Trace @ Element Kuala Lumpur

New Man at the helm

September 16, 2018

Chef Man

There’s a new Man calling the shots at Trace Restaurant & Bar and the excitement ripples from the kitchen all the way to the dining area. Chef Man recently launched a new a la carte menu that boasts of more local dishes and flavours. 

Apart from the food, I love the view that Trace, located on the 40th floor of the hotel, offers diners, especially on a clear evening. The twinkling lights of the city, spread below my heels, never fails to mesmerise. Even in the day, it’s a thrill to be able to point out and identify the different building structures. 

Our little media group start the meal with a glass of sangria and, while waiting impatiently for the feast to come, we nibble on keropok (fish crackers) with a sweet chilli dip. 

Local offering of keropok with chilli dip instead of a bread basket

 A trio of appetisers is set before us. There’s the very delightful Kerabu Manga Isi Ketam (RM23) or Mango & Crabmeat Salad. This salad has cubed mango, anchovies, lime, chilli, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and a generous topping of crabmeat. Mix it all up for an explosive riot of flavours. 

From left: Sampling portions of Sharwarma, Kerabu Manga Isi Ketam and LiveWell Salad

The House signature, LiveWell Salad (RM27) is a combination of mesclun lettuce, fruit, beetroot, mozzarella, pine nut, beans, croutons and cherry tomato comes with a choice of dressing: Balsamic, Thousand Island, French or Herb Vinaigrette. It’s a perky salad and if you add on grilled prawn (RM11), grilled chicken breast (RM10) or smoked salmon (RM11), it makes a healthy full meal.

Wrap & Roll Sharwarma (RM32) does not actually come under appetiser; it’s listed under Burger, Wrap & Chips instead and is served with a side of steak fries or potato wedges. The cooked chicken breast is marinated in yoghurt and spices and then wrapped in tortilla together with fresh salad leaves and served with two dips. 

Wrap & Roll Sharwarma

Malaysian Oxtail Soup (RM38), braised with spices and vegetables is a Chef Man signature dish. Instead of that, I have Wild Mushroom Soup (RM19), served with a sliver of toasted garlic baguette. It’s creamy but it’s far too salty for my tastebuds.

Malaysian Oxtail Soup with toast

Western Main dishes range from salmon to chicken, beef and lamb. The Corn-fed Chicken Breast (RM51) is actually flattened breast meat rolled with a centre of chicken mousse and panfried.  

Cornfed Chicken Breast stuffed with chicken mousse and served with creamed spinach

Salmon Fillet of 200g (RM69) goes well with a light saffron cream sauce while the Lamb Chops of 350g (RM72) dance a great tango with thyme mushroom sauce. 

Lamb Chops with thyme mushroom sauce

Australian steak of about 200g with choices of sirloin, rib-eye or tenderloin. With this, perhaps the balsamic black pepper sauce, sautéed vegetables and potato au gratin. 

For the Western Mains menu, customers can choose sides of potato and vegetables and a sauce. I recommend the potato au gratin. This is a yummy, creamy offering with the aroma of grilled cheese. For vegetables, I’d pick the creamed spinach to go with any of the main items as it’s absolutely da bomb!

Pasta and pizza are not to be ignored. I’m not a fan of Marinara (RM47) but this one has plenty of seafood such as mussel, scallop and prawn in a zesty tomato-based sauce with chunks of tomato and flavour of fresh basil.

With its own pizza oven, Trace offers, in addition to thin crust pizza (from RM40) such as Mediterranean, Margherita and Pepperoni as well as Trace’s Signature Pizza with a local twist. The thin crust is slathered with organic tomato sauce and topped with onion, spicy chicken, lemongrass, onion, chicken serunding (floss) and mozzarella. Then finally, just before serving, it gets a scatter of coriander leaves and fresh lime wedges. Absolutely flavoursome.

Trace's Signature Pizza with chicken serunding, spicy chicken and lime wedges

There are more Malaysian flavours in the Go Local section. Malay-style Nasi Goreng Kampung (RM32) is a restaurant signature dish too. It’s fried with ikan bilis, scallop, prawn, fried chicken and topped with satay, prawn crackers, pickles and a fried sunny-side egg.

There are also traditional nasi lemak, mee mamak, Penang Char Kway Teow and egg noodles “Yee Mee Kungfu” (RM32). A thickened gravy, creamy and rich with egg is poured over the crispy deepfried yee mee noodles. There’s sliced chicken, fishcake, carrot, xiu bak choy and the star of the show, big fresh prawns.

Yee Mee Kungfu has big fresh prawns

Rempah Kuzi Kambing (RM58) braised lamb shank with spices served with ghee rice, pickled vegetables and papadom.

Nasi Goreng Kampung with satay

Dessert at Trace is a work of art. Those watching the waistline can opt for fresh fruit but it is a pity to miss out on the Pandan Tiramisu (RM28). Yup, you read that right. I too had initial misgivings. Pandan and tiramisu? Didn’t expect the combination to prove lethal and for someone who does not like pandan, it’s quite the tastebud opener and a neat finish to end the meal. 

