Chambers Bar and Grill, Hilton, Kuala Lumpur Nov 2013

Chambers Bar and Grill, located on the lobby level of the Hilton Kuala Lumpur, offers an innovative grill menu of prime aged meat cuts or fresh seafood served on skewers cooked ‘a la minute’ over lava stone, charcoal or on our ‘robatayaki’ style grill.  In other words, the cooking style here is all charcoal, fire or stone, in short, “stone-age” cooking.  Such a primitive style of cooking also implies that the chef has limited control over the heat.  It is a testament to the skill of the chef that this places serves excellently skewered and grilled seafood and meat.

Shortly after I was seated, I was served grilled Charcoal Bread, which is focaccia made with charcoal powder, olive oil, butter and a nut and spice blend.  Interesting!  Went excellent with the ice-cold butter served.

My first starter was Live Oyster with Sudachi Juice dressing (RM$34).  Two oysters arrived on a bed of salt with decorated with some kelp.  The oysters were not particularly big but they were fresh.  Regardless, the smell and taste of the ocean was a real delight!

My second starter was Grilled Hokkaido Bay Scallops, Espuma and Baby Spinach (RM$48).  The scallops were thick and succulent.  They went excellently with the espuma and baby spinach.  It was a perfect balance between the sweetness of the scallop and the savoriness of the espuma; the firmness of the seafood, the frothiness of the espuma and the crunchiness of the spinach.

I then tried the Grilled Tiger Prawn.  One gigantic prawn arrived on my table with a cut lemon and BBQ sauce drizzled over the prawn.  Though the BBQ sauce was delish, the white prawn flesh was so fresh, firm and succulent it could have simply stood on its own with just a little rock salt sprinkled over it.  That was how fresh it was. 

For the meat selection, Chambers offers a selection of prime meat cuts dry-aged in a custom-designed Himalayan Salt Tile Dry Aging Cabinet.  Most of the meat on the menu is hung and dry-aged from 14 to 30 days in this climate controlled cabinet where the excess moisture is extracted from the meat and gives the meat an intense depth of flavour while tenderising it beautifully.  For my main course, I chose the 250g Black Angus Ribeye Dry-aged 28 days (RM$188).  The steak comes with a selection of sauces:

Actual beef juice

Chunky mushroom sauce with Hennessy XO

Black pepper

BBQ

Herb and spice hollandaise

A purist most of the time, I chose the actual beef juice.  The steak arrived, beautifully browned and perfectly criss-crossed.  The flavour, though not the most intense I have tasted, was nevertheless reasonably strong and satisfying.  I chose to have my steak done medium and it was executed to exacting precision.  The steak was very tender and had great fat.  Grilled on charcoal, the steal was served simply on a wooden block.   The simple presentation worked.  Nearing perfection, the steak did not need any adornment.  The natural juices of the steak, with the fat content, I felt I like could eat this forever.  I usually order a red wine to heighten my enjoyment of the steak.  This time I ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon as usual.  However, this time it turned out that I got ahead of myself and the steak—–the steak stood proudly and confident on its own; any wine was unnecessary. 

Roasted Eggplant with Garlic and Oregano (RM$18).  It would have been better if they used many smaller eggplants instead of one huge eggplant.   The smaller eggplants would have absorbed the herb and seasoning better.  Right now, because it is so huge, the majority of it is tasteless.

Grilled Asparagus (RM$16).  They have chosen very good asparagus—big, green but tender. 

I love that this restaurant is not too big and is conducive for conversations.   In this age where money rules and restaurants operate on a seating schedule to maximise profits, I am glad that Chambers has a relaxed “come-when-you-wish; leave-when-you- wish” operating philosophy.  I love the sexy vibe of this restaurant.  The ambience here is casual contemporary chic with sleek mirrors, black leather seats and stark white china plates.  This is a restaurant for the sophisticated, upwardly mobile urbanite to have a relaxed quality meal.  The service here is excellent.  When I went on a Friday night, they were extremely busy, but the staff moved briskly and they never lost their composure.  They treated everyone equally, whether you are Caucasian or Asian, in a suit or in T-shirt and jeans.

To summarise, before, I had thought that Hilton was a very arrogant American brand.  They are not.  I got up to check out the charcoal grill in between courses.  The chef working long hours in front of the hot stove actually thanked me.  It seems that there actually remains a lot of exciting, excellent experiences to be discovered at the Hilton.  I guess the Hilton will see a lot of me in future.  Haha!   Chambers Bar and Grill is an excellent small restaurant so always make sure you have a reservation.  It is currently my favourite steakhouse in Kuala Lumpur.