Close friends and families would know that anywhere that requires >20 minutes drive is considered far for us. However, on a rare Sunday night, we drove all the way to Bukit Jalil (only 30 minutes drive actually) to dine at Eat and Cook as this place is highly raved by our foodie friends.
Eat and Cook features two young Malaysian chefs – Yong and Lee who have lost their (hotel) job due to the pandemic last year. With talent, hardwork and passion, they started Eat and Cook, an intimate space where unique flavours and local ingredients shine.
Words must have gotten out, as this place is already booked out weeks in advance for dinner.
Only the finest and freshest ingredients is featured in Eat and Cook’s menu, and the menu changes from time to time. Every meal is crafted depending on what is available that day and can be tailored to your dietary preference and restrictions. The 5 course journey menu comes with 5 dishes of different sensations. The whole journey will take about 90 mins at RM260.00++ per pax. 8 course journey menu will take 120 mins at RM380.00++ per pax.
We loved the wine list and managed to try a few varieties that day. It’s a masterfully-curated wine list with lots of no-nonsense choices that fit right in with the menu and flavours.
We started with their in house freshly baked tom yum ciabatta with Thai-inspired butter infused with chillies and herbs. There’s nothing weird about inducing italian ciabatta with Thai flavours, in fact it was such a pleasant surprise to the palate.
The first icon in our 5 course journey menu is tomato so we were expecting a vegetarian dish. Tomato is indeed the star of the dish, as the facto-fermented Cameron Highlands tomatoes steal the show – intensified sharp and tangy flavours. The scallops were also pan seared to perfection. What surprises us was that the sauce and crackers were made of the scallop’s skirt, shell and trimmings. Love how the chefs work wonders with food ingredients that we would usually throw away.
Next up is a mushroom dish infused with jungle garlic perfume that has a scene that is very very close to truffle, impressive!!
A medley of different types of mushrooms and textures – dehydrated enoki, pickled shimeji, lacto-fermented king oyster, shiitake soil, king oyster braised in oyster sauce and garlic jungle on a bed of French lentil cooked in a very flavourful stock. Together the flavours absolutely sing and dance in my mouth!
Even the palate cleaner of Calamansi Lolipop with Assam Powder and Kefir Lime Dust is both fun and delicious.
We absolutely enjoyed the six-hour-cooked, budu-infused seared tomato sauce, with budu cream and balsamic glaze. The long hours of cooking took away the pungent taste of budu while retaining all the umami goodness. All these different flavors combine to achieve a delicious balance on our tastebuds.
Next up, a pasta dish – Piedmontese pure egg-yolk pasta filled with duck jus, bursting with duck flavours as we took a bite. On top we have dry-aged duck breast, crispy duck skin and a refreshing pomelo sauce to cut through all that richness. Brilliant!
What a perfect sweet ending to our lovely meal at Eat and Cook. The Apam Balik inspired dessert has a few interesting elements, – honeycomb cake, purple corn purée, deep fried corn silks, homemade peanut butter sauce and a savoury coconut ice cream.
Eat and Cook
