Kampungkayell

Food, life, and fun in my "kampung,"(village), KL (Kuala Lumpur). Did I mention "food?"


Angus

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

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There are a plethora of food choices in Kuala Lumpur. The one that we were invited to to do a sponsored food review is not an obvious one that springs to mind. Angus Charcoal Grill Steakhouse, as you can see in the photos above, was very quietly understated. Almost too much so when you compare it to all the other eateries around which are practically screaming at you to "COME IN AND GIVE US A TRY."

When you walk in you do get the feeling that there is a certain "no frills" eating experience to be had here. And you will be partly right. Everything has been set up in such a way that it's functional, peaceful, casual, and focused on their main object, Beef. From the "run of the mill" 200 day old Australian Beef to Wagyu and beyond (which are accompanied with seriously "let's have an extra special treat" prices). On closer eyeballing however, there is a certain understated quality about everything.

Given that Angus Charcoal Grill Steakhouse is Japanese owned and operated, that quality should not be a surprise. It also includes a varied wine selection with 138 labels stored in a purpose built-in wine 'cellar.' I've put 'cellar' in quotation marks because I still have this idea that a cellar is meant to be dark and cool and lit with a single, incandescent light bulb. Nowadays, wine 'cellars' tend to be climate controlled environments which are light, airy, and surrounded by glass.

There are 6 Angus's in the region; in Kuala Lumpur, in Indonesia, and in Singapore.
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The cutlery above has a fantastic heft to it. When you hold it, it falls beautifully in your hand. Much like a good piece of metalwork should. And look at the tang of the knife, it's not stamped. It's forged, baby! It's very much a Lexus in the way it's quietly, unostentatiously, confident. The quiet, which was intended, I'm sure, was unfortunately disturbed by an F1 event down on the main concourse by the Porte Cochere entrance. But the way the staff were trained, down to the answers that Julian, the restaurant manager gave, spoke of a certain tick tock clockwork of Swiss/Japanese precision cocooning you.
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Julian says "we would like you to try our set lunch menu." After a hard day's work and a harder workout, I was ready for anything. Just bring on the food! Oh my! Seafood bisque. That's what it smelled like. Julian said "it's cream of carrot." I sniff again, and the unmistakeable salty scent of the sea assails my olfactory passages. "It's cooked with a chicken stock." I suspect that there's a bit more to the chicken stock than he's letting on, perhaps a leaf or two of wakame, but hey, a food establishment must be allowed it's trade secrets. The "Cream of Carrot" was creamy without being greasy, pureed to a silken texture and the perfect start to an evening.

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The Brioche shaped dinner rolls were warm and inviting. Pillowy soft on the inside and hot enough to melt the butter that Anna and Allan slathered on it. Being mindful of a challenge this month I nicked my pat of butter with my butter knife and scraaaaped it on the little bit I tore off the nipple of the roll. The rest, I passed to Allan.

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I feel this gust of a breeze at my elbow and when I look up AND look down again, there's my next course. There's that quiet, Japanese efficiency again. This time, it was a salad artfully arranged to maximise it's volume and wonderfully flavoured with a wafu dressing. Cold, crisp, and salty hits of bonito flakes prepared you for the next course.

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Now, in a restaurant, named after a breed of bovine famed for it's succulent meat, you wouldn't go to look for seafood. Not that there was anything majorly wrong with it. It was delicately flavoured grilled salmon (everything in Angus is charcoal grilled) and it was glossily presented. But hey, where's the beef?

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Chicken thigh (deboned) and breast and all the other dishes are plated on lovely brass plates on gorgeous wood grained liners. All the veg is trimmed to within an inch of their lives, much like someone who's had a brazilian or a boyzilian as the case may be.

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Then your eyes fall on this gorgeous, tanned beauty. A voluptuos flank, with tan lines criss crossing her entire body, we fell to with those forged knives. It was partly due to the sharpness of the knives but also to the wonderfully, aged beef that it just sliced apart like cool butter which was warm, juicy and beefy. Slipping it into the mouth was akin to rolling a creamy, buttery, savoury confection rolling on your tongue which melted away all too soon on a chew or two and making it's way unctuously down your throat only to leave you wanting more.

They all came standard with an Apple Soy Sauce which was unctuous enough to be somewhat silken but far from the stodgy sludges that come with steaks in other establishments. I spooned the slightest amount on as I believe that if you're going to eat Beef, you should taste the Beef and not anything else. The sauce should enhance the experience of that animal that gave up it's life for your enjoyment. Not mask it.

Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised and added a little more.

And that's why you come to a place like this. For the beef! That's why it's called Angus Charcoal Grill Steakhouse. This Australian beauty is yours with the set lunch for only RM52. Yes, that includes the soup, the salad, this voluptuousness, and a dessert.Set lunches start at RM33.

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After dinner, we adjourned to the bar and were treated to a UCC (Japan's premier coffee blender) "Gold Special" coffee. Anna had a cup of this mild roast brew. And I must admit, I prefer this to anything that Starbucks has to offer. That concern serves burnt coffee, people. What's wrong with all of you? Besides wifi and a comfy, airconditioned place, I can't believe so many people, me included, actually drink the coffee there. Mind you, I only drink the coffee to have an excuse to use their wifi. That's my excuse anyway. What's yours?

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A customer had also ordered this ice lemon tea which suffered a momentary detour so that I could satisfy my photographic food pornography moment before it went on it's merry way twixt his/her lips with nary a realisation that his/her drink had been manhandled. The tea was frozen into cubes and more warm tea with lemon infused syrup was served in that tall vase on it's right. What a pretty picture.

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I come back from my sojourn to the bathroom only to find this delectable delight placed in front of me. Chocolate Sponge, layered with white chocolate mousse and then another layer of chocolate sponge and topped with a passion fruit mousse and garnished with squiggles of chocolate syrup and passion fruit coulis said hello to my tonsils. Of course, it had to take the scenic route past my tastebuds which welcomed the view thoroughly.


djwdfm.jpeg Syphon coffee being put through it's paces


You need to order the coffee if for no other reason, it's scintillatingly entertaining watching it percolate through that percolator. The bartender boils the water using an alcohol flame, then mashes the coffee with a little water, sets it into that funnel up above and sits it into the bulb down below. With a rush and a gurgle, all the hot water is sucked up into the funnel where it sits with the coffee for about 20 seconds and then it slowly trickles back into the bulb.

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Angus also has a fully stocked standard bar and is open from 1130 till 4pm (3pm last orders) for lunch and 6 to 11pm (10pm last orders) for dinner.

“This article was done on behalf of Venusbuzz.com in conjunction with the UOB Lady’s Card promotion at Angus Charcoal Grill Steakhouse. Please check "http://www.venusbuzz.com/uobladycard for more details of the promotion”

Angus Charcoal Grill Steakhouse
Pavilion KL
6th floor
Tel; 0321456015


6 Comments

yum yum..

starbucks n coffee bean? yeah its usually paying the coffee price as an entrance fee to bum there for a few hrs with free wifi!

say no to burnt coffee!

fuuwah... excellent shots.. bila nak makan angus?!

*Drooling all over the keyboard*

Always wanted to try this place, but the pleb in me would probably end up using the wrong cutlery & etc... *_*

Darling, doubt you could do that lah babe ;-) Am sure you've got it all sussed out ;-)

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