Dining at Kenny Hills Bistro is a more refined, elevated experience

The new Kenny Hills Bistro features some familiar favourites, but also many new elements that aim to make the dining experience more sophisticated. — Photos: ART CHEN/The Star

When Kenny Hills Bakery first opened nearly eight years ago in the namesake neighbourhood that spawned its name, it was an instant, undisputed success. The brand’s home-spun breads, pastries and artisanal coffee thrived from the point of inception and teeming crowds (and long queues) were the norm.

And it could have remained as such – a tiny (the original space was only 65 sq m), popular little outpost. But founder Au Tai Hon knew that being stagnant meant doing little to nothing with that unique je ne sais quoi that had made Kenny Hills a triumph to begin with.

“So the reason that we have grown from a small little place to where we are today is that we realised when we opened more outlets, homemade pastries and breads went from a micro-trend to a consumer trend.

“So from then on, we had to start elevating ourselves and doing more research and development,” says Au.

Kai has been instrumental in spearheading the refined offerings at the new restaurant.

In the intervening years, Au’s two children have joined the family business. Early this year, his son, 26-year-old Kai Zen Au was instrumental in setting up Kenny Hills Hospitality, the umbrella company under which all the brand’s F&B entities are now parked.

“We wanted to consolidate the brands that would be coming, and we needed a singular entity to house those sub-brands because everyone now still knows us as Kenny Hills Bakers.

“And we are trying to move away from that, we’re trying to celebrate the Kenny Hills name as something that is a multi-brand group that can diversify into a lot of different ideas and concepts rather than being restricted to the current perception that we are just a bakery and cafe.

“We want people to see us as more than that, so that was why I wanted to have an all-encompassing hospitality group,” explains Kai.

A large open-view kitchen is a central feature at Kenny Hills Bistro. — ART CHEN/The Star

Kai is a sports medicine graduate who started working in the family business at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when he returned to Malaysia upon his graduation. He is also the person spearheading the brand’s latest outlet, Kenny Hills Bistro, which opened recently in central Kuala Lumpur in Four Seasons Place.

The profiteroles are perfect sweet treats for hot, sunny days. — Kenny Hills BistroThe outlet – while still bearing the Kenny Hills name – is a more refined, elevated version of Kenny Hills Bakers, with a menu that edges towards casual fine-dining, a facet accentuated by an array of cocktails, wines and plated desserts. There is also an in-house sommelier to cater to the individual needs of wine-drinkers.

The eatery is expansive and houses a large, open-view kitchen, in-house bakery and a bar. It has a lot of the charm of its namesake outlet, but has obviously got far more up its sleeves.

“I would say Kenny Hills Bistro is more casual fine-dining. We cater to a lot of occasions and demographics. We are not trying to be pretentious, because everyone understands Kenny Hills to be all-day and casual, so we are trying to maintain that but be a little bit more refined,” says Kai, who is also the managing director of the eatery.

At Kenny Hills Bistro, you can expect a menu that builds on the brand’s core appeal in the form of pastries and coffee, but is embellished with a curated food menu that pays especial attention to detail.

This was especially tricky to execute, as Kai says he wanted the eatery to remain rooted to its origins but still display a different sort of elegance and refinement.

“If you are coming up with a totally European or French concept, it’s easy but if you tie that to something that has been around for awhile, trying to find the fine line is difficult. We are still working on it, to be honest,” he says.

The beef-fat brioche offers a wonderful way to start your day. — ART CHEN/The Star

There’s plenty to whet the appetite, but if you’re here in the morning, definitely start your day with a bang with the Beef-Fat Brioche (RM38).

Made up of corned beef, English mustard butter, gem lettuce and plum sauce, this is an opulent, unctuous meal designed to fill your senses (and your stomach) and get your day off to an auspicious start.

The brioche is a soft, tender plank that soaks up all the goodness of the egg, which melts into this concoction and loads the salty bovine qualities of the corned beef with albumen goodness.

The English mustard butter and plum sauce form a dynamic duo of sorts that work as a tag team to imbue the meal with zest and a touch of sweetness.

