Flavours, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Beef Wraps RM18
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Caesar Salad with Chicken RM16
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Buttermilk Spaghetti RM22 
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Lamb Chops RM40
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Riz’ Nasi Briyani RM23
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Nasi Malaya RM28
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Mee Bandung
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Kangkung Belacan RM15
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Chocolate Triangon RM8.90, Nutella Ravioli RM15, Len Chi Kang RM7, Sticky Date Pudding RM15.90
Flavours
with Chef Riz, Bangsar, Malaysia
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Chef Riz
The
recently opened Flavours Restaurant in the busy Telawi strip of Bangsar is set to
bring Malaysian food to new culinary heights. Celebrity Chef Riz (the youngest
judge on Master Chef Malaysia and son of the country’s famous food ambassador
Chef Wan) is at the helm of the kitchen and has bright plans for bringing
Malaysian cuisine to internationally recognized levels.
The
restaurant setting itself is not your typical expectation of Malaysian dining.
A bright modern ambience is decked out with pale wood tables, white paneled
walls and small drop down bulbs intermingled with silver half domes creating a
part industrialized, part contemporary country farm house, feel. A herb garden
out front (which is made good use of) and a glass walled kitchen complete the
look.
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Tom Yam Soup RM18
Described
as Modern Malay Cuisine, the menu showcases dishes from the southern regions of
the nation including recipes characteristic of Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and
Johor. Chinese, Indian and Western plates too make an appearance, however, with
the chef’s infusion of local herbs and methods of preparation, a distinctive
fusion concept advances to the forefront.
As
seems to be the pattern, my favourites on the menu were the starters and
desserts, while hubby tenderly remembers the mains. The Caesar Salad with
Grilled Chicken starred baby Romaine lettuce, poached egg, shaved radish,
baked Parmesan, garlic croutons, crispy beef bacon and seared chicken thigh
tossed in a creamy dressing. Just as tasty were the Beef Wraps  – seared
thinly sliced beef cloaked cheese, green beans, carrots and mushrooms made wet
with Redz BBQ sauce and aioli.
A
star-studded lineup of mains followed. Seafood Tom Yum Soup was SPICY! enough
to clear all of your orifices, but tasty enough to keep you going back for
punishment. Packed with tiger prawns, squid, Venus clams and green shell
mussels, this aromatic hot and sour soup can be assauged a little with the
addition of coconut milk if you choose. From Negeri Sembilan the Nasi Malaya is a mixed plate of Jasmine rice, beef
lemak cili padi
(beef first smoked then braised in a mild coconut gravy),
served with prawn sambal tumis (and
the stinky petai bean), ayam goreng kampung
(fried free-range chicken), kerabu (fresh salad usually made with mango but
this version with green apple) and deep fried salted fish.  This dish was a hit amongst our local dining
companions. Even the pungent petai beans were all gobbled up. Our looks of
astonishment at how quickly the malodorous nuggets were demolished were met
with a shrug of the shoulders and explanation of, “What durian is to fruit,
petai is to vegetable.” The enormously portioned, Mee Bandung, a famous Johorian
dish, teeming with tofu, squid, prawns, beef, bean sprouts, tomatoes, balacan,
chili and egg noodles was hubby’s most-loved dish of the night.
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Assam Pedas RM8 per 100g
The Assam
Pedas
, a spicy curry with sea bass, chili, tamarind, ginger flower and
Vietnamese mint is a fragrant dish much thicker than the Nyonya version I know.
My addiction to the morishness of the ginger flower is instrumental in my predilection
to this one. Another champion from the state of Johor is Riz’s Nasi
Briyani
. Ghee, saffron, lemongrass and pandan leaves scent long grains of rice
topped with a generous allocation of chicken. Dalcha (curry), acar buah (pickled
fruits) and papadom play supporting
roles. Some water spinach, Kangkung Belacan, wok fried with sambal belacan
and fried anchovies provided some healthy colour to our meal.
Next
up we tried some items from the Western menu. Char Grilled Lamb Chops,
bountiful in portion rested atop a pillow of mashed potato and seasonal
vegetables with rosemary sauce on a wooden chopping board decoratively dotted
with a rainbow of sauces. A fellow diner craved mint sauce with his lamb so the
chef raced out to the herb garden, harvested some leaves and whipped up a hot
mint relish.  Unexpectedly, the Spaghetti
Buttermilk – the Malaysian version of carbonara – turned out to be one of
the most liked dishes of the night. Butter, milk, garlic, chili padi, curry
leaves and crispy calamari make an incredibly rich and tasty sauce for the flat
noodles.
Besides
fun conversation, sometimes the most amusing aspect of dining with my local
buddies is the amount they can eat. Just when I thought I was going to explode,
luscious desserts came sliding down our table and I suddenly found that,
perhaps, I had a little room left after all. 
The local Len Chi Kang  (sweet
lotus seed soup) was thought of as a ‘healthy’ treat and devoured guilt free
by my two male companions. I on the other hand, managed to polish off almost
single handedly, both a scrumptious Sticky Date Pudding with caramel sauce and
vanilla ice cream and a lush Trianon Chocolate Cake (I think
this might be my new favourite dessert). 
Look out for the treats brandishing small purple flags. These are the
home made creations of the owner’s daughter and you can’t go wrong with the
choices.
Flavours, Bangsar, Chef Wan, celebrity, Malaysian, Chinese, Malay, Indian, restaurant
Variety of Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Besides
the ambience and fact that you’re dining on the menu of an innovative, forward
thinking celebrity chef, one of the best things about Flavours could be their
sustainability philosophy and attitude towards maintaining culinary traditions
with modern adjustments. No MSG or prepackaged ingredients can be found in this
kitchen. Everything is made from scratch with a focus on trying to source
local, organic produce. Chef Riz uses his classical French training to showcase
Malaysian flavours raising the standards of food preparation and hence
attempting to bring Malaysian cuisine to the international eye. Flavours
restaurant definitely merits a visit. Gathering a group so that you can try a
greater number of items in highly advised.
Reason to visit:  Divine Sticky Date Pudding (packed with
dates), Trianon Chocolate Cake, Spaghetti Buttermilk, Nasi Malaya, Beef Wraps and
Caesar Salad
Flavours
51G Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

17 Comments

  1. Spaghetti with chili padi! I would love to try that. 😀

  2. I concur, the sticky date pudding is yummyliciously awesome!

  3. I concur, the sticky date pudding is yummyliciously awesome!

  4. Would love to try those beef wraps! Look sooooo irresistable!

    Bryani? Well, I guess this is a fusion place – would be a lot nicer than what I had at Harrods – definitely looks nicer!

    Adoi!!! Kangkong, banyaknya kayu!!!! RM15!!! *faints* But somebody told me that in Taiwan, they eat the stalks and throw away all the leaves… To each his own, I guess. LOL!!!

  5. Good variety, I think I shall order the Beef Wrap; price seems reasonable. Nice Place. I may just drop by tomorrow as I have only half day of lecture in KL.

  6. love your photo of the beef wraps! it's almost three-dimensional!!! 😀

  7. The meat wraps are drools worthy. Blog hopping pass midnight is a bad idea when you put up such yummy pics.

  8. Is he the one that created the Trianon Chocolate Cake? I absolutely love the cake! Rich but not too sweet!

  9. Price is not equal to the value of the food!

  10. wahhhh..melting…

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