WE are comfortably ensconced at a table right beneath the life-sized portrait of the hellfire chef at Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill in Sunway Resort Hotel.  

A glittery crystal chandelier hangs from the gold dome above and on both sides of the dining hall, floor-to-ceiling windows offer a view of the lagoon.

Dinner bookings here still have to be secured months in advance, although the restaurant, the first one bearing Gordon Ramsay’s name in southeast Asia, has been open since June last year.

The next best thing to do is to enjoy the business lunch. What I like about this is that it carries some dishes from the a la carte menu, and the food portion has not been scaled down. There were three starters to consider – chilled pea soup with cucumber, mint and smoked ricotta, aged beef tartare and butter poached lobster.

My choice was the aged beef tartare. Aged beef tenderloin cut into small cubes is combined with finely chopped capers, shallots, gherkin gel, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard and completed with egg yolk confit.

The velvety feel of the raw beef, the tart bits of gherkins and capers, the intense Worcestershire sauce and mustard, tempered with the rich egg yolk, are all so pleasing.

I was surprised by the portion of beef, almost making up a small steak on my plate.

A basket of bread is served before this, with a smoky bone marrow butter. I could have opted for the butter-poached lobster with caviar hearts of palm puree, fennel gremolata and pickled kumquat.

For the mains it was grilled ora king salmon for me, served with brown butter sabayon, salmon roe and crispy chicken skin.

The salmon had the perfect medium doneness, the skin was crispy and the moist flesh flaked off at the touch of the fork.

The brown butter sabayon was exquisite, rich but light, with lots of umami.

There were tasty, toasty crumbs on the sabayon which I thought was from the crispy chicken skin but was later told they were not. I’m still baffled.

I had a taste of the spicy mushroom lasagne, oyster and porcini mushrooms, chilli and pecorino. It’s a vegetarian option, but I much prefer my king salmon.

The other main course was beef tenderloin with sautéed spinach, winter truffle and truffle jus.

Of course, we had to have the classic beef wellington from the a la carte menu. It was sliced table-side, the dry-aged tender beef fillet layered with wild mushroom duxelles and rolled up in puff pastry.

Gordon Ramsay is said to be proudest of this, embodying everything that he stands for in British cuisine.

We shared a slice of beef wellington, served with red wine jus and a creamy smooth pomme puree or mashed potato made luxurious with lots of butter and cream.

The deep pink juicy meat was of perfect doneness, in flavourful combination with the mushroom duxelles and egg-washed pastry.

Dessert was the classic citrus tart with raspberry sorbet for me, and Knickbocker Glory for the rest at my table.

The tart had a mellow tartness, sugar crackling and crispy pastry edges. I rather fancied the Knickerbocker Glory in the tall glass, layered with mango, coconut sorbet, ice cream and cream.

I was offered a taste of this, digging deep into the glass with a long spoon.

Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill is on the Lobby Level of Sunway Resort Hotel, Persiaran Lagoon, Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya. Contact 03-7492 8000. – March 4, 2023.

* 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.