A FINE, delicate touch and near-perfect execution of Japanese dishes defined our dinner last week at Buri By Two Chefs in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

First the kuro buta carpaccio teased our palate with torched sliced black pork with a drizzle of chilli vinegar sauce. The melt-in-the-mouth smoky meat was touched with a subtle heat of chillies and a little sweetness.

We also liked the tuna tataki, or seared tuna slices with onion shoyu, which freshness we savoured with a lift from the topping.

Hamaguri niniku, or grilled clams with creamy garlic mayo sauce, was a tasty departure from the usual Japanese fare. We slurped up the sauce that came with the fleshy shellfish which we ate with our hands.

I’m so pleased to have met up with chefs Steve Chua and Edmund Chong at Buri. It’s been more than two years since I had lunch at their first Japanese restaurant – Two Chefs Lab – in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kajang.

Now that their second outlet, Buri By Two Chefs, is in a more accessible location (for me), I will visit more often.

Chef Steve was among the top 10 finalists in the prestigious World Sushi Cup Tokyo in 2018. He was also the winner of the 2017 Malaysia World Cup Sushi. He and fellow chef Edmund Chong had worked in fine Japanese restaurants in Singapore for 15 years before starting their own.

If your Japanese meal is not complete without chawan mushi, this is the place for it. The soft and silky egg custard comes in three flavours – foie gras, crabmeat, and ikura, or salmon roe. 

In the foie gras version, small cubes of the goose liver add an enticing richness and flavour to the chawan mushi. The kani chawan mushi is generously topped with crabmeat and a little truffle oil while the Ikura Chawan Mushi is intrinsically Japanese in flavour. My favourite one is the foie gras. It’s RM14.50 for the foie gras Chawan Mushi and the crabmeat Chawan Mushi, while the Ikura one is RM13.50.

Most folk would expect raw fish when it comes to sushi. But the Buri chefs presented us with a platter of “cooked” sushi, among which were the much-loved engawa (flounder fin), anago (white sea eel), kuro buta (black pork) and tamago (sliced cooked egg).

Engawa, from the tail fin muscle of the flounder, is slightly crunchy and chewy with an oil-rice flavour (RM8.50).

Unlike unagi, a freshwater eel, anago (RM14.50) is a saltwater or conger eel, less rich and oily than unagi. It was the longest sushi on the plate and I liked it a lot. The black pork (RM5) went well with sushi rice; the rich meat strikes a good balance with it.

Buri’s menu offers some Japanese-inspired Western dishes such as the wagyu pate (RM39), which is two plump, creamy and yummy pieces of pan-fried minced wagyu and beef with teriyaki sauce, accompanied by mashed potato. There’s the grilled lamb rack with miso (RM38). I enjoyed tearing the juicy, tender meat off the bone and tasting the white miso on it.

You couldn’t fault the warabi mochi with yuzu sherbet and caramel sauce (RM12) for dessert. I revelled in the soft jelly texture of the mocha dusted with toasted soybean powder, paired with the tangy yuzu sherbet.

Standouts among other Buri offerings are the donburi dishes such as wagyu don with onsen kenkori egg, truffle oil and shio kombu (RM150), Buri chirashi with selected sashimi (RM48) and kakuni don with braised pork belly and Onsen Kenkori Egg (RM22). And of course, you must have coffee here too.

Buri by Two Chefs is at E-1-1, Pusat Perdagangan Bandar, Jalan Persiaran Jalil 1, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Call 03-9766 3438 or 010-553 9910 to book. It’s open from 11.30am to 8pm daily except Sunday. – October 23, 2021.

* 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.