After months of refurbishment, the Hilton Kuala Lumpur recently unveiled its brand new Chambers Bar & Grill located on the lobby floor of the hotel.
Entering the premise, we were bowled over by the sleek lines of its decor. It seems like everything in Chambers is shiny and reflective – right from its intertwined double-C logo, the metallic main door frame, the polished wooden floor and its super-reflective copper tinted satin metal ceiling. The tables and distressed leather seats are kept elegantly simplistic and low hanging funnel-shaped lamps throw warm highlights onto the food served. The look and feel of the restaurant is contemporary chic with a masculine edge.
More impressive, however, is the custom-designed Himalayan Salt Tile Dry Aging Cabinet at one end of the grill room. As explained by Chef Michael Elfwing, this is where most of their meats are hung and dry aged from anything between 14 to 36 days. This special cabinet has sophisticated temperature and moisture control functions to ensure different cuts and sizes of meats are dry aged perfectly. Through the process of dry aging, excess moisture is extracted resulting in meats with intense flavors and good tenderizing quality.
You won’t see any conventional stoves at the grilling station in Chambers. The innovative concept here is grilling food over hot charcoal, lava stones or in a sandpit around a charcoal pyre, just like the traditional “robatayaki” style. “Grilled on a skewer” clearly expounds the delicious wholesomeness of direct heat used in grilling, as we soon discovered later.
Keeping the sauces nicely warm
The menu in Chambers is easy and flexible. You can opt for the skewers whereby seafood, shell fish, beef, lamb and chicken can be ordered for sharing or as mains. Meat lovers are totally spoilt for choice as the skewer menu offers a great selection of top grade cuts.
Let’s start with some Charcoal Bread
We had the skewered Black Angus Tenderloin (RM45) which was really tender and juicy, flavoured simply with just salt and pepper. Lamb Rump with Guacamole (RM38) on the side was grilled to perfection – the pinkish centre oozing sweet juices while still maintaining a good bite.
Skewered Black Angus Tenderloin
Lamb Rump
Not too fond of red meat? We tried the Gindara Fillet (cod fish) dusted with curry powder (RM30) and Freshwater Prawn (weighing 300g!) (RM58) and both did not disappoint. The curry powder was actually rather mild so it didn’t affect the natural sweetness of the cod fish. A squeeze from the grilled lemon onto the grilled freshwater prawn perked up the flavours immediately.
Gindara Fillet with curry powder
Grilled Freshwater Prawn
The star of the meal must surely be the Tomahawk – a whopping 1kg Wagyu bone-in rib steak. With a marble score of 6, this huge slab of beefy goodness has been dry aged for 21 days, optimizing its tenderness level significantly. Priced premiumly at RM798, the Tomahawk is good for 3-4 persons to share (I’m talking about regular average eaters here). Grilled to a delectable “medium rare”, the Tomahawk’s good to the last tender bite, spewing sinful fatty juices in the mouth, as any self-respecting wagyu should.
The Tomahawk
Steak lovers will be pleased to note that there are several choices of premium dry aged steaks to indulge in. Take your pick from large prime cuts of 350g Black Angus Prime Rib dry aged for 36 days, 250g Black Angus Ribeye dry aged for 28 days or 350g Black Angus T-Bone Steak dry aged for 36 days. If you are a purist, then just have your steak with the Natural Beef Juice. Otherwise, there’s a rich flavoured Mushroom & Hennesy XO Sauce and if you prefer more heat, the Herb & Spice Hollandaise Sauce is good.
Tomatoes, Grilled Feta Cheese & Spanish Onions
Grilled Vegetables
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Don’t neglect the Sides – Chambers’ list is quite impressive and there are a few items which are rather unique too. We loved the Tomatoes, Grilled Feta Cheese & Spanish Onions, Grilled Vegetables, Smoked Rice with Salted Hand Churned Butter and Roasted 3-Onion Rice. These rice cakes are great carbs options if you wish to try something different besides the usual potatoes. My absolute favourite was the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, divinely delicious with a sticky sweetish sauce smeared on them. Prices of side dishes are between RM16-RM18.
Smoked Rice with Salted Hand Churned Butter
Roasted 3-Onion Rice
Currently there are only 4 items on the Desserts list. We tried the Rum Baba (RM25) – it’s a riot of colours on a plate and the Berry Trifle (RM25) was quite decadent with crushed raspberries, sponge cake, vanilla custard and strawberry jelly served in a glass. I liked the Chocolate Creme Brulee with salted caramel (RM18) as it was not too sweet and the custard’s really soft and smooth.
Rum Baba
Berry Trifle
Chocolate Creme Brulee with salted caramel
Connected to the Grill, the Bar offers an exhaustive range of premium spirits, beers, wines, liquors and classic cocktails. Order these to go with your meal at the grill or, it works the other way too – order from the grill and eat at the bar a la tapas style.
Chambers Bar & Grill
Hilton Kuala Lumpur
3 Jalan Stesen Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur
For reservations, please call 03-2264-2592/2596 or log on to www.life.hiltonkl.com
*Photo without watermark is courtesy of Hilton Kuala Lumpur