Steakhouse TTDI – The Fire Grill New Menu

Steakhouse TTDI – The Fire Grill New Menu

Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Monica Tindall

*Now closed.

Upon entering The Fire Grill, a steakhouse in TTDI, my very first thought is, “Wow these guys are warm-and-fuzzy.” If this isn’t a term you’re used to, let me explain. Warm-and-fuzzy: bringing about highly sentimental and comforting feelings. We are greeted by the owner Shankar Santhiram with the kind of hospitality that brims over onto everyone. As Shankar introduces himself and his entire staff I want to take them all home with me, or least I’m thrilled to be staying with them for dinner. There’s a sign on the window that promises to serve food with love and care and I believe it.

TTDI Steakhouse – The Fire Grill

TTDI is definitely a neighbourhood destination, not too far of a journey for Bangsar, Damansara and surrounding residents to make a trip. The space is beneficially located on the corner shop in the strip. There’s a great little terrace out front and the inside dining room is surrounded by windows with sunlight shining in. I love the feel of walking past a busy café and being able to see what’s happening inside. Someone on the team has a noticeable green thumb and the space is full of life with lush green plants.

Gin Collection

I heard a rumour about Shankar’s love for gin and without haste, it is confirmed! A sign of a good restaurant is when you have a drink in your hand before the food menu is even on the table. So we begin with the gin-sanity as the menu states (hey it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere)! I start with the Monkey 47 Sloe with Fentimans Botanical Tonic– in hopes of going slow since it’s really only 4 pm at this point. Who am I kidding? Monica opts for the Roku Gin served with ginger and tonic, before I know it I’m double parked (as my Aussie friends would say) with not one, but two drinks in hand.

Grill Menu

Now we are ready to get down to business, The Fire Grill’s new dinner menu. I’m going to say upfront that we tried just about every dish on the menu and everything was delicious!

It used to be when you heard the word “grilled” the only thing that came to mind was a steak or a burger. Nowadays the culinary world is moving into a grilled state of being. If you’ve been following the celebs on Internet television you’ll see that chefs are actually grilling everything! The Fire Grill is showing us what can be done on a grill with a comfort food vibe.

Wine

As Monica and I are sucking up the last sips of our G&T’s we order a couple of glasses of wines from the cheap and cheerful selection of old-world wines. We try one each of the house pouring, Banfi Collepino Toscana IGT RM28 and Michel Lynch Bordeaux Blanc RM28. The by-the-bottle selection offers a few fun wines, my next visit I’ll try the Murrieta Rioja Blanco RM180 and the Cabernet by Enira from Bulgaria RM190.

TTDI Steakhouse – New Menu at The Fire Grill

Our feast commences with Scallop Ceviche (RM19) with thinly sliced scallops, lemon juice, coconut cream, crispy lotus root. Shankar prefers the larger scallops from Japan or the U.S. rather than the local small scallops. Most of the dishes on the menu have a localized touch; here we see coconut cream, lotus and a hint of chilli. The scallops are fresh as can be and the sauce is yummy from the coconut cream, it reminds us of eating ceviche on an exotic Polynesian beach.

Next, we move on to the Bay-Salt Grilled Prawns (RM19) with tiger prawns, bay-salt and house-made sweet chilli sauce. Luckily there are plenty of prawns so we don’t have to fight over them. The prawns are flash-grilled and accompanied by an intriguing bay leaf-pink salt and served with a touch of olive oil on fresh arugula. Shankar is proud of the sweet chilli sauce but the prawns are perfect on their own with a touch of the “secret bay-salt.”

To ensure we do get some beef on our grill adventure we try the Rib-Eye Pizza (RM49) with 200g Australian rib-eye, béchamel sauce, mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella. Never judge a book by its cover! As a New Yorker when I see a pizza without red sauce oozing from the sides I freak out. Fear not! This pizza will not disappoint it was a favourite at our table. I’m pretty sure we asked for a box and someone (no names will be mentioned) finished the entire thing. The thin crust is house-made and is indeed thin. The tender rib-eye is flash grilled to medium-rare before placed on top of the dough. A touch of nutmeg is added to localize the sauce, Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions and loads of mozzarella on top is cause for finger-licking.

We move to the mains with Salmon Coconut Cream Spinach (RM 49) with Chilean salmon fillet, chilli flakes, turmeric, coconut creamed spinach. We love this dish; the salmon is absolutely cooked to perfection, moist and creamy with a crisp layer of skin. We are feeling very good while eating this and can clearly see the Indian influence in the kitchen with the turmeric, chilli and coconut oil. Everything is in balance and we do fight over the last bite.

Last but not least we dig our forks into the Crispy Duck Leg Confit with creamy potato purée, garlic oil broccoli, duck glaze. This dish is not for the faint of heart; the local duck is submerged in brine for 48 hours, then slow-cooked in its own fat and finally double-fried for crispiness, truly a labour of love. The duck is salty and we are instructed to mix everything together to balance out the dish; this works. If you are one of those picky eaters (like I was as a kid) and you dissect everything one-by-one then you may find the duck too salty. You really gotta get in there and mix it all up – that’s how it works! P.S. did I mention the duck fat in the potatoes? Yes, please!

Dessert

For dessert, I usually go for another glass of wine but we are persuaded that dessert is a must, so even if you don’t have a sweet tooth give it a go. We indulge ourselves with the Strawberry Semifreddo emanating of goodness with heavy cream, egg yolk custard, brown sugar and Cameron Highlands strawberries. Growing up, one of my Grandmother’s guilty pleasures was strawberry semifreddo and The Fire Grill version brought me right back to sitting next to her chewing on frozen bits of strawberry, that texture and feeling are like nothing else.

Somehow after we finish eating and drinking everything in sight, we still have the energy to engage in meaningful conversation. Shankar Santhiram is not only a restaurateur; he is an executive leadership coach with a news column and a radio show. His topics dive into how work matters, unlocking your potential and doing things with a purpose. After your next dinner maybe Shankar can give you some advice on how to keep your employees, co-workers or significant other motivated and inspired. I am sure if you take them for a dinner at The Fire Grill, they will be on your side back at the office or at home.

Reasons to visit The Fire Grill, a steakhouse in TTDI: their promise to serve food with love and care; Salmon Coconut Cream Spinach; fresh ingredients; world-class gins; value and quality; sense of humour (especially the signs in the washroom– go have a peek for yourself).



The Fire Grill
Steakhouse in TTDI
24 Jalan Datuk Sulaiman
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
+603 7492 2197
[email protected]
www.thefiregrill.com

Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday: 12 pm – last orders at 9:30 pm
Sunday: Closed

Find more grill restaurants here and stay up to date with the happenings around Malaysia here and here.