Tour of Malaysia Season 3 – Beta KL

Tour of Malaysia Season 3 – Beta KL

Words: Stephen Reid
Photos: Monica Tindall

The Yum List last visited Beta KL in December 2022. Since then, the restaurant has been included in the prestigious MICHELIN Guide Kuala Lumpur & Penang as a selected restaurant. This will come as no surprise to previous customers, as head chef and co-owner Raymond Tham is an accomplished star in the Malaysian culinary scene known for his innovative and creative approach to cooking. He is passionate about using local ingredients to create delicious and visually stunning dishes. Also helming the kitchen at sister restaurant Skillet@163, which features contemporary European cuisine, at Beta KL, he takes us on a journey showcasing Malaysia’s diversity and richness with his latest menu, Tour of Malaysia Season 3.

Beta KL is located in a stylish and contemporary space on the ground floor of the Cormar Suites in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The restaurant is accessed through a lush greenery-covered doorway, the name of the restaurant shining out in purple neon. We were warmly welcomed and led into the restaurant, which had a dramatic, almost theatrical atmosphere with a mix of elegant and industrial design elements.

The floor was a checkerboard of black and white tile, giving way to polished concrete. The walls were painted in hues of charcoal and the darkest slate, creating a restrained backdrop to vibrant pops of colour from luxurious cranberry red stools lined up like little velvet-covered drums and taller emerald green bar stools surrounding the main bar, which is itself enveloped in bright jade green tiling.

Towering over the bar is an immense column of blood-red shelving. Evocative of the displays in a traditional Chinese medicine apothecary, their colossal scale gave the impression that you have suddenly been shrunken by one of the potions they contain, a little like ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ Instead of bottles and packets of medicine and herbs, however, bottles of amber liquors twinkled in the light from the swan-necked brass lamps, their green shades reminiscent of a Victorian gentlemen’s club. Behind the bar was cocktail sommelier Sham, hard at work expertly carving individual ice cubes from a large block of crystal-clear ice, which she used later to prepare our delectable cocktails.

Tables at the back of the restaurant are afforded views of Chef Tham and his team, moving back and forth between steaming pots in their tightly choreographed dance of culinary expertise. In competition with the view into the open kitchen, there is a strikingly vibrant mural depicting jungle flowers and birds, picked out in rainbow hues and gold leaf. Beneath which tables are dressed simply in black linen tablecloths, a dark stage was set, waiting for us to take our seats. Soon, dishes would arrive from the kitchen, like stars from the wings of a theatre and take their place to shine in the spotlights.

I could almost imagine Beta KL being used as the glamorous backdrop to film an 80’s 80-inspired high-end music video, a little like the pop stars Jesse Ware and Kylie Minogue did last year in their single ‘Kiss of Life’. They took over London’s stylish Ave Mario restaurant, having to film all through the night after service had ended, as the wait list for the restaurant simply would not allow for it to be closed. I imagine something similar here at Beta KL, perhaps with our pop star Yuna dancing among the tables! However, I needed to put flights of my imagination to one side as it was time for dinner.

Tour of Malaysia Season 3 at Beta KL

North (Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak)

We started our Tour of Malaysia Season 3 (RM 450) in the north: dishes inspired by Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak. As we had opted for the five-glasses Cocktail Pairing (RM208) to accompany our first dish, Sham prepared a ‘Myristica’. This drink was a delightful and refreshing blend of gin, clarified nutmeg juice and lemon. Our cocktails were presented in delicate stem glasses with single cubes of expertly carved transparent ice and decorated with the crimson outer shells of the nutmeg seed.

Our three amuse-bouches arrived on a simple bamboo tray, the first the ‘Northern Staple’, featuring butus fish, sticky rice, and tomato, sitting on a tiny folded origami stand. The tiny whiting fish, which had been butterflied, tail peaking out from the crisp breadcrumb coating, filled with sticky rice from Kedah, the rice bowl of Malaysia and topped with a fresh tomato salad garnish. Incredibly moreish, I could have eaten a whole plate of these.

My appetite awakened, and it was suggested we next try the ‘Terroir of Ipoh’. This lovely little tartlet contained pomelo from Perak and soy curd and was covered in a beetroot jelly disc decorated with tiny lavender flowers. Pomelo is one of my favourite fruits; its juicy texture contrasts the crisp peanut pastry shell and beetroot blanket. It disappeared in a single bite.

Next, we had the ‘Prawn and Shell’. The prawn had been prepared three ways: firstly, a sliced prawn tartare, sitting on a layer of a house-made paste made from the prawn and prawn shell XO, a bisque-like sauce made from the shells, sitting on top of a fried bread finger. Prawn crackers, a famous speciality in Penang, inspired this dish, which had a vibrant, rich mouthfeel.

South (Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor)

Sham prepared a ‘Pekan’ cocktail to accompany our following dishes. This drink was inspired by the pineapple plantations of Johor and the famous pineapple festival there. It was presented in a high ball glass and contained tequila, fermented pineapple, and a house-made lemon basil cordial. Incredibly refreshing but perhaps packed a hidden punch behind its slightly salty notes.