The eatery boasts an assortment of pies, including more old world English pies that are seeing a revival of sorts in Europe. — ART CHEN/The Star

Up next, definitely try the Bread and Butter Board (RM36). Here, you will discover brioche bread and a croissant cube (essentially a croissant shaped like a cube) paired with three kinds of butter: truffle and French sea salt butter, miso honey butter and burnt chilli and anchovy butter.

The fresh-out-of-the-oven fish pie is a soul-warming dish. — ART CHEN/The StarThis is a meal so simple yet so decadent, that an overarching sense of euphoria prevails throughout.

The bread is sensational – the brioche soft and tenderly yielding and croissant cube boasting a rugged exterior which segues into doughy, pillowy innards.

The butters on board (pun intended) are thoroughly addictive – the truffle butter is opulent and nirvanic, with rich woody notes, while the miso honey has cleverly positioned umami notes offering jolts of surprise.

The burnt chilli and anchovy butter show off hits of brininess and spots of heat and fire in what can only be described as pure pleasure.

An underwater escapade to dive into is the Charred “Basque Style” Spanish Octopus (RM112) with red tapenade, charred lime, hummus, tarragon aioli, chilli and orange oil.

Here, you will discover pliant cephalopods with a gentle yield and some pushback. Everything else adds depth, dimension and contrast to a meal whose wonder is in the beauty of this seafood.

Tender, pliable beef cheeks are the highlight of this glorious meal. — Photos: ART CHEN/The Star

The Wagyu Beef Cheek & Burnt Broccoli (RM112) with portobello mushrooms, crispy garlic, bone marrow crumb and celeriac puree is a gentle dish with a whole lot of heart and soul.

The beef cheek is melt-in-the-mouth malleable and this is dextrously balanced by the forest-rich notes of the mushrooms and the creaminess of the celeriac puree.

It’s a meal that juggles the treacherous tightrope walk of being rich without being overbearing, emerging victorious in the end.

The charred Spanish octopus highlights all the natural beauty of this perfectly-cooked aquatic treasure.

Au takes great pride in the eatery’s fresh pies, and none impresses as much as the Classic Fish Pie (RM42) which features smoked salmon, smoked haddock, seabass, leeks, peas and cream topped with a homemade puff.

This is a warm, soothing meal that sates and nurtures the soul. The fish has lovely smoky notes underscored by aquatic vibes and the leeks and peas add a wholesome quality to the meal. It’s a meal best enjoyed piping hot on days when the weather and the world are letting you down.

Coffee continues to be a stand-out at the restaurant. — ART CHEN/The Star

For a sweet finish, definitely indulge in one of the eatery’s new plated desserts, in the form of the Fresh Profiteroles with Homemade Ice Cream (RM28).

Here, you will discover choux pastry balls with sweet, creamy ice-cream sandwiched in between. It’s a lovely denouement that is sweet without being overly saccharine.

Coffee at Kenny Hills Bistro is unsurprisingly good, and you would do well to try all the usual suspects, from the Cappuccino (RM12) to the Latte (RM12), both of which live up to expectation.

If you’re after drinks of the alcoholic persuasion, the eatery has plenty on offer from natural wines to reds and whites from Chile, South Africa, Spain and New Zealand, among others.

If you're into cocktails, definitely try the Made in Jalisco (left). — Kenny Hills Bistro

There are also a range of cocktails on offer, like Made in Jalisco (RM48) which has mezcal, rose, elderflower, cucumber and grapefruit and is a wonderfully refreshing tipple, with a fruity, aromatic underbelly.

Interestingly, this is likely to be the last eatery to bear the Kenny Hills name, as Kai says moving forward, there are plans to expand and open a different range of restaurants and concepts.

“I have a lot of things that I want to do on my own, individual ideas I want to explore in 2023 and 2024 that are completely different, like a Japanese and Spanish restaurant. So those will not carry the brand name at all. It will be entirely independent but under the hospitality group.

“And the main idea is that we don’t want to dilute the Kenny Hill name because then it doesn’t mean anything,” says Kai.

To contact Kenny Hills Bistro, call 017-230 8081.