The Japanese oyster is a supple beauty that serves freshness and indulgence in a single mouthful. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
In a corner of the sprawling Artisan’s Playground in Kuala Lumpur is Burnt & Co. The restaurant is the brainchild of celebrated chef-owner Raymond Tham of the Karls Group, who helms Michelin Selected restaurants Skillet and Beta – both firm favourites among upper-crust KL denizens.
With Burnt & Co, Tham has passed the mantle to 29-year-old Jong Khen Kee, who spent four years learning the ropes at Skillet before spearheading the kitchen at Burnt & Co. Although Tham still has a supervisory role, Jong is instrumental in coming up with many of the menu items.
As its name implies, Burnt & Co is a barbecue-centric eatery, which utilises the industry heavyweight Josper oven, which sits alongside a Josper Basque grill. The open flames are fuelled by charcoal and this charred, smoky undulations permeate throughout nearly every single offering on the menu.
Jong is a talented young chef who has mastered the art of playing with fire to create beautiful meals.
“Here, we are focusing on barbecue so the cooking methods that we are using are not so complicated, we want to highlight ingredients like Japanese oyster – we just lightly smoke it and then it’s ready to go. It matches our concept, which is about getting good ingredients and letting them shine,” says the affable, dimpled Jong.
While the eatery offers a la carte options, perhaps the more interesting carrot on offer is the weekly chef’s table dinners, which are only held on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Priced at RM218, the six-course menu (there is also an option to add a seventh course – if your wallet and appetite permit) provides a wonderful window into all the best smoky offerings to come out of the kitchen. You can pair your dinner with four glasses of wine for an additional RM150 too.
Jong recently released a brand-new chef’s table menu, which is set to run until Chinese New Year. The meal begins with a fresh Japanese Oyster paired with Charred Pineapple, Green Apples and Chives.
The oyster is plump and voluptuous, with a slippery soft, almost velveteen mouthfeel. The mollusc’s natural brininess is countenanced by the green apples, which add fruitiness and the charred pineapples which imbue the meal with both a smoky underbelly as well as rich tropical nuances. This is a meal that is very refreshing yet simultaneously offers indulgence in a mouthful.
This course is paired with a glass of Australian Chandon Brut sparkling wine, which is a fun, festive affair that feels like the start of a fizzy party (and also complements the attributes of the oyster well).
Jong combines a French-style clear consomme with a lightly char-grilled piece of local snapper in this delightful dish. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Up next, you’ll get the Red Snapper with Consommé, Miso and Green Onions.
“I worked in a French fine-dining restaurant in KL so sometimes I combine French techniques into the dishes. Like here I made a clear French soup – consommé, which we make by char-grilling the fish bones. With the snapper, we char-grill it in the oven to get charred flavours,” explains Jong.
This is a dish that is superlative from the very first bite. The fish has a nice smoky quality and firm yet tender flesh. The consommé meanwhile has a rich depth of flavours, buoyed by smoke-fuelled notes that have seeped into the very essence of this broth. All in all, it’s the sort of wondrous meal that will leave you feeling soothed and sated in equal measure.
One of the mainstays of the chef’s table since its inception a few months ago is the simple-sounding Kailan with Kulim (a sort of jungle garlic that grows in Borneo), Budu and Garlic Chips. But trust me, this is anything but a simple dish. The kailan is lightly charred and topped with kulim oil and garlic chips and rounded off with a budu aioli.
The vegetable has an amazingly smoky quality that resonates from stalk to leaves and even has a lingering charred after-effect on the palate. This is topped by the crispy garlic chips, the tang of the budu aioli and most triumphant of all, the kulim oil, which is reminiscent of truffles and gives the dish a wonderfully opulent masterstroke, taking it to a whole new dimension.
It’s hard to imagine the humble kailan in a superstar role, but it really shines in this show-stopping dish. — Photos: BURNT & CO
The meal is complemented by the Kapuka Sauvignon Blanc 2021, an incredibly fruity wine from Malborough, New Zealand, awash with hints of guava. It’s the sort of addictive fare that pairs incredibly well with the equally addictive kailan.
The mocktail cleanser of Fermented Tomato with Cucumber has a sweet-sour quality that highlights both the cleanness of the tomatoes as well as the funky undertones provided by the fermentation. It’s also a very clever way to cleanse your palate so it feels brand new.
The cleanser is matched with the Lavina Tempranillo 2020, a Spanish rose that is light with a friendly accessibility to it.
Jong’s menu is carefully calibrated with fulsome, rich flavours and top-notch ingredients both playing a starring role alongside the main star: the charcoal-driven fire. And nowhere is this more evident than in his applause-worthy Duck Breast with Charred Noodle, Egg and Sesame.
Smoked duck and charred noodles make for a match made in heaven. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
A clear indication of a truly good meal is one that you remember long after you have left a restaurant. And here, the charred noodles and smoked duck leave an indelible, unbeatable impression. The duck is smoked to perfection and features pliant, tender meat alongside a fantastic orange glaze and a lick of Szechuan pepper oil, which adds a smidge of fieriness to the meal. But it is the noodles that are insanely good – each silken, slick strand is coated in flavourful smoke-laden notes that are embedded in every fibre and molecule of this dish. The noodles are so dizzyingly good, you’ll find yourself talking and thinking about this meal for weeks – nay – months after.
This sensational dish is paired with the Rey Sol Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, a Chilean red wine that is a hearty, robust tipple that melds well with the meat.
You can also opt to add a bovine addition to your meal, in the form of the Short Rib (add RM60) with Bao, Pickle and Glaze. The beef is braised and then char-grilled and smoked in a claypot. As a result, the meat is fabulous – a rustic outer layer imbued with hedonistic smoky notes gives way to incredibly malleable meat inside. It’s so good that the pickle and bao are mere side notes in this meal; honestly you don’t really need them because the meat is so fantastic on its own.
The decadent smoked chocolate ice-cream is good to the very last spoonful. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
End your meal on a high note with the Smoked Chocolate with Coffee Foam and Soil. Here, you will discover a supple, creamy chocolate ice-cream with fire-coated undertones alongside a java-rich foam and soil. It’s a satisfying sweet treat that is rich but not overwhelming and promises to cap your meal with a sense of nirvana.
Moving forward, Jong says he is hoping to bring in more exotic ingredients to supplement and complement the chef’s table dinners at Burnt & Co.
“Oh, we will definitely be bringing in more ingredients, like maybe indigenous produce from Sarawak where I am from,” he says, smiling.
Burnt & Co
Artisan’s Playground by Cookhouse
Level 1, Block H, Plaza Riverwalk
1, Jalan Selvadurai
51200 Kuala Lumpur
Chef’s table times: Thursday to Saturday: 6pm (first seating); 8pm (second seating)
Reservations: artisansplayground.my
