Southern Comfort

First published in Options, The Edge, Oct 10, 2015

The mood of southern American comfort food, captured in Bangsar.

Acme South succeeds well in evoking the spirit of the American South and all that it stands for – the industrial design, the type of food, down to the reminiscence of Acme Enterprises as reprised by Wile E Coyote in the Road Runner series.  Within the dim but spacious interior, the American Industrial design ethos is carried through with less conviction – it’s not industrial-gritty enough, with dark floor and ceiling, wooden furniture and bleached chairs, even potted plants, but the intention is evident and the décor is very comfortable.  One wonders why there isn’t a Confederate flag, but perhaps that would be too much in-your face.

American southern cuisine is distinctive but hardly sophisticated, being a jumble of various cultural influences, including native American, European and even African. The menu reflects this diversity with a good representation – Cajun, Creole, barbeques, but there are also surprising local adaptations, nailing the identity of this restaurant and its sister Ampang outlet as Malaysian-owned.  Nevertheless, the make-believe is well-done, with tweaks to suit the local appetite for the exotic and the different, for example, omitting the obvious Southern fried chicken, and pork.

To try the large variety, I marshalled an eating party to start out with the Chilean Mussels On Shells (Rm25), medium size mussels in a swaggeringly provocative sauce – both creamy and spicy, and very agreeable with garlic bread. More conventional, the Crispy Prawn Bites (Rm27) comprised small prawns deep fried in a crispy batter, accompanied by a tangy green chimichurri dip of Argentinian provenance.  Good with a squeeze of lime, the prawns could be eaten whole in crunchy bites.

Shrimp Po Boy (Rm27) didn’t stand out, the New Orleans French bread being distinguished by its shape and size, rather than taste or texture but it was fine as a shrimp sandwich – not dry, with lettuce adding a crunchy and fresh element. 

The Gumbo (Rm43), from Louisiana, was a different animal, a half-crab on rice in a thick, dark seafood roux.  Lacking the aggression of some other dishes, it came across as laid-back and comfortable, with the thick undertones of stewed vegetables overlaid with shrimp, and for verisimilitude, evoking memories of Bubba, Forrest Gump’s army pal.  

For something completely different and very un-American, the Sambal Hebi Aglio Olio Spaghetti (Rm39) was a hit, with the instantly familiar, spicy flavor of Malaysian shrimp paste paired with Tiger Prawns – simple, yet enticing and entertaining.

From the Mains, the Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie (Rm37) was a large conventional chicken pie with thick, creamy filling – peas, carrots, potatoes and chicken breast chunks – much better than the regular deli-type offerings, and much heartier as well.

One of the restaurant specialties, the Sloppy Joe (Rm27) was all-American – loose, ground beef with pickled cabbage sandwiched in a seed-encrusted charcoal bun, with a mound of string fries.  Almost dainty in size, the rough-and-ready presentation belied what good eating it was, a satisfying beef-cabbage combination, coarse bread and dry, almost chewy potato strips.

We had to try the 12-hour smoked Black Angus (Rm59), featuring beef brisket prepared in a smoker with hickory wood chips, which was a small portion with sides (coleslaw and creamed corn, pickles, corn bread).  The meat was spectacularly tender and moist, and almost begged to be accompanied with bread, which is what the Brisket S’Wich – which we didn’t try – was.

A slew of desserts followed, with the showy Sizzling Apple Pie (Rm19) and Sizzling Peanut Brownie (Rm19), topped with a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream and Milo ice-cream respectively. Both were served on a hot plate, and sizzled with milk or milo. The show notwithstanding, both desserts were heavy in texture, and we also shared a couple of cakes – Raspberry chocolate and Banana Carrot (Rm15 each), both quite heavy with ice-cream.

Southern American food is hardly glamorous, being working man’s food, emphasizing convenience and hearty portions.  Acme South has done a good job of interpreting the food with kindness and a little glamour, recapturing the mood in minor details – serving on grease paper, the industrial fittings in the bathrooms, enamel mugs and plates, the rough, bold lettering as backdrop in the restaurant.  Eating at the restaurant provides the warmth of American Southern comfort food, with neither the grease nor the grime.

Acme South,

LG10 Bangsar Village One,

Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru,

59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03- 2283 6288

Website:  http://www.acmesouth.com/

Business Hours: 

10am-12am daily, 10am – 1am on Fridays and Saturdays

All day breakfast served until 5pm daily.