Review of The Brasserie @ The St. Regis KL's ala carte menu

What is great food without great company to gush over how good every dish is?

That’s why I whole-heartedly welcome this new move by the Michelin-selected restaurant The Brasserie in St. Regis KL.

Not that you couldn’t dine with your company of choice here before, but it’s now made easier to do so with the new exclusive à la carte menu, curated by executive chef Azizi Taslim.

Embracing the concept of communal dining and sharing, The Brasserie retains its expertise in modern European cooking techniques, this time with ingredients proudly sourced from all across Malaysia.

We started off our tasting session with entrées, four of them (categorised into cold, raw, and hot), in fact.

For our cold entrée, we enjoyed heirloom tomatoes from Genting Highlands, served with creamy burrata made from the milk of Langkawi buffalo, pine nuts, aged balsamic vinegar, and basil.

It was a classically good salad that cannot go wrong, and the freshness of the tomatoes and burrata was sublime. Combined, the slightly tart, sweet, and herby flavours were just chef’s kiss.

Now, I’m not an oyster girlie because I’ve always assumed they would all taste pungently fishy or briny, with an off putting texture. But seeing how beautifully the raw entrée was prepared by chef Azizi, I couldn’t let his good work go to waste.

For drinks, we tried the lychee lime mint and berry blues, which were refreshing and delicious

And I’m glad I gave it a try.

The oyster was so fresh that it almost tasted like it had a natural sweetness to it, and the texture was so velvety smooth I could barely distinguish it from the condiments topping it.

This dish was served two ways, one with a topping of herby, lemony cream and another with three different kinds of fish eggs. I much preferred the lemony oysters, because it made the seafood all the more refreshing, while the other one was a bit too salty for me.

For the hot entrées, we had Hokkaido crab croquette which was as indulgent as it sounds, served with a dab of tartar sauce and atop a fine herbs salad.

Meanwhile, the grilled octopus was cooked to perfection, tender yet chewy. The char was mild enough to let the octopus’ naturally sweet and meaty flavours shine through. The dish was further elevated with pickled cauliflower, baby potatoes, and Romesco sauce.

Not gonna lie, the entrées themselves were already quite hearty and filling, and we weren’t even at the mains yet!

For soup, we had the smoked vichyssoise soup, which came to us lukewarm instead of chilled, perhaps to adapt to the local palate better?

Nonetheless, it was a comforting blend of green smoked potato leek soup, with saffron potatoes in the centre and a parmesan doughnut on the side. If you enjoy potato or pumpkin soup, this would be right up your alley with its hearty and smoky flavours.

As for the Pithivier de Louise, this is no doubt a rarer find in Malaysian restaurants. Pithivier is basically a round, enclosed pie made with puff pastry.

Chef Azizi’s Pithivier de Louise was filled with indulgent Angus tenderloin, foie gras, layered minced beef and chicken, and savoy cabbage.

It was delicious and savoury, with buttery smooth mashed potatoes and a truffle salad on the side creating a comforting pairing.

If only we weren’t so full by this point, perhaps we could have enjoyed more of the Boston lobster tagliatelle.

The pasta was cooked to al dente perfection, and the meaty lobster was tender and sweet. The bisque sauce was velvety and seasoned just right.

Finally, we reached dessert, and as the Gen Zs would describe something this good, the chocolate and peanut bar ate and left no crumbs.

The peanut butter ice cream was easily the star of the show, because while creamy and sweet, it actually wasn’t overly rich or heavy, and there was a divine balance of sweet and salty from the peanut butter.

It sat atop chocolate sable, dulce de leche, and dollops of Kelantan chocolate crémeux, all of which gave the dessert a delightful texture.

We ended our shared meals with a petit four of a Pahang chocolate bon bon and a chocolate taco.

Despite the sophisticated, upscale atmosphere created by the elegant decor, don’t let The Brasserie intimidate you.

Just as its name originates from the word “brasserie”, a French restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere and hearty food, Chef Azizi’s updated creations with local ingredients have found a sweet balance between being both premium and approachable.