Bakar by BIG @ Bangsar - Best Casual Fine Dining Restaurant

VINote: Bookings are essential. Also, if you're keen to try their signature dishes, pre-ordering your meal beforehand is necessary too. Limited orders of each dish are served daily.

Bakar

"Oh no, it's close!" I said then frowned while pointing at the closed doors.

"Maybe there's another entrance," my friend replied reassuringly.

"Hey no, it's open! I see lights and moving shadows behind the tinted windows!" I squirmed excitedly.

Thankfully.

It was a Thursday evening and Bakar was running on full capacity. Thinking that not many would venture into this quiet part of town for dinner, I was proven wrong otherwise.

We took a seat at a rather cramp and uncomfortable stretch of bar-like tables and high chairs, the only vacant spot in the restaurant. We didn't make any prior reservations that evening, hence the seating arrangements. Nevertheless, we were blessed with bright white neon lights that felt great for picture taking.

For the full Bakar Dinner Menu that we had that evening, Click Here.

Bakar takes pride of being the best contemporary barbecue restaurant in town. The key element - everything is prepared over flames of charcoal fire. Also expect to see loads of modern elements on a plate here - with ingredients that you'd never thought would work so well together, experimental dishes if you may.

My Big Plan for the evening was to sample their much sought after Short Ribs Platter. Disappointingly however, we were told that limited portions are served every night. Reiterating my point that bookings are crucial.

I was sadden in the beginning no doubt, but my feast turned out equally scrumptious, the alternatives were magnificent. Shall we start?

Chicken Salt Fries. Rm15.

The Hit here: Seasoning. Deep fried to a golden brown perfection and sprinkled with magical seasoning. #ganjainthemaking

Spring Chicken. Rm58.

Art on a board - amazing and succulent spring chicken, pickles, radish and toum sauce (aioli). Tip: Stuff it all into the flat bread. You'd get a totally different experience afterwards.

Ribeye Steak. Rm108.

Our second main didn't looked as attractive as the first, but boy was it good. This giant slab of steak is possibly one of the best steaks I've had in awhile. The sauce stood out - made from a concoction of beef meat, marrow, sesame oil, herbs and seasoning.

Charcoal Pavlova. Rm35.

Food porn in all its glory! A gentle tap on the charcoal pavlova shell, reveals a delicately laden raspberry sorbet, chocolate mousse and macadamia brittle on a shortbread base. You must - you must order this!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10. Today's feast at Bakar felt special. All the dishes I sampled, from the appetizer to the dessert, was marvelous. Being able to sustain my excitement from the beginning to the very end of a meal, is quite rare. The thing that I really liked about this place, not only was the core ingredient of each dish executed right, the side dishes that came with it, had a distinct flair to it, which was somewhat confusing at first but complimented the overall flavors very well. The dishes felt memorable, even while I'm writing this, I'm still reminiscing about that pavlova! Again, bookings are essential. Worth the penny? Yes, clearly - definitely.

Bakar is located at:
Address: 11B, Lorong Kurau, Taman Weng Lock, Bangsar 59000 Kuala Lumpur
Phone: T: +603 2280 0073 / +603 2282 3572
Opening Hours: Lunch 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Tuesday - Saturday), Dinner 6:00pm to 12:00am (Tuesday - Saturday), Closed on Sundays and Mondays.