THE very refreshing TCL Salad with a heap of crushed avocado topped with thin, crispy lotus root slices sitting on a bed of lettuce, crabsticks and cherry tomatoes was an excellent start to our lunch at Two Chefs Lab in Sungai Long, Selangor. The homemade sesame dressing was fragrant and lightly sweet, with a little tartness.

Then the scrumptious bites of Norwegian Salmon Sushi Fiesta (RM11.80), a trio of salmon sushi topped with onion sauce, spicy yuzu and avocado with flying fish roe, reminded us why we have come so far to this restaurant. One of the owners, Chef Chua Kok Hua, represented Malaysia and became a finalist in the World Sushi Cup 2018 in Tokyo last August.

He had started this restaurant offering Japanese cuisine and coffee culture with fellow chef Edmund Chong. Both had worked in Japanese restaurants in Singapore.

The Buta Kakuni Don Set (RM23) had slices of braised pork belly and onsen egg on top of rice, two deep-fried prawns, a salad and fruit. The braised pork belly was tender, creamy and delicious. It tasted like char siu that melted in the mouth.

Korobuta Shogoyaki Don (RM33), which is pan-fried pork (from the black Berkshire pig) with ginger and rice topped with onsen egg, was a recommended dish but we found the meat a bit salty. I guess if we had stirred it all up with the rice and egg, it would have been fine. But I do love the perfectly done onsen egg here.

I’d not had a Japanese paper hot pot (RM30) in ages. It seems to have disappeared from the menus of most Japanese restaurants here. I loved the Japanese Paper Hot Pot with Olive Pork at Two Chefs Lab. The stock was naturally sweet, with generous slices of olive pork, shiitake, enoki, carrot and cabbage in it. All the essence of these, especially the pork, seemed to have been distilled into the soup. Olive pork is from a special breed of Spanish pigs that are fed olive oil. I liked the soft texture of the “white” meat too.

We also enjoyed a Mixed Sashimi platter (RM68) with Norwegian salmon, salmon belly, scallops, tuna and butter fish.

Chef Chua served us a complimentary Norwegian Salmon yee sang with a citrusy and fragrant yuzu dressing. In it were little crispy curls of salmon skin, jellyfish, walnuts, peanuts, shredded cucumber, carrot, radish and slices of raw salmon. It was so delightful, with the light yuzu dressing bringing it all together. The star ingredient was, of course, the salmon skin.

Yee sang is now available at Two Chefs Lab. Abalone yee sang is RM68, Salmon yee sang RM58, and Abalone and Salmon yee sang RM88.

My next trip there will definitely focus on the chef’s recommendations written on the board. These include Kimchi Pork Belly (RM22), Baby Scallop Sushi (RM68), Engawa Sushi (RM8.50) and Crabmeat Chawan (RM12.50), among others.

We didn’t have room for dessert, but the chef makes an excellent Tofu Cheesecake.

For those of us who usually dine in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, the prices are a steal with these quality ingredients. I thought my journey there, sitting through 21 MRT stops before reaching Bukit Dukung (3 stops from Kajang), was well worth it.

Two Chefs Lab is at 23-G, Sek 9, Jalan Temenggung 29/9, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, 43200 Kajang, Selangor. Their telephone number is (03) 9011 9910. It will be closed for the first three days of Chinese New Year.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.