Dewakan came to the notice of foodies here with its inventive take on local Malaysian herbs and fruits/vegetables, weaving them into its dishes which uses more formal (French-influenced) techniques, with some molecular gastronomy touches. Chef Darren Teoh is a lecturer-cum-chef at the culinary school where this restaurant is located.
Dewakan has also just become Malaysia’s first-ever entry in the 2019 Asia’s Best Restaurants List, now into its seventh edition. So, a visit was definitely on the cards - we’d been delaying it for years because of the rather isolated location of the restaurant, incongruously perched at the bottom of a monolithic academic building within a college campus situated 23km from Kuala Lumpur city centre, and with an unavoidable 1.5 to 2-hour car journey thru KL’s energy-sapping traffic crawl in the evenings. But we decided to brave it this time.
The cream-coloured dining room was pretty spartan, with well-spaced tables (which did nothing to alleviate the noise coming from a loud table of guffawing diners next to ours), serviced by a slick, efficient team of wait-staff.
What sets Dewakan apart from other fine dining restaurants in Kuala Lumpur is its brave inclusion of some very Malaysian ingredients in its repertoire, for example, strong-smelling condiments like Terengganu “budu” (fermented fish sauce), assertive herbs like “temu kunci” (fingerroot or lesser galangal) and “ulam raja” (a leafy edible fern) - common items on dining tables in Malay villages, but usually never found in a fine dining restaurant. This place is like a “Noma-in-the-tropics”.
We opted for the 16-course Menu Kayangan (MYR370/US$88 nett per head):
“Choy Sum” Nori - Edible wispy crisps made from “choy sum” leaves served between twigs, with a “budu”-flavoured aioli dip.
Mushroom Tartlet - these strong, earthy-flavoured tartlets are made from “cendawan Kukur” (wild mushroom), mushroom purée and brown cheese, topped with shaved candlenut for added nutty richness.
Baby Corn - These are grilled baby corn (reminiscent of those served by Michelin-starred Cheek by Jowl in Singapore and GAA in Bangkok), corn emulsion, crab cracker and garam marsala.
Mango Curry - a mild, creamy soup which was supposedly reminsicent of a curry made by a Malayalee friend of Chef Darren’s grandmother.
Yoghurt & Roselle - little pastels of frozen yoghurt with roselle “leather”-wrap, cuttlefish bits, cumin and lime.
Prawns warmed in Starfruit Juice & Herbs - Various native Malaysian herbs like “ulam raja” and cashew leaves are served with Ming prawns, salted limes, starfruit juice, drizzled with kaffir lime leaf oil.
Savoury Cakes - deep-fried little globes - the batter was folded with a “serunding” (spiced, cooked mince) of mackerel, then filled with smoked roe emulsion and mulberry jam.
Banana hearts with Kerdas - dainty, impossibly pretty little boats carved out of banana hearts, brushed with “taucheo” (fermented beanpaste), topped with “kerdas” chips (the usually obnoxious-smelling pods from native Malaysian tree), fiddlehead ferns, pickled rose and smoked daikon.
Goat Tartare - Smoked goat leg meat with pickles, “Kulim” (a forest fruit with a garlic-like scent) oil and raw pumpkin.
Roasted Eggplant with Buah Keluak & Candlenut Oil - oven-roasted eggplant brushed with buah keluak paste, with a green "stem"consisting of delicately-arranged tiny petai belalang pods. The “eggplant” is served with an earthy foam made from button mushroom stock and candlenut oil.
Slow-cooked Red Snapper with Broth made from Temu - this light fish broth was flavoured with “Temu Pauh”, a native root from the same family as ginger and galangal, but with a green mango flavour.
Black Banana Porridge with Duck Sausage - A porridge of brown rice with blackened banana, cured duck egg yolk and salted mustard greens, served with a duck-meat sausage.
Kid Goat from Boden Farm, with Petai-So - grilled goat-meat (from a farm in the negihbouring state of Negeri Sembilan), brushed with a miso-“petai” paste, served alongside minced goat-meat with Chinese chives and lime juice.
Tapai with Pickled Rose - “tapai” is usually a fermented rice wine, but we’re made to understand that the sourish-tasting version here is non-alcoholic to cater to Muslims.
Sweet Leaf Sorbet & Nam Nam - cubes of poached nam nam is served with sweet leaf sorbet and topped with a wafer made from dehydrated milk and dusted with roselle powder.
Temuan Chocolate with Jaggery Ice-cream - the chocolate is named after the Temuan aboriginal tribespeople who tended the cocoa trees which yielded the beans this chocolate is made from, served with a banana ganache and bee pupa.
Popsicles - these are Chef Darren Teoh’s take on Malaysian “ais krim potong”, but with more elaborate flavours here - one with “ciku” & salted lime flavour, and one with banana & “ulam raja” flavour.
Overall, a rather rewarding “adventure” dining experience. The dining room is pretty open, so be prepared for noisy fellow diners, if any.
Address
Dewakan
KDU University - Utropolis
Seksyen U1, Jalan Kontraktor U1/14, Glenmarie
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603-5565 0767
Opening hours: 6.30pm to 10pm, Mon-Sat. Closed on Sundays.
