The Place One of the up-and-coming restaurants in Kuala Lumpur to watch out for, I checked out Eat And Cook KL recently which is also #79 on Asia’s 100 Best Restaurants 2023. Located in Bukit Jalil, Eat And Cook is a contemporary Malaysian-style Omakase restaurant by Chef Owners Chef Lee and Chef Yongzhi.

The main dining space called “The Stage” literally sets the stage for diners as it is designed in a counter seating layout with a view of the open kitchen, which can accommodate 19 pax. If you prefer a more private dining space, there is also “The Table” which is designed for up to 6 pax with a minimum of 4 pax per reservation. 

The Food There is only one menu at Eat And Cook called The Journey (RM 498 ++ per person) which features local and seasonal ingredients where you can expect Malaysian accents and flavour profiles in the courses. 

The meal started with a trio of snacks where I first had a crispy Cracker of fish kerabu (local salad typically from herbs and vegetables) with salted calamansi where the pomfret was aged for 5 days. This is very appetising with tangy notes and crunchy texture, and it reminds me a little of “rojak” in terms of the flavour profile. 

The second snack is Rose Biscuit filled with coriander seed aioli sauce and topped with salmon roe. I love the creamy texture from the aioli sauce and overall, very robust flavours here. 

The last snack is from a local Bonito fish which is a substitute for tuna since it was not tuna season during my visit. The bonito fish is glazed with soy sauce and chilli and topped with some fried capers. 

Tiger Prawn – Calamansi, Sea Grape, Bitter Gourd 
The first course proper features local prawns from Sabah, done ceviche-style. It is an interesting combination of flavours where the prawn flavours come through in different textures from the prawn meat to the prawn flavoured sorbet with hints of calamansi where the bitter gourd espuma is a nice subtle contrast as well. The tinge chilli oil at the base adds a nice touch to whet the palate further while the sea grapes provide a different texture to each bite. 

Penang Oyster – Hollandaise, Chilli, Martell Cordon Bleu 
This course is essentially local Penang oyster served two ways. I first had it in the pure form where there is no garnish or condiments, and it does taste very fresh without the usual briny taste. 

The second part of the oyster is inspired by “orh lua” or oyster omelette. The oyster is topped on crispy egg floss and goes very well with the accompanying red chilli jam and green coriander hollandaise sauce. 

Seasonal Fish – Tomato, Herb, Onion, Chilli, Pineapple Veloute 
I like the concept of this fish dish with different types of sauces, as well as the presentation. The flavours were however a tad too mild for my liking. 

Binamud (locally harvested Foxtail millet  grains) surrounds the fish instead of typical bread crumbs, where I was expecting a crispy texture to contrast with the fish but that was not the case as the binamud texture is quite soft and does not give much of a crunchy contrast. The fish features local Soon Hock fish which was dry aged for 5-7 days, and it is a pity that there is not much flavour to the dish. The combination of sauces did not gel well for me either as it comes across as too excessive for me, be it the Tomato sauce with anchovies, Onion sauce infused with chilli padi or the Pineapple Veloute sauce. 

??? 
This is a mystery course which typically showcases a seasonal produce. The theme of my course here is local purple Asparagus from Cameron Highlands, uniquely coated with fish maw crumbs. Yes, the fish maw which we typically have in Chinese soup dishes. It is dusted with smoked paprika along with yellow corn shoots. Expect a nice crispy texture of the asparagus which is good on its own. The course also comes with an accompanying broth made from fish maw, mixed with some brown butter and chilli oil sauce. 

Octopus 
The next octopus course features octopus done two ways. It first comes up as in sizzling pot where the grilled octopus is topped with fragrant chimichurri sauce to lend it a very aromatic taste. It would be better if the texture of the octopus is more tender. 

The second part sees the octopus done in a takoyaki-style, except no flour is used and the starchy breadfruit is used in place of flour. Quite a unique spin on takoyaki I must say. 

Tomato – Seafood, Fermented Tomato, Basil 
A mini bowl of over-ripped tomatoes which is fermented with salt for at least 7 days, the finely sliced tomatoes here is mixed with pear and mud crab meat. A basket of mini naan breads are served alongside a small tube of crab roe butter. Inject some of the crab roe butter into the mini naan, then squeeze it over the tomato bowl and mix it well for a more buttery flavour. 

Beef Steak – Potato, Carrot, Onion Beef Jus, Pepper 
My favourite course from the meal so far. Every component is well-executed here. The Picanha steak cut features Australian beef cooked to medium rare. It takes an hour to cook the beef due to additional time to rest the meat, and the result is a flavourful and succulent beef. The accompanying carrot is glazed with cumin, so you instantly get a very sharp contrast of flavour after a few bites of the beef. The potato is rolled into a round crispy shape and texture, a nice way of preparation instead of baked potatoes. The onion beef jus with bone marrow jus is delicious too! 

Dabai 
Desserts up next and it was the first time I heard of Dabai, a type of black olive fruit from Sarawak. It is quite the nut in its pure form which has a seed in the middle, so simply bite off the outer layer and you can dip it in the accompanying soya sauce with Gula Melaka. 

A continuation of the Dabai fruit, the second part features a pudding with caramel sauce, white wine vinegar and local cocoa chocolate. This was a tad too sweet for me.   

3 Layer Tea 
The second dessert course features a trio of Herbal Grass Jelly, Teh Terik ice cream infused with black tea from Perak and a Coconut cream foam infused with Pandan. 

The Sweets 
Lastly for Petit Fours, there is a Mochi inspired with mung bean paste and salted egg yolk;  an Osmanthus and Chrysanthemum jelly with a sugar ring; a Portuguese egg tart inspired pastry with custard egg yolk and vanilla; Chocolate bonbon with local Buah Perah fruit. 

Rants Hits and misses for me in terms of flavours.

Will I Return Again? I think the concept of Eat And Cook is a good one. I am a fan of local Malaysian flavours and I have seen how the cuisine is elevated in restaurants like Seroja and Restaurant Fiz in Singapore. I enjoyed some courses here more than the others, and is a matter of personal preferences. If you are curious about how Malaysian-style Omakase dining is like, this is a restaurant worth considering to check out.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5 

Eat And Cook 
H-6-1,Pusat Perdagangan Bandar, Persiaran Jalil 1, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
Tel: +60 3-9765 6898

Opening Hours 
Tuesday to Sunday 

The Stage 
1st Session: 5:30pm to 8:00pm (last seating 5:45pm) 
2nd Session: 8:30pm to 11:00pm (last seating 8:45pm) 

The Table 
6:30pm, 7:00pm/7:30pm to 11pm 

Closed on Monday 

Ranted by The Ranter