Next, we jumped down to the southern states of Malaysia with dishes inspired by Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor. We started with a dish named ‘Childhood Weekend’. This was inspired by the childhood memories of Chef Tham himself when blood clams were a special treat he enjoyed while growing up in Negeri Sembilan. This was my first time tasting a blood clam, which was most delicious. It arrived at our table in a box filled with the perfect and now empty shells of its presumably similarly delicious brethren.

On top of that was a bright green disk of banana leaf surmounted by a delicate square pastry shell made with bamboo charcoal. Within this case, the firm and meaty clams had been gently torched, mixed with masak lemak cream and cooked with turmeric, bird’s eye chilli and coconut cream. Beads of caviar, gold leaf, and a strand of dill completed this beautiful and tasty little dish.

We followed this with ‘Tempeh.’ Within a roughly formed rustic little cup nestled a lightly poached oyster, surrounded by a small pool of intensely flavoured daun soup, inspired by the mee rebus that is a common dish in Johor. This was salty with a touch of sweetness. Crunchy pieces of tempeh, or fermented soybeans, added to the textural contrast of this dish, which we were told needed to be mixed and eaten as one.

The last of our dishes from the South was ‘0.00% Yeast.’ Monica was delighted to be reacquainted with these small bread rolls, her favourite from a previous visit. Made from tapioca and sweet potato flour, the bread contains no yeast, gaining its light, spongy texture by including eggs in the dough. Served with a wonderfully tangy chilli emulsion, Monica asked for the rolls that remained to be packaged to go!

East (Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, Sarawak)

Our next cocktail pairing also hailed from the northern part of Malaysia in Kedah. The ‘Paddy Terroir’ is a house-made fermentation of rice wine, coconut and Malibu, with a coconut-crusted rim and egg white foam. Sham told us that this is one of their most popular cocktails, and I can see why after sampling it.

Heading over to the eastern states of Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak, the third section of our menu started with ‘Watermelon.’ This dish was inspired by hinava from Sabah. Originally a dish featuring raw cured fish, here it consists of layers of compressed watermelon and tuhau, a kind of wild ginger native to Borneo and adorned with sea grapes. Monica assured me that these tiny little green spheres, which are a form of seaweed, are excellent for the skin and are a rich source of iodine. A dusting of coconut and calamansi snow completed this elegant and refreshing course.

One of the ingredients in the next course is sure to split any audience with ardent fans and complete detractors. This dish was ‘Baby Squid’, with the core ingredients listed as tempoyak, mushroom garum and jicama. I admit I was unfamiliar with the name tempoyak, but I now know it to be the word used to describe a speciality from Pahang, which is fermented durian. Although I have lived in Malaysia for over eleven years, I have yet to develop any tolerance for, let alone any appreciation of, this stinky fruit.

Thinking it might be like my relationship with olives, which I hated as a child but now love as an adult, I give it another go every few years. With my sincere apologies to Chef Raymond, I have to say that my profound dislike for durians remains as strong as ever, so I’m afraid I struggled with this dish.

The baby squid has been stuffed ever so carefully with a delicate fish mousse before being charcoal grilled and finished with a mushroom garum glaze. Thankfully, I could appreciate the skill on show here, as the fermented durian was presented as a foam that had not touched one of the squids on my plate. It was delicious, and I gobbled it up before the offending foam could spread. Alas, Monica was not so lucky, and both of hers had a layer of durian foam, and sharing a similar issue with this ‘King of Fruits’ meant this was the only dish we both didn’t finish.

As I indicated previously, this is a polarising issue; if you are a lover of durian, and I know there are a great many, perhaps you could persuade Chef Raymond to squeeze a little more of that skillfully fermented durian foam onto your plate, and if like me you are not, maybe ask that he forgo your own squeeze. The numbers will probably balance out, and everyone will leave satisfied.

Palate Cleanser

Before the arrival of our main courses, we had a palate cleanser in the form of an ‘instant sorbet’ made at the table with liquid nitrogen. This introduced a further dramatic element to our dinner, with its layer of dry ice fog floating around the table. At -196°C, the nitrogen is still in a liquid state, but whatever is introduced to it quickly becomes frozen, the nitrogen using the heat within it to boil off and sublimate into a gas, leaving water ice behind.

Our expert mixologist, Sham, presented a beautifully decorated Labu Sayong, a traditional clay water container fashioned into the shape of a gourd. Instead of water, here it contained teh o ice limau, black tea with calamansi. It was carefully poured into a metal dish and combined with the liquid nitrogen. Wonderful citrus notes spread across the table with the frozen fog of the now ‘boiling’ liquid nitrogen. When the ‘fog’ subsided, Sham served the resulting beautiful orange sorbet in a double-walled glass espresso cup garnished with a slice of dehydrated calamansi. Delicately flavoured, it was the perfect palate cleanser. We both remarked that it was not overly sweet, which we welcomed.

