 48 of the Naza Tower in KL. Expect a stunning fine-dining experience with over 10 courses in a special Tasting Menu (RM550) that changes with the seasons. You can anticipate a menu that strongly focuses on local produce like jackfruit, keluak, and tapai ubi (fermented potato). Opt to have wine pairing for an extra RM240.
Photo by Burppler Jason Wong

The defining highlight of our 9 course dinner – undeniably beautiful to look at and truly innovative yet delicious. This bowl exudes exotic herbaceousness, with a fan of thinly sliced prawns cooked at a low temperature to maintain their delicate flavour, then rubbed on the underside with housemade coriander stem and salted lime skin paste, before being crowned with an aromatic bouqet of herbs such as ulam flower and cashew leaf. The warm pool of starfruit juice dotted with kaffir lime leaf oil complemented the prawns with nicely balanced astringency and sweetness. Exciting times for Malaysian cuisine.

Taste: 4/5

I balked slightly at the almost blue portion of milk-fed kid goat, but, always game for game, I tucked in. What was good was the salty, pungent exuberance of the charred petai miso coating the meat. Pity there was so little of it. The cut of goat itself was a little too raw and fibrous for my liking.

Taste: 3/5

I’ve played this game before at Spago, except with Buah Keluak shells instead of “stones”. Cleverly camouflaged, these frozen pebbles are made of a shatteringly crisp coat of charcoal infused shell encasing some of the smoothest, most buttery and fragrant kaya you'll ever taste. A marvelous, sweet surprise ending to a most interesting meal at Dewakan.

Taste: 3.5/5

Boring would be the last word on anyone's mind when describing a meal at Dewakan. If anything, some dishes might prove too adventurous for some. The forward-thinking "Black Banana Porridge" proudly champions indigenous ingredients - black bario rice from Sarawak is made into a porridge topped with inky black fermented banana creme riddled with bee larvae(which got stuck in our teeth). On the side are saucers of grated salted egg and pickled choy sum stem to be added as seasoning for the sweet porridge according to your taste. For protein, there is a rather roughshod homemade duck sausage whose coarseness and gaminess I felt did not complement the almost dessert-like taste and texture of the porridge at all.

It is no mean feat to bring together such an ambitious combination of ingredients, but I can certainly admire the attempt. And while I did not take to it, this dish polarized opinion around the table, with others declaring it a stroke of delicious genius.

Taste: 3/5

One of my favourites from the 9-course Nusantara menu, the compact quenelle of goat tartare is packed with big flavours. Composed of finely chopped smoked duck leg, ginger, pickled radish, shallots and chilli, the meaty smokiness and zing of chilli and ginger was most enlivening upon the palate. To finish, the artfully shaped slices of pressed pumpkin atop not only looked pretty, they served to add a delicate sweetness and crunch to the dish as well.

Taste: 3.5/5