While sardines in tomato sauce are a Malaysian classic, this iteration of smoked sardines against herbed tomato water is oh-so refreshingly good. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Walking through the brand new Bar.Kar KL is like stepping through a labyrinth of space, sight and sound. This is prologued by the piles of logs heaped artistically throughout the entrance that lead to a sophisticated space whose centrepiece is a chef’s table, a U-shaped structure that offers a bird’s eye view of the inner workings of the kitchen team.
Central to this is the blistering heat and hiss and crackle of fire – the forerunner of the wonderful smoky offerings embedded in the menu.
The space is cavernous – a whopping 446sq m with a capacity to seat up to 90 people.
The eatery is the brainchild of the same people behind the phenomenally successful modern Malaysian restaurant Eat And Cook (ranked No.79 on the extended list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants) – brothers Steve and Harry Lee and chef-owners Lee Zhe Xi and Soh Yong Zhi.
The entrance to the restaurant is dotted with blocks of wood.
With Bar.Kar, the team looked at taking a culinary odyssey through the fiery side of food. This was an idea that began germinating two years ago when the founding team looked at expanding to central Kuala Lumpur and doing ala carte meals that everyone could enjoy as opposed to the degustation menus they had been doing at Eat And Cook.
“At Bar.Kar, we are trying to highlight cooking methods using (wood) flame or fire – we don’t use gas at all. So we use rambutan wood, mangrove wood, two different kinds of charcoal, wood chips, hay and even coconut husks to cook the food. The idea is to have all the meals kissed by fire and the second idea is to really focus on reimagining or reconfiguring Malaysian food using these cooking methods,” explains Zhe Xi.
Nearly all the fire elements and contraptions have been custom made or specially designed for Bar.Kar – from the brick oven to the smoke boxes. There is also a special room where the team dry-ages everything from duck to seafood. Although Zhe Xi and Soh pay close attention to their new offspring, the kitchen itself is helmed by head chef Kevin Ng.
The menu offers a selection of snacks, small plates, cold plates, big plates, noodles, specialty rice dishes as well as seafood and sweet treats.
Ng is the head chef at the brand new Bar.Kar KL and leads the team’s fire-fuelled ambitions.
To begin, start with a snack in the form of the Egg & Toast (RM25 for one piece). This is an ode to a classic kopitiam breakfast meal and features 63°C Napier eggs juxtaposed against Hainanese toast and kaya made out of century eggs alongside chicken “bak kwa” or jerky infused with buah kulim (in a partnership with bak kwa brand Oloiya).
This is a meal that evokes all sorts of sentimentality but somehow also has a sense of refinement about it. The egg is suitably wobbly and makes for a great, gooey receptacle in which to dip the bread. The kaya meanwhile is hedonistically creamy and all this goodness is offset by the rich nibbles of jerky which add texture and contrast to the meal. As far as openers go, this is a truly memorable offering.
Up next, try the Canned Sardine (RM28) which alludes to an all-time Malaysian classic: canned sardines slathered in tomato gravy. In this iteration, fresh sardines are smoked with hay and coconut husks and while the tomatoes are roasted in the charcoal oven, juiced and filtered with some herbs.
An elevated take on a kopitiam classic, this version of eggs and toast is unforgettably good. — Bar.Kar KL
What you’ll get is smoky notes permeating throughout – the fish has it undulating in every mouthful and this is countenanced by the light, chirpy undertones of the tomatoes, which are subtle and gentle and work hard to provide dimension to the dish. It is entirely alien to the standard offering many Malaysians have grown up with and yet it is also somehow familiar and altogether comforting.
Then there is the Neo Royal Oysters (RM25, or top-up RM38 for organic Baeri caviar). The oysters are plump and voluptuous with briny undertones but perhaps the only slight misstep here is the chicken fat, which is lovely on its own but somehow detracts from the qualities of the oysters when paired together in this configuration.
From the small plates, you should definitely look at trying the BBL (RM28) which stands for big, burnt leek. Here, charred leeks have been paired with aged Chinese goose sausage and leek ash in what proves to be a marriage of complementary elements and factions, all coalescing to form something truly memorable.
On that count, memorability will once reign supreme if you choose to indulge in the Char Siew Wagyu Beef Cheek Claypot Rice (RM103 with foie gras; RM48 on its own).
The oysters are lovely on their own and good with the caviar but a little distracting with the addition of the chicken fat. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
“Char siew is one of the things that we are trying to highlight here. Traditionally, because it utilises pork, it is not suitable for everyone. But here the idea is to hold on to char-smoked meat, so we slightly smoke the beef and marinate it with fermented bean and maltose and then we slow cook it and finish it off on the charcoal grill,” says Zhe Xi.
The rice used in this amalgamation is local heirloom rice producer Langit Collective’s Beras Salleh, which bears some similarity to Japanese sushi rice. The rice is cooked with chicken stock and then steamed, so it remains soft and fluffy.
The result is oh-so stupendously good. The beef is incredibly tender but has a lovely bark and crusty outer core. The char siew flavours are rich and co-mingle extremely well in this amalgamation and the foie gras adds an opulent, velvety umami quality to the meal while the rice is fluffy and represents comfort food at its finest.
The claypot wagyu beef cheek rice is truly one of the best things to emerge from Bar.Kar. — Photos: Bar.Kar KL
Continue down this rewarding carnivorous path with the Ember Grilled Australia Denver Lamb Ribs (RM99), which is Ng’s signature dish. Designed to bear some resemblance to the classic Chinese confinement (and celebratory dish) of vinegar pork trotters, this lamb variation sees grilled lamb infused with all the usual suspects that go into this traditional dish.
The lamb is very, very succulent and tender and has the understated flavours of the traditional Chinese dish imbued in it without desecrating the natural attributes of the meat. It’s a star offering that is truly deserving of applause and attention.
End your meal with something sweet in the form of the Chocolate Lava Cake (RM35) with vanilla ice cream. This is often a crowd favourite at most restaurants and Bar.Kar nearly nails it, save for the fact that the cake is a tad dry. Thankfully, the vanilla ice cream and the chocolate lava itself rescue the dish with some much-needed moisture.
Moving forward, Zhe Xi says the idea is to expand the concept of Bar.Kar to multiple locations around the city – with the caveat that each iteration will be entirely original and unique.
“The initial idea was to try to expand to more places, but at each restaurant, there will be a different team leading it. So while this is a pork-free Bar.Kar, the next one could serve pork. The brand will keep evolving,” he says.
Bar.Kar KL
G-06, Ground Floor
G Tower
199, Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 011-2277 3131
Open daily: Noon to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm
