The nondescript colonial-style building at Damansara Heights looks deserted in the late morning. “We should have parked here,” murmurs my colleague, waving her hand at the large compound as we cross the road towards the whitewashed building. Forget Waze or Google Maps, this dedicated food hub called Republik is so new that we needed good old-fashioned directions to get here.
The two-storey building is poised to be a trendy playground for food lovers and intents on playing host to a variety of good food as well as food aficionados in the Klang Valley and beyond. Leading some of the unique dining concepts to be introduced at this potential ‘food hub’ is Playte, a contemporary dining restaurant with a playful twist of Asian gastronomic flavours.
The brainchild of three young culinary talents – Brendon Chen, Sharina Aidid and Kae Huey – Playte aims to showcase locally sourced ingredients combined with European sensibilities to create unique ‘fusions’ that tease the palate with imagination and ingenuity.
Is there a word in gastronomy which provokes such extreme reactions as the loaded label "fusion"? The fusion dining experience has become trendy in recent decades, but it's an ancient tradition. People have been mixing cuisines since time began, sometimes by accident, sometimes by necessity, in attempts at making foreign flavours more palatable or by substituting unavailable ingredients for local ones.
However, the word ‘fusion’ is often greeted with suspicion despite the fact that these days ideas travel rapidly around the world and many chefs as well as home cooks seem perfectly happy to mix and match.
Personally, I think it’s a great thing because so long as it’s done considerately, the resulting cross-cultural hybrids can be both eye-opening and delicious. After all, many of the kitchen classics we now idolise would never have come into being if someone, somewhere, hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and played with a bit of fusion.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The hive of activity behind the open kitchen which is the mainstay of the restaurant belies the quiet, almost deserted exterior where renovations are still underway at the main building. “We’ll be opening soon,” promises the affable Sharina as she ushers us in warmly into the cosy interior of Playte.
The clean lines of the restaurant and sparse deco with plenty of natural light filtering in make for a tasteful and relaxed atmosphere. “Your starter will be arriving soon,” she announces, smiling as we’re handed the menus.
It's not always easy trying to read a menu while hungry like the wolf (to be fair – it was almost lunch time) and exchanging pleasantries with a dining partner. The eyes flit about like a pinball, pinging between set meal options, side dishes and today's specials. Do I want comforting treats or something healthy? What's cheap? Will I end up bitterly coveting my companion's dinner? Is it immoral to fuss over such petty, first-world dilemmas? Oh God, the waiter's coming over.
But have no fear. Playte’s menu doesn’t quite befuddle even the most confounded of diners. Like the restaurant, the menu is streamlined into several sections with enough choices for the discerning, and not as many – for the annoyingly indecisive patron. What’s more, the prices are pleasantly easy on the wallet for a remarkable selection of contemporary signature dishes.
The menu is divided into several categories – Raw, Small, Mains, Sweet, and Beverage, in addition to a decent Tea Selection. What’s even better? The offerings are constructed for sharing, with decent-sized portions that both my colleague and I could share without launching into a cutlery standoff for the last morsel left on the plate.
DELICIOUS OFFERINGS
And the dishes served up doesn’t disappoint. Delicately gorgeous on plate, the snapper from the Raw selection wows us immediately. Looking deceptively simple, the lightly-cured fish in soy sauce bursts on our palate with freshness. But there’s so much more in the plate than meets the eye.
It’s tricky to pin down the contributions of individual ingredients – the shredded daikon, brown butter sauce drizzle, the tangy-sweet tamarind and raisin puree with a touch of briny undertones in the form of the kombu powder (which is sourced from a type of thick flat seaweed cultivated in the northern waters of Japan and frequently used for extra flavouring) – and yet the dish is a marriage of raw and cooked, fresh and aged, with a hundred miniscule but distinct shifts in crunch. Eat it, and it’s like day has begun, whatever the hour. It wakes you up.
The second selection from the Raw menu pales slightly in comparison but nevertheless represents the kind of culinary skills reserved at high-end restaurants. There’s no wrong way to cook beef, as far as I’m concerned, but this carnal perfection in the form of a puck of raw cow, chopped, seasoned and spiced, complete with pickled ginger, preserved radish and tofu dressing is delicious. Like the best tartare, this one sits well on my palate, with a far more welcoming mouthfeel than sinewy steak.
The indulgent maitake mushroom offering from the ‘Small’ selection is my colleague’s favourite. Crackling potato chips on a bed of pillowy potato foam drizzled with rosemary oil. “Don’t pour it in! You’re supposed to drink it!” she whispers, aghast, as I tilt the tiny glass of broth into the bowl.
Oops. I sip it instead and the wholesome mushroom broth hits the spot. Chips, foam, broth – all potato – form the perfect concoction if you’re feeling blue and in dire need of carbs complete with a hearty ‘shroomy broth to soothe your soul!
The signature ox-tongue (which is our next dish), says Sharina, has been braised until tender for at least three to four hours before lightly seared for caramelisation and colour. “It’s my favourite dish,” she confides, adding: “The meat sits on the salsa verde (an herbaceous uncooked sauce) and is topped with a special decadent XO sauce complete with cured egg yolk and pickled onions.”
It’s understandable why this is considered Playte’s ‘star dish’. Slowly simmered and seared, it’s another example of a special texture – rich and tender – that can’t be imitated.
Moving on to the mains, we have the luxurious wagyu rump cap complete with salt-baked sengkuang, laksa leaves, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms and watercress puree. What’s missing from the plate is the fried okra, but the tender beef slices drizzled in pureed laksa leaves are moist and delicious.
The chicken leg and breast with the generous creamy Shaoxing wine-infused clam beurre blanc and served with deep-fried kalian, braised daikon with a drizzle of parsley oil, pales slightly in comparison to the richly textured ox-tongue or the buttery wagyu slices. Then again, I’m not so much a fan of poultry. Personal preferences aside, the chicken was cooked to perfection.
JUST DESSERTS
The dessert menu is simple. It’s refreshing to note that Playte has bucked the trend of concocting overtly-ambitious sweet treats with carefully composed desserts that reward you for saving a little room at the end of a hearty meal.
The coconut sorbet with passion fruit custard, mangoes and topped with jasmine tea sables is a refreshing treat suited for our tropical weather. The sweetness combined with the tangy custard and lime zest is a much-needed palate cleanser. However, our favourite has to be the Gula Melaka gelato drizzled with caramel sauce, served with a generous sprinkling of candied candle nuts, caramelised white chocolate and dark chocolate cookie crumbs.
The last course can re-orient the meal, and the day. It can send you out the door with a feeling that lasts long after you’ve paid the bill. The desserts are the perfect conclusion to a hearty meal.
Created by three intrepid chefs – all products of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu – it’s spearheaded by Brendan who’s been busy running the kitchen and preparing our meals from the get-go. “Besides the beef, our ingredients are all locally sourced,” he tells me, revealing: “This is the fourth and final menu selection we’ve come up with, after a year of testing recipes out and experimenting.”
While the menu comprises dinner time selections that are bound to wow patrons with exciting combinations of diverse ingredients and unique ensembles, Sharina adds that Playte will also be coming up with an ‘Egg-inspired’ theme for their breakfast and lunch offerings, suitably themed as ‘Eggy’.
For a teaser, we’re presented with a simple crispy brioche sandwich of scrambled eggs, coupled with sriracha mayo, cheddar cheese and caramelised onions. It’s delicious and something I’d be willing to take a drive all the way from Bangsar to get. It hits the spot, I sigh. Never mind, the decadent menu we sampled earlier; there’s always room for a hearty egg sandwich!
With an exciting menu planned, there’s no doubt Playte is set to be an fabulous new find for patrons seeking a delightful degustation menu with a difference.
PLAYTE
Where: G.0.1, Ground Floor, Republik, Jalan Medan Setia, Bukit Damansara, Damansara Heights, KL
When: Opens daily: 6:30pm – 10pm
For info, go to www.facebook.com/playte.my