Dessert platter with (clockwise from top left) bread pudding, pandan tiramisu, cheesecake and lava cake

There’s also Cheese Cake (RM30) and Bread Pudding (RM28) as well as a Dark Chocolate Lava Cake (RM36) but unfortunately, I allow the latter to grow cold, an unforgiveable act that spells death for any lava cake. 

phoenixbee@gmail.com

Trace Restaurant & Bar 

Element KL by Westin

40th Floor, Ilham Tower

8 Jalan Binjai, KL 

Telephone

+603-2771 3388

Website: www.elementkualalumpur.com/dining 

Opening Hours

Breakfast: 6.30am to 10.30am

All-Day Dining: 11am to midnight

Fresh new flavours

Pluck your own fresh basil leaves 

AN VIET 

My Best Friend wants to know why I keep going back to An Viet when there are so many other Vietnamese restaurants in my neighbourhood. I guess it’s because I’ve always enjoyed my meals here, especially knowing that An Viet is not just about profits. 
Its owners are genuinely concerned about food wastage and hope to create awareness about minimising wastage. So they encourage diners to choose how much rice and noodles they want. 
It also uses the freshest ingredients; indeed, at its outlet in Sunway Mall, diners practically pluck basil leaves off plants in pots. It can’t get any fresher than this. 
The mains are always cooked to order as the owners and chef Tuyen believe nothing beats the taste of freshly cooked food. Recently,  An Viet had made some updates to its menu. I couldn't wait to get over there for a taste. 

Deepfried spring rolls

Rice paper & mango salad served in a glass jar. Add condiments, shake well and
pour everything into a bowl to enjoy the multi layers of textures and flavours

We start with Cha Gio (RM7.90) deepfried spring rolls with vegetarian option available and Banh Trang Tron (RM13.90), a rice paper and green mango salad. The latter is a lot of fun. Diners add lime juice and a chilli sauce to ingredients in a glass jar, seal it close and shake to mix everything together. Then pour it out into a big bowl and eat. Lovely flavours in a shareable portion. 

Fat and juicy sugar cane prawn

MBF is always on the look-out for Chao Tom (RM11.90) but I usually find this to be too dry to enjoy. Fortunately for An Viet's version, the grilled minced prawn paste wrapped around sugar cane sticks is thick and juicy. 

Pork belly and hard-boiled egg braised in coconut juice, served with rice

Then it’s on to the mains. Oh, so many to choose from. Luckily, we are joined by a couple of friends, so we can afford to try more of the new items. 
I have my eye on Lo’n Kho Nu’o’c Du’a (RM17.90; RM19.90 with rice). This dish of pork belly and hard boiled egg braised in coconut juice is so yummy. Reminiscent of tau eu bak, the tender meat with layers of fat sandwiched in between, comes in a lighter sauce with sweet hints of coconut. 

Catfish cooked with fresh dill, Hanoi-style. Eat with vermicelli, herbs and fish sauce 

The staff recommends Cha Ca La Vong (RM23.90). This Hanoi-style fish with turmeric and dill is said to have originated from the Cha Ca La Vong restaurant in Hanoi, which has been named by US MSNBC as  5th in top 10 places to dine at.
Served in a cast-iron skillet kept hot over a portable gas stove, the chunks of catfish are cooked with fresh dill, turmeric, onions, chilli and scallions with a scattering of roasted peanuts. Comes with vermicelli, herbs and a tangy fish sauce. To eat, put herbs, lettuce and vermicelli in a small bowl. Add the fish and herbs from the skillet and pour in some nuoc cham (fish sauce with lime juice, chilli etc). 

Special Pho Bo Dac Biet with sliced raw beef, shank, tripe, tendon and beef balls 
served with lime, bean sprouts, chilli sauce and cruellers on the side

MBF is having Pho Bo Dac Biet (RM23.90), a Vietnamese national dish of beef noodles soup with sliced raw beef, brisket, shank, tripe, tendon and house-made pure beef balls. The soup, made by simmering beef bones with 18 herbs, spices and other ingredients for 12 hours, is both rich and complex in flavours. Add side condiments of beansprout, chilli sauce, fried cruellers, fresh basil (from the plant) and a squeeze of lime juice for added oomph.

Vermicelli in soup with pork ribs and bamboo shoot . Pluck fresh basil leaves and add. 

I don’t eat beef, but I am more than contented with Bun Su’on (RM19.90). This soupy vermicelli dish is topped with tender pork ribs and sliced bamboo shoot. Again, I add basil leaves, chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime juice. I must admit I was a little apprehensive about bamboo shoot but the one here is tasty without that strong pickled aroma. According to the staff, this is because the kitchen uses fresh bamboo shoots, not pickled.

Grilled lemongrass chicken and rice paper on Vietnamese vermicelli

Those who enjoy dry tossed noodles will love Bun Ga (RM16.90). The special Vietnamese vermicelli is springy with a certain resilence. It’s topped with grilled lemongrass chicken, shallots and roasted peanuts. Pour in some light, piquant nuoc cham and toss before eating. 

Banh mi chay with tofu patty and mushroom pate. It's so delicious
you wouldn't believe it's vegetarian

That ubiquitous Vietnamese sandwich, banh mi, is another favourite. This time, however, I notice that apart from fillings of pork chop and lemongrass chicken, there’s a vegetarian option. Banh mi chay (RM14.90) comes with tofu patty and a scrumptious mushroom pate to give it earthy notes. But to make a good banh mi, you need excellent bread and I’m pleased to find the baguette so light and crusty it crumbles at the slightest pressure of the teeth. 
The smooth, silky caramel pudding (RM6.90) is a fitting finale to our sojourn of Vietnamese flavours. 

phoenixbee@gmail.com

AN VIET (not halal)
Vietnamese Casual Dining 
LG2-127 Sunway Pyramid
Bandar Sunway, Selangor
Tel: 03-5611 2226
Website: www.anviet.com.my

OPENING HOURS 
Monday to Friday: 11am to 10pm
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday: 10am to 10pm