Stepping into Eat and Cook, we were immediately being greeted by their friendly staffs whom guided us to our seats. I love the open kitchen concept where you get to see the chefs in actions and to top it off, the chefs were very patience in explaining the dishes to us.
We started the night with a Ciabatta. At first glance, it looked just like any ordinary bread but the moment you bite into it, you could taste the Tom Yum flavours coming through very subtly. We were told that the team was inspired by the vibrant flavours of Tom Yum and wanted to incorporate that into the bread, without the spiciness of course. So the end product is a bread that's light, chewy with aromatic Tom Yum flavours to awaken your palette before moving on to the first course. Instead of your usual balsamic vinegar or butter, the bread was served with a Tom Yum flavoured dipping sauce that give the bread a much needed creamy element.
Our first course of the night was a scallop dish. The scallops were perfectly seared and tomato flavours brought out the sweetness of the scallops, while the "crackers" added texture to the dish and the lacto-fermented tomato had such intense flavour yet doesn't overpowered the delicate scallops. If you are wondering what's the cracker made of, it was sago cooked with scallop broth from its shells! You might be able to taste the seafood flavours in it.
Moving on to our second course of the night is a plate of mushrooms prepared in 5 different ways - king oyster mushrooms cooked in oyster sauce, topped with dehydrated enoki, lacto-fermented mushroom, mushroom duxelle and pickled mushrooms sitting on a bed of lentils. If you are a fan of mushroom, this is a plate of umami bomb that will leave you wanting for more.
Our third course is sea bream wrapped with kombu strips. Apart from sugarcane, they didn't add any salt or seasonings to the fish while cooking it. The fish was nice and flaky with a hint of smokiness, served with tomato budu sauce, balsamic vinegar, crispy curry leaves and onion pebbles. The umami and acidity in the tomato sauce paired perfectly with the smokiness of the fish, while the onion pebbles added a touch of sweetness to the dish.
Before moving on to our main course, we were served with a palette cleanser. A citrusy sorbet with kaffir lime and Assam boi powder. I prefer the kaffir lime powder as it was really refreshing.
Our main course was duck and agnolotti. Inspired by Siew Long Pau, the agnolotti was bursting with flavourful duck jus that was made from 19 days dried-age ducks and charred onions, topped with dried-aged duck breast and shiitake duxelle. This plate of freshly made pasta is definitely the flavour bomb that you wouldn't want to miss out.
What better way to end the night with a dessert that was inspired by apam balik. It has all the flavours and textures that you would expect from an apam balik - light and airy baked honeycomb cake served in between crispy shells with red corn puree and peanut butter, and creamy coconut ice cream at the side.
All in all, it was truly a pleasant dining experience at Eat and Cook. Using local ingredients, the chefs take the patrons on a journey down the memory lane of familiar Malaysian flavours with a modern twist.
Eat and Cook
H-6-1, Pusat Perdagangan Bandar, Jalan Persiaran Jalil 1,
Bukit Jalil
57000, Kuala Lumpur
Operation Hours: Tuesday - Sunday (6PM - 11PM)
Contact: +603 9765 6898