One key difference between Jack Weldie’s Chipta 11A and other top omakase spots in Kuala Lumpur is that the North Bornean native infuses his Japanese repertoire with indigenous ingredients that reflect his Kadazan-Dusun tribal upbringing.
Hence, in place of vinegar-spiked sushi rice, Jack uses “asam Jawa” or local tamarind as a souring agent, giving his sushi rice a brownish hue, and a familiar, yet not-quite-Japanese flavour.
Our dinner there last Sunday:
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Sashimi tartare over crispy Indian idli with Buah Kulim emulsion, served alongside chicken collagen broth with kaffir lime.
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Japanese chawan mushi (egg custard).
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Ankimo tofu, yuzu, Kulim oil, jicama.
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Tempura of barracuda, with Korean golden pear. Served with kaffir lime-rose petal blended salt.
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Dry aged Kampachi 2 days with dried pear, sauce pickled wasabi and nori, shoyu pearls on top.
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Pickles palate cleanser: yuzu daikon, pickled cabbage and ginger.
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Sea bream (Tai), dry-aged for 14 days, with lime zest and calamansi juice.
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Aka ebi - red langoustine from Argentine, topped with grated duck egg yolk and salt.
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Hokkaido scallop, fish garum (fermented for two years) butter, sansho.
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Blue mackerel, topped with sour pickled ginger stem, wrapped in perilla leaf with a salty-sweet-sour accent.
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Chutoro (tuna belly) aged 14 days, with Buah Kulim emulsion and shio kombu salted seaweed on top.
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Otoro aged 14 days, paired with green chilli paste.
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Chopped raw Wagyu beef, paired with bone marrow paste, seaweed and tamarind rice.
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Chicken thigh marinated with ginger, aged gula melaka shoyu sauce, drizzled with jalapeno sauce, accompanied by deep-fried pucuk manis (native fern) and a paste of sengkuang/jicama and spinach.
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Uni (sea-urchin) sushi.
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MB7 Wagyu (dry-aged for a week), char-grilled, served medium-rare with pickled mustard seeds, beef jus, beetroot purée, Brazilian spinach.
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Scallop rice roll, with herbal brew and baby corn.
Dessert
18) Chilli sorbet, infused with cinnamon, layered with bunga kantan cream, with asam jawa-beetroot ginger.
Outstanding meal, with a well-paced service. One leaves the place feeling that one had not over-eaten, despite spending 3.5 hours over 18 course-items. We’ll be back for sure.
Genial chef-patron, Jack Weldie, is soft-spoken - very friendly & welcoming.
Fellow diners at the counter next to us that evening included Wayne Wong, sous chef of Two-Michelin-star Dewakan.
Address
Chipta 11A
11a, Jalan 20/16, Sea Park, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +6011-2899 6296
Operating hours:
Wed-Sat 12.30pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm
Sun, Tue 6pm-10pm
Closed on Mondays