Central (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor)

Our cocktail pairing for the main course was ‘Wu Long Cha’, a rum-infused tea containing spiced rice wine and house-made longan (similar to lychee) syrup and finished with a splash of soda water and aptly served in a beautiful blue and white patterned china teacup. It was garnished with a pink flower-like edible mushroom. This cocktail is paired with either the lamb or the wagyu main course.

The cocktail paired with the chicken main course was ‘Mangofera’, featuring wild mango or buah mawang from Borneo. It was combined with Pisco fresh lime juice and egg white. Served in a wooden tumbler resembling a small wine barrel, it had a creamy smooth texture and flavour, a little like a Piña Colada, which, although delicious, I felt perhaps a little too sweet for my palate as food pairing, although I’d be happy to enjoy it on its own in the future.

We now arrived at the fourth stage of our culinary journey and into the central belt of Peninsular Malaysia, where our dishes drew their inspiration from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor cuisine. We sampled the Cornfed Chicken with Betel Leaf and Fern, and also the Lamb Loin, Chinese Herbs Sweet Potato. Both are standard options within the ‘Tour of Malaysia’ menu, but for an additional supplement of RM 220, you may also choose to enjoy Miyakazi Wagu Beef (A5 marbling for those who take these things seriously).

Our chicken had been prepared sous vide and was served with a roll of betel leaf and ferns, as well as an incredibly crisp betel leaf coated in the lightest tempura batter. The chicken was moist, firm and remarkably juicy; indeed, our waiter confided that it was his absolute favourite. However, I felt the star on the plate was the fern and betel leaf roll, and I could have happily polished off several more with the beautiful turmeric-infused sauce.

Monica thought her lamb was perfectly cooked, pink in the centre with a layer of bright green Chinese herbs cutting the richness of the marbled lamb, accompanied by fondant sweet potato and okra. A beautifully rich, dark, glossy sauce surrounded the lamb. Indeed, both our main courses demonstrated some terrific sauce-making skills.

Desserts

To accompany our desserts, we had our final cocktail pairing of the evening, ‘Nutty Whisky.’ Sham served this to us in a tulip-shaped glass decorated with a brushstroke of melted dark chocolate. This drink was a clever amalgamation of peanut butter-infused whisky, Kahlua, Frangelico and chocolate. Given the ingredients, I was expecting a drink that would be far too sweet for my palate, but remarkably, it was not sweet at all. Chocolate and nutty notes came through in the overall taste, but the whisky remained the dominant flavour. I’d happily exchange this for the much more common espresso martini on any occasion.

The first of our duo of desserts was ‘Loyang Vol 4’, which contained bambangan, or wild mango from Borneo, which had been fermented and combined with coconut. It was presented in the shape of the traditional festive cookie moulds. Usually, it is made from a batter and fried in hot oil. However, here, the moulds have been filled with delicate ruby chocolate, iced with nitrogen, dotted with fermented mango and decorated with coconut chantilly cream and tiny flowers. Perhaps after seeing our reaction to the durian foam earlier, our waiter assured us that while the fermented mango may have the very faintest pungent fragrance, it was entirely durian-free! A very pretty-looking dessert.

Finally and by no means least, our final dessert was ‘Pandan.’ This dessert was inspired by the traditional and much loved ‘cendol’. Usually, this is shaved ice, served with palm sugar syrup and strands of coconut and rice flour jelly made from pandan leaves. In the hands of Chef Raymond, we were presented with a delicate quenelle of pandan-flavoured ice cream sitting on a strip of red bean jelly surrounded by crisp palm sugar foam. Although I’m not usually a huge fan of desserts, I could have easily eaten another portion of this. This is an excellent way to round off our ‘Tour of Malaysia Season 3’.

Beta KL Review

Beta KL is a must-visit for anyone looking for a unique and innovative dining experience in Kuala Lumpur. Chef Tham’s creativity and passion for Malaysian cuisine are evident in every dish he creates. The staff take great care to explain the sourcing of ingredients and the inspiration for every plate. You will emerge not only with the satisfaction of having enjoyed an excellent meal but also with having developed a greater understanding of Malaysian cuisine and why, quite rightly, it is something about which its people are incredibly proud.

Reasons to try the Tour of Malaysia Season 3 Menu at Beta KL: This hidden gem offers a stunning showcase of Malaysian cuisine, with dishes inspired by the four regions of North, South, East and Central and a menu that changes every three to four months. You can savour the authentic flavours of each region and the chef’s creative twists on them in a beautiful and chic setting. I’d also happily call in to enjoy one of Sham’s mouth-watering and expertly crafted cocktails; I’m confident they will go down just as easily on their own.

3-glass cocktail pairing: RM 138
4-glass cocktail pairing: RM 178
5-glass cocktail pairing: RM 208

Tour of Malaysia Season 3 at Beta KL
Cormar Suites, No. 20 Jalan Perak,
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+603 2181 2990
www.betakl.com

Beta KL Opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday: 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday & Saturday: 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Check out other contemporary restaurants in KL here and stay up to date with the latest food and beverage happenings in KL here and here.