ANGIE Hiew is back at what she loves the most: cooking in her very own restaurant, Tifa at the KL Trillion.

Those of us who have dined at Flamenco will remember her flair for Spanish food and the style she brought to that iconic restaurant she opened 25 years ago.

After a few food and wine ventures, and most recently, a stint at Sky51, EQ Kuala Lumpur, she’s finally found her feet at Tifa. In Latin, Tifa means “three”, which stands for the number of partners in the restaurant.

European-inspired, classic and modern cuisine is Angie’s forte at Tifa.

It’s early evening and we begin with tapas of bruschetta with prawn avocado, smoked salmon with cream cheese and Chinese roast duck, and the chef’s signature chicken liver pate.

These go down well with a glass of cava or Spanish sparkling wine, a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc or a Tempranillo, all of which are on the wine list.

It’s the chicken liver pate (RM15) that brings back fond memories of Flamenco. The creamy liver pate is sublime, with walnuts blended in it and a heady note from Armagnac. Now you get your fill of it by buying a jar or two here.

Angie does her own mayonnaise too, and we get a taste of this on the prawn with avocado bruschetta. The same mayo is on the chicken with mango.

She also does her own sauce for the Chinese roast duck bruschetta – just a drizzle of it on the lush duck meat sets it apart. The smoked salmon with cream cheese bruschetta is generous with the cheese, with a rosette of smoked salmon sitting well on it.

The seafood paella (RM42) trailed wonderful aromas of prawns, mussels, clams and squid as it was brought out.

It was packed with seafood, with their flavourful juices drizzling down to the delicious rice. Best of all it had an irresistible crispy rice crust at the bottom. Zucchini and peppers completed the paella.

We were intrigued by the spinach & jalapeno omelette muffin (RM12) on the tapas menu, and they turned out light and fluffy with a little heat from jalapeno.

Chicken fingers and tartare sauce was another tapas for that day. You can also expect tapas of braised oxtail (RM46), beef meatballs (RM28), garlic prawns (RM22), Spanish tortilla (RM20), clams (RM18)  and poached egg pesto (RM12) to go with your drinks or as a prelude to dinner.

There’s flexibility with Angie in charge of the kitchen. “Anything that you want to eat, you can call us to order the day before,” she says. For instance, you could order a tomahawk steak a day in advance.

More items are being added to the menu which has main courses like zarzuela, a seafood stew, chicken roulade, black angus tenderloin, pan-seared salmon with white balsamic, signature spaghetti with Oriental duck, and spaghetti penne chicken fillet with spicy tomato sauce. The executive lunch is available at RM25.

Tifa Modern European Restaurant & Bar is on the ground floor of KL Trillion, Kuala Lumpur. Call 017-358 1338, for enquiries and reservations. It is closed on Sunday. – March 19, 2022.

* 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.