Between Traditional and Modern

  First published in Options, The Edge Malaysia, Oct 17, 2016

One of KL’s most interesting new restaurants straddles the traditional and the modern

There’s a row of pre-war houses at the base of Bukit Nanas hill, in the shadow of the KL Tower. Refurbished to its former glory, the row is now Old Malaya, housing a number of restaurants.  One of these is Chef Isadora Chai’s (of Bistro La Table in PJ) recently opened Antara restaurant.

Antara means “between” and it’s an apt name, straddling the old and the modern in cuisine, between local and foreign influences, and between the nostalgia of a colonial era Malaysia and the 21^st century.

The restaurant is impeccably whitewashed, with stern but elegant lines. Stepping in is stepping into a version of the past, with tall ceilings and massive columns, and big wooden beams holding up the floor above.  There is a small seating area downstairs, and a staircase leading upstairs.  Upstairs, one room is the Abacus Bar, with informal seating, plants tumbling down one wall, and a glass ceiling which looks up to the KL Tower, lighted up at night.

The dining area next door is an open area with high ceiling, wooden flooring, bentwood chairs and square tables. On both walls are coloured prints of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first prime minister, with each print carrying one of his sayings. The décor is simple, yet it’s modern and chic, retro and nostalgic, and very cool.

The one-page menu is intriguingly tempting, mixing local dishes with Western ingredients, but I think of it as ‘upgraded’ local rather than fusion. The wait staff are solicitous and helpful, and change the cutlery and paper napkins after every course.

We start with the Wild Fern salad with Salmon Caviar and Crab Meat (Rm48), a dark green mixture with white flecks and shiny orange pearls. The blanched young leaves of pucuk paku forms the base of the salad, which is simply lovely, an interplay of textures, the briny caviar enhancing the cold crab meat and the dark, coarse fern leaves with a mild dressing. 

Pai Tee gets a reboot with Shaved Foie Gras and Anago (Rm27) displacing the traditional ingredients. Three pai tee are served on a slab of black stone, with shells delicate to the point of translucency. The shells are fragile and crispy, the filling light and nuanced, a playful intersection of concepts and tastes brought together.

The Dried Scallop Popiah (RM48) involves two mini tiffin-carriers disassembled into constituent ingredients: blanched beansprouts (plucked at both ends), cucumber slices, egg strips, shredded chicken, sliced prawn, coriander, stewed turnip, carrot and scallop, sliced beans, young lettuce leaves, fried garlic and onion, tofu, peanuts, with four home-made popiah skins.  This is designer popiah, the best I remember having, even if I have to roll it myself into misshapen lumps.  The quantity of top-notch ingredients ensures balance and an intensity of tastes and textures that makes street-variety popiah seem plebian by comparison.

The irresistible Marron Lobster Sarawak Laksa (Rm78) arrives in a big bowl, topped by two halves of crayfish with pincers. Unlike the usual Sarawak laksa, which has a thin soup with a distinctive, raw edge of spices, this is thick and intense, much richer with coarsely ground spices. A squeeze of calamansi and sambal lightens it, and although it lacks that edginess of distinctive spices, it’s dashingly good, the soup so rich that it compels you to finish it off to the last drop.

By comparison, the Black Squid Ink Pasta with Sea Urchin Cream and Shaved Bottarga (Rm68) doesn’t have any Malaysian roots, but deserves a try. The pasta is fine and lustrous, the bottarga adds a briny tang, but the dish is very creamy and filling, and rather too rich for my taste.

For dessert, the Terribly Alcoholic Cendol (Rm36), isn’t, really, although Kahlua adds a nice peppermint flavor to the finely shaved ice, gula Melaka and fine green jelly strips. Like everything else we’ve tried, it’s delicate and prepared with care. 

The Kaffir Leaf and Lemon Tart (Rm22) is a pale yellow disc dressed with two leaves by the side. The crust is slightly thick but the cream is sweet, light and fragrant with kaffir lime without being overpowered by it. 

The quality of food and preparation are irreproachable, the ambiance dreamily nostalgic, the dishes inventive and titillating. Traditional Malaysian dishes are rendered exotic, the food standing out for attention to detail, fine balance and judicious use of ingredients, making Antara deservedly one of KL’s most interesting new restaurants.

Antara Restaurant,

Lot 2, Old Malaya,

66-68 Lorong Raja Chulan,

50250 Kuala Lumpur.

www.antararestaurant.com

Email: info@antararestaurant.com

Tel: 03-20788821

Business Hours: Daily from 12pm-3pm, 5pm-12am.